Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam raised by.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Earls Nolan, vulted by the magnificent roller coaster ride that
is Houston sports, chill lags down for the only homegrown
afternoon team is.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Talking Your teams? Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the
A team.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
A Hey man, what's up?
Speaker 4 (01:09):
As far as everybody knows, this is the first part
of the show. We are with you here on a Tuesday.
Speaker 5 (01:13):
It is a last Tuesday of the preseason for your
Houston Rockets. Next Tuesday they'll be playing the Oklahoma City
Thunder and the NBA season will have begun. It's also
the first day of Week seven in the NFL. Last night,
a pair of Monday night football games completed, and here
we are with the Texans sitting only looking up at
eight other teams in the AFC standings, one of which
(01:37):
obviously stands between them and being just outside the playoff picture.
Now they're just outside the playoff picture. And they're also
under five hundred. You're not gonna make the playoffs, I
don't think at eight and nine this season.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
So Texans obviously have to work to do.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
They were back at it for what is now a
normal weekly schedule a day later because they don't play
until next Monday night, the second of another double header
Monday night games, a late night nine pm kickoff, so
availability with Demiko Ryans and the locker room, and then
nothing tomorrow on the field Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and off
to Seattle to take on a team that I don't
(02:13):
think a lot of people here realize how good they
are because they're only four and two, because they didn't
blow out the Seahawks, because they haven't blown out a
handful of other teams, because they were just in a
shootout that they lost to the Tampa Bay Bucks the
week before. But a lot to get into about exactly
what is good about the Seattle Seahawks, and there is
plenty of it, and somewhat surprisingly, it essentially starts with
(02:36):
their quarterbacks. Sam Darnold has had a monster season. He
has been exceptional in just about every single way you
could slice up a quarterbacks play. So we'll deliver some
of the reasons why and the biggest challenges for the
best part of the Houston Texans their defense. If they
can do what a couple of defenses have done to
the Seahawks, then it will give their offense, which is
(02:56):
very much up against it against a good Seattle defense,
to try to do their part, try to match some
of the progress that was made. There's a lot of
room for what did they do in the first three
games offensively versus what did they do in the last
two games offensively? Somewhere in between ought to be good
enough to get this team where they need to be
heading into the second part of the season. They're just
five games in, but eight games in, they will have
(03:18):
played their next three games and will be reaching the
halfway point, and they need to win two of them.
The Texans need to not be three and five. They
need to be no worse than four and four, which
means they have to win two of their next three
out of this off week Seattle in Seattle, and then
they're home for three weeks, so they can take care
of two of these three Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver,
(03:40):
then wait for the arrival of the Jacksonville Jaguars the
second week in November. With a four and four record,
with a chance to even things up with the Jaguars,
possibly a chance to even things up in the overall
standings with the Jaguars Jags are four and two, Texans
are two and three. Well, then they'll be off and
running towards what I do think will be another postseason
(04:02):
for the Texans. With no regard for where the Indianapolis
Colts are. They have three more wins than Houston, and
you still will not see them for the first time
until the end of November, which is really when you
can start doing your damage against them if need be,
and it likely will be considering what they have in
front of them, so we'll obviously we'll get to that.
And we are now three games into the postseason Championships Series.
(04:26):
In Major League Baseball, four teams remain. Two of them
have wins. The Dodgers got a very dramatic two to
one victory late last night, and the Mariners got a
very not dramatic ten three victory yesterday. Travel Day for
the American League. The Blue Jays leave home with no wins.
The Mariners head home with two wins, needing just two
(04:47):
more to reach the World Series play for the game's
biggest prize, that big hunk and medal. Dodgers take a
one game to none lead behind a spectacular pitching performance
from Blake Snell and only needing three outs from their
miserable bullpen, which was almost too many for their miserable
bullpen to get. They'll play today a little bit after
our show begins. And of course, being that it is Tuesday,
(05:09):
it's the first day of college football. There are three
college football games tonight. It is Tuesday. Why did they
do this?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
I love it. No, it's fine for the degenerates like you.
But degenerates usually refers to the people who want to
see what the more or less is on the quarterback
from this Conference USA team tonight.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Well, I didn't say gambling degenerates. I just said I
don't feel like degenerate needs a qualifier. It almost sounds
like you're talking about.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
No going back to uh the specifically the World Series
matchup that looks like it's already set in stone. It's not. No,
that's what I'm getting to. That's what I'm getting to. Listen.
No one, and I mean no one pounds this edict
into my head more than the guy that I do
this show with every single time. It's baseball. And if
(06:03):
you needed another reminder, a very recent one, and I'll
be it a very painful one. In fact, I'll give
you two of them ALCS twenty twenty three, World Series
twenty nineteen. Tim leads me nothing, and I'll tell you what.
I remember this almost more so than I remember the
clubhouse after Game seven after they lost to the Nationals,
(06:23):
and it was bad. And I do remember that the muss.
The thing that sticks out during this entire run outside
of the celebrations. Of course, the worst I ever personally
saw the Astros react during this era of golden baseball
that they've been playing was that locker room that clubhouse
after Game seven. And I'm not talking about Kermit wearing
(06:45):
his hat and going to full Scott Boris heel mode
because he was being forced to answer some normal questions
from the media. I'm representing myself whatever, dude. I'm talking
about the picture I'll never get out of my head
of Carlo Korea and Alex Bregman basically leaning against each other,
(07:05):
sitting on the floor with their backs against their lockers
because they were devastated that they lost that game. I
bring all this up to say when they left Houston
down two to go to the nation's capital, it kind
of felt like a morgue that night, too. And I
think the media was actually more like, oh my gosh
than the team itself. And we saw what they did.
(07:26):
They won the next three games in a row. It
was all good. They had two chances to close it
out at home, and then you know what the rest is. Yeah,
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
There's some similarities obviously in the obvious Obviously obviously, if
you missed all that, you leave home and you have
no wins and you're up against Yatta win four out
of five, you obviously have to win multiple games in
their building or else the series is over. And that's
what the Blue Jays are faced with in the Astros
situation as opposed maybe to the Blue Jays situation. I
(07:56):
think the Blue Jays are still kind of scratching their
head about, well, how how did we not win the
first game? How did we not win the first game
of this series? And put ourselves now? Yesterday was much
more about, you know, I think how the series with
the Astros and Nationals went. But I think maybe people
forget because it didn't seem like the type of low
(08:17):
scoring close game that oh you just let it slip away.
The Astros didn't really seem like they were in having
a good game one at all.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Way back to twenty nineteen.
Speaker 5 (08:26):
As we opened today's twenty twenty five show, they did
have a two to nothing lead against Max Scherzer, and
they did have Garrett Cole on the mound, but by
the time they got to the seventh inning, it was
five to two Nationals. They put a run on the board,
and they put another run on the boards or at
the bottom of the ninth inning, trying to tie the game,
trying to take back not lose home field advantage, didn't
work out, and then they played poorly in Game two.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
That is what has happened to the Blue Jays.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
They played poorly yesterday, way too many long balls, three
of them all multi RBI home runs, and the Mariners
put ten on the board and piece it together a
little bit. We were talking about how they would have
to do so with so many of their arms starters used.
In their Game five victory over the Tigers, one of
those three starters used to start the game, so we
obviously wasn't gonna go particularly deep. That was Lucas Gilbert.
(09:09):
But they won, and they have a two games to
none lead. Like we said, they're in an awesome position.
They have a better pitching staff. I think most people
would agree, and to have a two nothing lead as
they head back home after the Blue Jays essentially set
up their rotation in Game one in Game two with
exactly who they wanted and didn't win either one of
those games. That's what we're faced with against seven o'clock
(09:30):
for the Dodgers and Brewers tonight, seven o'clock tomorrow night
for the lone game between the Blue Jays and the Mariners.
And obviously, the week begins on both sides. The week
begins on the NFL side for the Texans and everybody
else because last night, for the second win in a row,
the Chicago Bears won twenty five to twenty four. The
Commanders nearly overcame two early turnovers to win that game,
(09:51):
but kind of weren't able to get anything done late,
and then they had a costly fumble that was not
caused by the defense but rather themselves. Jag Daniels couldn't
hang on to a snap when he tried to hand
it off. It just went right to the turf. Bears
were able to take advantage of that.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Hey Man sophomore slump. Those are the breaks. It was
also raining. He had a good day.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
He did throw an early interception one of those two turnovers,
but they fell to a much better Bears team. Bear's
team were sitting near the top of the draft, obviously
to get Caleb Williams, and not too far different from
that last year as they moved on from their.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Head coach and now they're a winning team.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Atlanta Falcons took it to the Buffalo Bills last night.
Early success, big lead and even without what should have
been an end of the half miraculous touchdown, and I'll
explain why. I don't think they made a mistake with
the officiating. I think the players made a mistake on
that play. But even without it, huge game for Bjean Robinson.
(10:50):
Will explain in about twenty five minutes why Bjeon Robinson
has to be Adam Clinton's new favorite player because of
social media. That's when we'll hit you with the best
of X. We'll explain that. But he's been awesome all
season long. Really paid off in this game. And the
Buffalo Bills from the last undefeated team in the AFC
to not among the top four, not currently leading their division.
(11:14):
They're four and two tiebreakers obviously not yet settled, but
they've played the Patriots once the Patriots beat him, so
that four and two Patriots team currently holds the top
spot in the AFC East, and the Bills are just well,
they're just one of the foreign two wildcard teams.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
By I'm gonna give you credit when we come back,
I have to. I will do that. I will explain
how I got cam scatabooed last night and the future
of the AFC that WEX was referencing. All right, we
will do all that and more on a Tuesday edition
of the program. It's all coming up next.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety. It is the
a team Sports Talk seven ninety. WEX and AC with
you on a Tuesday edition.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
So before we get into things here, you didn't it
wasn't as public, but you absolutely like you were like
no stra Thomas only whatever you'd have to do to
make it your last name. What would that? I don't
even know how you would? Well, for you, wouldn't it
be more like the great Karnak? Well, that's what I
(12:26):
would go. I mean, Matt Thomas and I are both
huge Carson fans, especially me. I mean, he named a
kid after a quarterback because his wife made him. I
named my kid after the greatest late night talk show
host that his name is Carly. That's not oh sorry anyway,
(12:47):
I mean we were having an off off Mike conversation yesterday.
Speaker 5 (12:51):
Yeah, we were leaving the house and we're headed to
the house. This is our house during the day, our
respective homes in the evening. And we have the great
pleasure of working in an office building that offers something
that not everyone's office building does. We're up on the
seventh floor, and it really doesn't matter what floor are
you on some of the time, certainly when you get
in the elevator on our floor, specifically where the cafe
(13:12):
is also located. When you hit the elevator bank, there's
a big old TV screen there, and yesterday the first
of the two Monday night games was just about set
to begin. And when you head into the elevators, that
don't have any buttons in it, because you do all
that before you even get in, because it's all super
high tech. There's another television in there, so you don't
even miss anything. Oh I want to see this next
(13:33):
play now, just hop in the elevator. It's right there
on for you.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
We don't by the way, real quick, we don't have
the traditional office setting in that there are no buttons
on the elevators once you get in them, and there's
no traditional company directory where we can see whether or
not we work with Bill Clay. No, we don't work
with wm period Clay.
Speaker 7 (13:52):
We do not.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
But we were watching the Oh yeah, get home and
get to watch most of, if not all, of the
Bills Falcons, And on my way into the elevator and
off of the floor that we work on, I said,
Jon Robinson's gonna run all over the Bills tonight. Just wait,
and they're gonna beat the Bills. Bills are going to
be four and two.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
And I laughed at you, scoffingly like you did to
me and Cole especially did to me when I said
the Giants would beat the Eagles and camp Scattaby would
have the game of his life. Or maybe I'm getting
that mixed up when I said that Arch would have to.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
Give the Eagles, and the Bills have lost two consecutive
games and they're just sitting at four and two. They
were obviously both four and zero of Bills do have
some issues, considering not only did they allow the offense
of the Falcons to do pretty much whatever they wanted
because if not for Jon Robinson going off the way
he did, putting the spectacular plays in front of everybody's
(14:44):
highlight plate. When you go for an eighty one yard
touchdown run and break a tackle to do so right
at the sideline, Drake London had an unbelievable game.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
Drake London had a hitch game. Also said, what was
going to happen?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
Does he Michael Pennix does have a a propensity, a
lean to a certain receiver. He attempted thirty two passes
last night. Exactly half of them went to Drake London.
He caught ten of them, and most of them came
in the first half. I actually brought that play up
at the end of the last segment to note it.
To me, it's almost like an epidemic in football, and
(15:17):
I feel like I'm the only one who cares, notices
or is in the wrong. Drake London has to score
a touchdown on that play, and I'm not saying it
for the obvious reasons. Yeah, the clock ran out. Either
he scores a touchdown or it's a waste of a play.
I mean, what happened on the play has to result
in a touchdown. If you're Drake London. Why are you saying, well,
(15:37):
instead of just letting one guy tackle me, why don't
I bring another guy into the play. And that guy's
wearing all white and he never moves, he's the sideline.
Why do you let the sideline make the tackle? You
cannot do that, and runners do it all the time.
I know there's an angle and you have the angle
on him, and there's an element of science basically to it,
(15:59):
and he was not the faster player, but he didn't
turn upfield soon enough. Just run into the guy. The
guy can't tackle you. He's not gonna jump on you
and pull you down without you going forward. You're both
running forward. Your forward progress is going to take you
into the end zone guaranteed, and it absolutely did. But
you stepped out of bounce first because you ran towards
(16:20):
the sideline. Why are you running into the sideline that hard?
It's just it's a mistake that so many players make,
and they don't have this exact situation all the time.
But in other situations, you know you've got a huge
long run and you know there's more game left to
play and there's more time on the clock, and you
let one defender bump you out of bounds.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
Why make him tackle you. He has to get you
down on the ground.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
And that's a minimum two, three, four, could be five,
ten more yards if they don't make the tackle. All
you're letting him do. And I know, hey, I'm saving
myself a tackle. I'm saving myself a hit. Don't you
want me to keep myself healthy? There's a balance, But
in this particular instance, not a hypothetical, not a what
if scenario, this play last night, that has to be
a touchdown if you're Drake London. Ultimately, it did not matter.
(17:04):
Even though the Bills came out in the second half
and immediately made it a one score game. That was
the last of it for the Bills. They scored once
in the first half, they scored once in the second half.
They had less than three hundred yards of offense. They
were two for nine on third down, and Josh Allen
threw the ball to the other team twice, once directly
and once on a late end of game. Finished the game.
(17:25):
You have no chance to win batted ball turnover. This
got out played pretty much every which way you'd want
to look at it. Offensively, defensively, Now they did block
a kick, so I can't add.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Skiff to it. Yeah, all right? Why is the future
of the AFC so clear? And why might we not
like it?
Speaker 5 (17:45):
What's happened to the Texans the last couple of years.
They have been the fourth best team in the AFC,
and I don't even think there's any debate about it.
They've been among the final four back to back years.
They've won their way into that position, not during the
regular season, but in the playoffs. Obviously there's no off
week for them, as as they were not the top seeds.
In order to get into the final four of the AFC,
they had to win a playoff game, and then they
(18:05):
had the exact same trio of teams there with them
both the last two years, and they did not advance
with two of them. Obviously, the team that beat them did.
And Kansas City's been in the title game multiple years,
running and running and running. So what's different this year? Well,
both of those things are different, and that's why things
are much much clearer, and it's actually clear as mud.
(18:29):
The Texans aren't the fourth best team in the AFC.
I don't know if they're going to play their way
into that, but they certainly aren't that now. Nothing about
what they've done this year suggests they are what they
were a year ago. Could be a good thing, because
maybe they'll be better by the end of the season.
But the clearest mud part is it's a simple question.
Who's the best team in the AFC? If I asked
(18:49):
you this at any point in the existence of CJ.
Stroud as a Texan to Beiko Ryan's as a Texan,
will Anderston Junior as a Texan, you had only three options,
and you really only had one option to answer that question.
You could answer Buffalo, you'd have been wrong. You could
answer Baltimore, You'd also be wrong, but those are legitimate answers.
The answer was Kansas City. I'm gonna ask you that
(19:10):
right now. Who's the best team in the AFC?
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Colts you do not know?
Speaker 5 (19:14):
There is no obvious answer, There is no clear answer.
There aren't even just three teams to answer, There's like
eight teams to answer.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Yes and no.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
That's what the AFC might be. Yeah, if you look
a big, big picture, I might be taking this a
bit far. But are we watching the excellence of the
Baltimore Ravens. Heading into the second part of ten years
of excellence, not who they need to be to capable
of being among the top teams. And could it be
that Buffalo's window actually closed again? Kansas City is a
(19:50):
three and three football team.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Here's the thing right now, there are two five win
teams in the NFL, one in each conference, and no
one is confusing tamp Bay in Indianapolis.
Speaker 8 (20:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:01):
I don't know how many people are in our building
right now, in our particular office, but let's just say
there's twenty mm hm, well they're including the people to
our right. There's definitely twenty because they have like twelve
people down there. The rest of the office. Maybe there's
a total of twelve people. So that's twenty four people.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Including one very big Mariners fan who's such a nice guy,
but it.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
Kills Heeams ahead of Houston in the AFC. If who
asked the twenty four people who the best team in
the AFC is, I think we'd get a bunch of
different answers. And if we specifically said, hey, there's only
one five and one team in the AFC, it's the Colts.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Are you picking them to win the AFC this year?
We go oh for twenty four? Yeah, And I That's
what I was wanting to get to. I don't think
they're for real, as in, look at who we just
talked about this yesterday. Who have they beaten? Nobody? And
who have they lost to a playoff team?
Speaker 9 (20:48):
See?
Speaker 5 (20:48):
To me, it's more, do you expect the Colts to
go to the playoffs and win three times? Well, win
two times? Somebody's going to be the one scene it could.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Be there, or just take it a step back and
take it to the simplest basic terms. Do you expect
Daniel Joe to repeat what he's already done, either over
the course of this season or next year. Yeah?
Speaker 5 (21:06):
I think that's all good questions, which is why that's
the whole point of it. They're all question marks every
single part of the AFC. So you might not like
where the Texans are. I don't either. I don't think
they do. I don't think anybody should. Two and three Snakes,
you're not even average. You're playing your best football currently,
so maybe that bodes well for where you're headed in
the future. But the schedule is not easy. I'm not
(21:27):
sure if people were under the impression that it was.
But based on who they play and what is left,
we'll get more into that after we hit Best of X,
but specific to where the Texans are and the future
of the AFC, it is a dramatic shift from what
the Texans have seen the last two years. There was
zero doubt who you had to beat to win the AFC,
(21:47):
who you had to get past in the playoffs, who
were the three best teams with the three best quarterbacks.
And that's all up in the air as we sit
here with the Texans having twelve games to go, most
of the rest of the AFC with eleven games to go.
We're in Week seven and you don't know much about
the AFC except almost anybody that's worth anything in the
AFC believes they can win it. That includes the Houston Texans.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Best of X.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Something from last night's game with me Jean Robinson as
it relates to AC's love affair with somebody else that's
Best of X that's coming up.
Speaker 7 (22:24):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
Did you all see this should be putting.
Speaker 7 (22:32):
Out Between five and fifteen.
Speaker 8 (22:34):
Posts day, four hundred people were arrested for things that
they said on social media.
Speaker 10 (22:39):
History repeats itself type banguels succeeds. Never doubt that you're
the one who pus no one building.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
You're the best OX. Nothing's gonna ever.
Speaker 10 (22:52):
Top you know you're the best of X post I've
never seen day. You're the best X, breaking the entire in.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
To halfway through hour number one that brings us best
of X each and every weekday afternoon. Here on the
A team, we're with you from two to six to
thirties each day we hit you with the best of X.
Four to thirty each day we eat you with our
signature segment. So two hours out from say What, lots
of options there almost always are when coaches are being
(23:26):
fired and hired, so that will be the topic of
say What coming up in a little bit. But for
best of X, back to the game from last night.
Jon Robinson is at the top of the heap in
the NFL. Nobody has more combined yards from scrimmage.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Than he does.
Speaker 5 (23:42):
He's on his way to possibly doing something that's never
been done before. A fifteen hundred yard rushing season, a
one thousand yard receiving season. He's got four hundred and
eighty four yards rushing, three hundred and thirty eight receiving,
eight hundred and twenty two combined yards from scrimmage. That is,
as I mentioned, tops in the NFL. It's the fourth
(24:02):
most scrimmage yards by a player through five games of
a season since nineteen seventy. That brings us to the
Best of X because I have that information thanks to
my good friends over its stad Head and am I
even better friends over at the thirty third team because
they were the ones that posted that nugget. Okay, great WEX.
Why is that the best of X? Why do I
care about the comments there? Will you care about the
(24:23):
comments there specific to this show? For one very good reason.
Since nineteen seventy it's the fourth most scrimmage yards by
a player through five games of a season.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
I know where you're going. Number one.
Speaker 5 (24:34):
He's active and he's actually second this year in scrimmage yards.
But in twenty nineteen, Christian McCaffrey had eight hundred and
sixty six yards from scrimmage through five games. In nineteen
seventy three and nineteen seventy five, a running back had
more yards than Jean Robinson through five games of the season.
(24:55):
That running back's name with eight hundred and forty two
yards in nineteen seventy five and eight hundred and sixty
in nineteen seventy three was good old number thirty two
OJ Simpson.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Orenthal James Simpson.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
So first, Jon Robinson is pretty good. Not as good
as OJ Simpson, but pretty good. He's a pretty good
football player, almost as good at playing football as OJ Simpson,
but not quite as good.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
He is better than OJ at not killing people.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
So when this gets posted on the X platform, it
automatically becomes a possible qualifier for Best of X, and
Jeremiah makes it so he says, damn OJ, who was
on another level, always killed the competition to fire emojis
why anyway?
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Why am I such a juvenile when it comes to
these They never ceased to make me laugh.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
Kellen weighs in and says, so you're saying there's a
sixty can remember this list is one Christian McCaffrey and
two OJ Simpson, So that's three names. So Kellen says,
so you're saying there's a sixty six percent chance he's
the worst human who has ever lived.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Keep going. I wanted more and I just felt like
there should be more.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
This wasn't the most scene and followed and viewed and
obviously replied to post on the Interweb, so it didn't
have more and it really didn't need to.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
This is more like family feud.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
One hundred people surveyed top two answers on the board,
and once we got always killed the competition, all right,
ninety eight people said that there's only so much left.
That's all we needed. We needed somebody to deliver, and
the very first comment absolutely did.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
It's funny that you mentioned this because last night before
I wound up landing on what I watched to kind
of put me into the sleep situation. In other words,
the last thing I watched before I finally said, all right,
you've had enough, it's two o'clock in the morning, go
to bed. Be an adult. OJ made in America of
(27:03):
the documentary was gliding across the screen. I don't even
know how I got there. It was just something that
was like a suggestion. Did you know that there is
a track listing on the soundtrack that's called Buffalo Baryshnikoff
did not know that that's what they That's what this
(27:24):
one guy they interviewed outside of whatever they were calling
it at the time, it's the stadium that they're closing
down after this year, Orchard Park, whatever, it's Yeah, Buffalo's
current stadium, which is in its final season right, which
looks like it's kind of like when they were building
NRG or Relying at the time, and it made the
Astrodome look like a pillbox. Because the astrodome's actually built
into the ground, plenty of drugs to be had. The
(27:45):
pillbox is still there, yes, But like I mean, you've
seen the shots they've had of those stadiums side by
side since Buffalo has been on national TV this year.
I'm glad the new place is huge. It's huge.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
I've seen some drone footage of kind of going through.
They just put started putting the grass in. I think
within the last seven to ten days seen some of that.
Looks like I mean, as usual, a no fights. It's
gonna be cool, it's gonna be great. They'll still be
the aspects of Bills fans and Bill's Mafia will still
be there, clearly. But yeah, it definitely looks like they
are ready to They're going to have a state of
(28:17):
the art. This is one of the best places to
go enjoy a football game. And based on last segment,
which again I may have taken a little far, I
do think the Bills team that's going into that new
stadium will still be very very good. We'll see exactly
how far ahead of the rest of the AFC they are.
And that's kind of the point I was making one
last thing. Because social media exists, you never see you
(28:38):
otherwise would not have access to to nearly what we
do in sports. And you know, I plot all the
people that come up with the have the ability to
do the research, come up with the stats, the services
that help produce them. Because while we might think it
or know it, when you see it in numeric form,
it really drives the point home. There are a bunch
of quarterbacks quite obviously in the NFL. They are former
(28:59):
number one one overall draft picks. And there's a handful
of those number one overall draft picks that, in order
to find extreme success, they had to be told by
their team that drafted them, get lost, get out of here.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
You stink. We can't win with you. Good luck elsewhere.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
We wish you the best in your future endeavors, but
we're not concerned at all about you winning somewhere else
because you stink. Three of those quarterbacks are number one,
in two and three in the NFL. In one particular category,
and it's a good one. Most completions of twenty yards
or more in the NFL since the beginning of last season,
so neighborhood of twenty two or twenty three games played.
(29:39):
Teams that have had their off week this year have
played twenty two, like Houston, others have played twenty three.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Third on that list.
Speaker 5 (29:45):
Former number one overall pick and then Super Bowl are
Super Bowl participant once Jared Goff. He's got seventy nine picks,
seventy nine of those twenty plus yard throws in a
season and change number one overall pick for the Ran
did not play well in the Super Bowl, did not
look like it was going to work out with Sean McVay,
so they sent him packing and brought back the quarterback
(30:07):
that clearly did work out for them and Detroit Goff
and Detroit has worked. Number two on the list, Baker
Mayfield in Tampa eighty two twenty plus yard throws in
the NFL since the beginning of last season. Cleveland said,
you're pretty good, but we don't like good quarterbacks, so
get out of here. You have an attitude problem, and
we know exactly what we're doing. Our organization is awesome.
(30:30):
From top to bottom, we're winners, so get lost. And
a couple teams later, he landed in Tampa and he's
now second on that list and arguably the front runner
for MVP, who's number one on the list. He's the
he's the Texans opponent this week. It's Sam Donald. Sam
Donald has eighty six such touchdown passes excuse me, twenty
(30:54):
plus yard passes over the last year in change, and
to make it amend what I said, top picks, not
the top pick. Those two guys were number one. He
was number three overall. But essentially it all boils down
to this. The Texans already faced one of the best
downfield throwers. Now they're facing the best downfield thrower. And
(31:17):
in his case, multiple teams that he started seasons worth
of games for said, nah, we'd rather go in a
different direction.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
Jets don't know what they're doing.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
Vikings chose to go in the JJ McCarthy direction and
Carson Wentz direction, and Sam Darnald is doing it all
over again for Seattle.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
They miss him, The Vikings miss him very very badly,
and they made the wrong decision.
Speaker 5 (31:42):
Much much more on why Sam Donald is absolutely awesome
in twenty twenty five. It's not the good news segment.
It's not what ill the Texans get a hold of
Sam Donald. That's next segment. You are going to love
it and hate it all at the same time.
Speaker 7 (32:05):
The A on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
It is the A team. Sports Talks seven ninety simulcast
over on Space City Home Network will begin at the
top of the hour. Then you can stare at US
Rockets basketball tonight. One more to go after that, and
then regular season. By the way, we'll get to more.
I'm gonna start calling it Kevin Pelton's greatest offseason hits.
(32:35):
That guy is an absolutely fortunate position.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
Yeah, when they say, all right, we gotta we gotta
do this compilation article in this one's space purely on data.
We don't need any analysis here. But somebody's got to
put it together. And let's put somebody who has a
you know, has a you know some people know, has
a presence. Let's let's make him write it up. He's
not doing any of the work.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
In fortunate position of having the IQ of a shoot
make you write it up.
Speaker 5 (32:59):
We already you're our in the in the crosshair, so
we'll give this assignment to you. As well, hold up
a little bit, can you book him? I want to
yell at him, Well, he's going to Unfortunately the yelling
is going to be met with what I just said.
Hey man, I'm not the one coming up with this stuff.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
So who's making him do it? It's not even that well,
they're just having him write up the results. It's bad GM.
Speaker 8 (33:19):
Um.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
This is not the GM article. This is the simulation article.
So the simulation is stupid.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
So we'll get to that.
Speaker 5 (33:25):
Like I said, coming up in the the three o'clock hour,
we've got power rankings to yell at, which are stupid,
but some of it is actually not off point. And
again read what they write rather than just focusing in
on what number your particular team sits in simulation of
the season. On the NBA side, absolutely, and some baseball
(33:45):
that will undoubtedly make Acy's head explode. So if your
head's going to explode, we're going to make sure it
happens on television and radio. So good, we'll do that
to kick off next segment top of the three o'clock hour.
But I was talking about Sam Darnold and just wanted
to point out to all the Texans fans who are
excited about Monday Night football for the Houston Texans coming
up on Monday night, second of two Monday Night games.
Speaker 4 (34:09):
Nine o'clock Houston time.
Speaker 5 (34:11):
Kick for this Monday night football game, and it will
obviously be the last game of the weekend. You'll know
what the AFC teams around you have done. And remember
there's one team ahead of them with three wins. Everybody
else ahead of them has four wins except for the
first place Indianapolis Colts. Lots of work still to do
for the Texans to make this a third consecutive playoff
(34:32):
team with CJ. Will and Amigo Ryans, and part of
that is beating good teams, and that is something they
have yet to do this year. They've had three opportunities.
Each of the three teams they have lost to are
entrenched in their respective conferences playoff pictures, whether it's Tampa
or the Rams on the other side, or Jacksonville ahead
of them in both the division and obviously the standings
that go with it. You gotta be good teams or
(34:54):
you're not one of them. And the Texans have good
teams almost the rest of the w way. If you
hadn't really been paying attention to what is on the
Texans schedule the rest of this season, the twelve games
that remain. You obviously know the Colts haven't been seen
by the Texans yet. Well, the Texans have only four
games left with teams that aren't currently playoff teams, and
(35:17):
one of those four games is Kansas City. So you
got the Titans, obviously an opportunity to get a second
win against them. You got Vegas, but most about most
everybody else twice with the Colts, a game with the Bills.
You still have the games left with the Chargers and
the Broncos. I mentioned the Chiefs inside the division. Another
(35:37):
one coming with Jacksonville. You got a game against the Patriots.
This is not an easy path. But again, if you're good,
you're just like them. That's what I basically spent one
entire segment on last earlier this hour at two and three.
It appears they're not as good as these teams, but
(35:58):
watching these teams play, does it really look like they're
that dramatically different? First things First, they have these Seattle Seahawks.
You've been going on and on about how awesome Drake
May has been this year, and there's a lot of
numbers to back that up.
Speaker 4 (36:10):
Daniel Jones is having the season of his life. Numbers
to back that up.
Speaker 5 (36:14):
All of them are looking up at Sam Darnold quarterback
efficiency through Week six, number one in the NFL Efficiency
you know, expected points added and other things that go
into that efficiency rating. Sam Donald's number one in the NFL.
CJ's fourteenth, Josh Allen's ninth. Just so you have a
little bit of an idea of what it is made
(36:36):
up of. Aaron Rodgers just ahead of c J. Stroud, Daniels,
Herbert mac Jones, Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, etc.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
They're all well behind CJ. CJ's fourteenth.
Speaker 5 (36:46):
Sam Donald is first best not being outplayed in this
particular area by anyone their offense. The DVO rankings, which
we rarely talk about, again, this is kind of super minutia,
but it's a very very good end of the quality
of your football team and the likelihood that you're not
only going to the playoffs, but as you're going far
in the playoffs. Their first overall, the Seattle Seahawks fourth
(37:10):
in defense and fourth in offense, and first in passing offense.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
Guess who passes the ball for them? Sam Darnold.
Speaker 5 (37:18):
You brought this up a couple of weeks ago, and
it is true. He carved them up a year ago
with a different team. Probably wasn't as good as the
team he currently plays for.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
How was because they had a decent offensive line last
year in Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (37:31):
They had a decent offensive line at that point in
the season when they were starting Cam Robinson later in
the season because they had to trade for him. Their
offensive line was not very good. Their defense and got
on the field this week for Cleveland a couple penalties
and he got hurt and was not a good debut.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Their defensive line is what gave the Texans fits in
that game. Yeah, the Vikings defensive line got all over them.
They were in a bad spot.
Speaker 5 (37:52):
They had early turnovers, but Donald and their offense essentially
made them pay by taking a big early lead and
kind of coasting to victory.
Speaker 4 (37:59):
He was really you know.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
A couple of times they pressured him, but he easily
avoided it and was making throws downfield. I talk about
Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson as two guys who just
can't stop throwing the ball, flinging the ball downfield. Well,
Donald slings the ball downfield, but with success, extreme success,
and Wilson's not awful in that regard, but he's so
(38:20):
awful that everything else it doesn't stand out. Donald's the
best downfield throwing in the NFL. Some of the numbers,
beyond what I already gave you are are things that
the league hasn't ever seen before. And I'm sure over
the course of the final eleven Seahawks games they'll start
to come back a little bit. But this is the
point in the season when you are playing them, and
it's even worse when you consider he has one person
(38:43):
to throw to and it's the best receiver in the
NFL so far this year. If you asked me, Jackson
Smith and Jicks is the best receiver in the NFL.
Will be the most difficult task for the Texan secondary
sting Lasseter, etc. It doesn't matter who they are. He
has been that good this year and teams without having
to stop anybody else in the past game of individual
(39:03):
nature and without the Seahawks having what I would call
a great running game, either they're killing teams that duo.
Speaker 4 (39:11):
I can't decide if it's the pass rush itself or
the secondary in general that's going to have to win
this football game. For the Texans, well, they work in concerts,
I know. But what I'm saying is Sam Darnold strikes
me as a guy who you could get to if
you can get that push up front. But if you don't,
(39:32):
or if you're just late getting to them, the onus
is going to be on those two names you just
mentioned more than anybody else, and to a lesser extent,
or maybe to a more extent in this case, I
guess Jalen Peatrie. But for the Texans to have any
shot in this game, all that stuff you're talking about
simply cannot happen. And I know that sounds easy to say,
(39:54):
but we're talking about the number one defense from a
point total in the NFL, and I realize they've also
gone up against some bad quarterback play and some bad
teams in general.
Speaker 5 (40:03):
To kind of pad that just two of them, well,
I just you don't have a chance if you don't perform. Like, yeah,
what you're saying, it doesn't even need to be debated.
Just go back to the late last year, the Lions
game against the Vikings and then the postseason game against
the Rams. Sam Darnold, it was under pressure both games.
He was terrible in both games. They lost both games
(40:24):
because they couldn't do anything in the past game. And
it's not often that teams can get to him quite
that much, and that was clearly with a totally different team,
offensive line, scheme, etc. I do agree, if you can't
get to him, he will be a quarterback. Even at
the stage of his career where he's clearly awesome, he
can be rattled. I don't know that the Texans have
really done that this year. Stafford wasn't rattled. Lawrence wasn't rattled.
(40:46):
That's just who Lawrence is. And Matt Stafford wasn't rattled. Yes,
they rattled cam Ward and Cooper Rush whoop te do
Everybody's at three o'clock hours next head exploding Time for ac.
Speaker 7 (41:00):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
It is the A team. Sports Talks seven ninety Space
City Home Network simulcast underway on the television sides. If
you want to watch us, you can do that as well.
But thanks for listening in, especially if you've been along
for the first hour of the show. Three more to
go here on a Tuesday edition of the program, as
we get set for preseason game number three following the
show tonight Rockets Basketball. They'll be in Birmingham, Alabama, to
(41:54):
take on the New Orleans Pelicans. Then one more preseason
game against the Hawks, whom they already defeated in the opener,
and it'll be time for NBA basketball that counts, and
the Rockets in Thunder are the very first game on
the slate that actually matters when the NBA tips off
Tuesday night, a week from tonight. Crazy to think it's
(42:16):
already here. I wish it was already opening night tonight.
Speaker 5 (42:20):
Yeah, of course you'll have that right here on Sports
Talk seven to ninety, just like all the games all
throughout the season, the vast majority of the games, of
course on the home for the Rockets on the television side,
also right here on Space City home network. Opener is
not among them a national TV game. The return to
the NBA on NBC comes that night. Mike Turko obviously
(42:40):
on the call. You'll have Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford
analyzing the game on site. The Zoris Stevenson will be
the reporter Maria Taylor is their studio host, and that
particular night's game will have studio analysts Vince Carter and
former Rockets legend Carmelo Anthony in studio analyzing Rockets thunder
(43:01):
Traysom Grady's also in studio, but apparently not until after
the second game. Apparently, how they're going to do it
over on the Peacock Network, I'll have Launchpad for you
that night. Ross will have the Rockets, rap Ac and
MT right here on Sports Talk seven ninety for the
Rockets first game of year three with e May year
one with Kevin Durant varying opinions on what this upcoming
(43:26):
season might be for the Rockets and Kevin Durant, like
I said, we will get to that a little bit
later on today's show and probably throughout the next six
months as people will have to see it. I guess
to believe it not only for the Rockets, but for
a couple of other teams. They have way way, way
too lofty of goals for for the upcoming season. Whether
(43:48):
it's numerically based or eyeball based, it is way way off.
But like I said, we'll get to that a little
bit later, baseball continues, unfortunately without Houston for another handful
of days. You got two more teams to eliminate in
the Championship Series and then one more team to eliminate
in the World Series. Blue Jays, they're in a bad spot,
(44:09):
falling down two games to none to the Mariners, a
close game and the opener with Bryce Miller on the mound.
A less close game in yesterday's Game two, where they
gave up a bunch of bombs, did not play very
good baseball, and they lost ten to three, now having
used each of their top two starters. But the head
explosing portion of today's show begins here, and I do
(44:29):
have to take it back to Game one. I had
not heard this audio up until then. Big picture baseball question,
why are you not a fan of the Baseball Commissioner
Bobby Manfred. You want all the reasons, I'll let you
listen them until you get to the one that's pertinent.
Speaker 4 (44:45):
Okay, Well, the way he handled the scandal. Okay, you've
gotten too, the one that is pertinent to go in
for the kill. I like it very well done. There
are a bunch of other things.
Speaker 5 (44:56):
Yesterday's time was wasted with the consistency of the rules
the regular season and the rules in the postseason that
it relates to second base. There's a bunch of other
things that we could get into, but that is very
specific in nature. The manner in which he handled the
league wide problem by telling the league's fans it was
(45:17):
a team problem only for one squad, Orange, Team Bad.
Speaker 4 (45:20):
From what I understand over the last couple of years
co hosting with you, I've heard something similar. I've never heard.
That is he referred to Team Orange because.
Speaker 9 (45:30):
Of the.
Speaker 4 (45:34):
Cheeto dictator, the tyrant. I bring peace, but they keep
calling me the Cheeto many.
Speaker 5 (45:41):
Orange, team bad, something like that. Robert Manfred has. Whether
they did it or not is not We're not questioning it.
We've readily said countless times. Yeah they did it. They
told us they did it. We believe that they did it.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
We know that they did it. They are guilty. They
did it.
Speaker 5 (45:57):
But the manner in which it was handles is and
always will be laughable because of what it did then
and what year.
Speaker 4 (46:03):
Was this when it was the punishment was early twenty twenty.
Speaker 5 (46:07):
Okay, so the twenty nineteen season had concluded and by
February of twenty twenty The Astros had now needed a
new manager and new general manager because the report had
come out and they were bad people, Range people, bad,
Orange Team bad. So it's twenty twenty five, right, yep?
So five complete baseball complete as they can be almost. Yeah,
(46:27):
six complete baseball seasons plus COVID season yep have been played.
But it's never going to go away because you've asked
the extremely intelligent people walking the face of the earth,
fans of baseball, sports, fans in generals, and even those
that technically have the same job as we do. You've
(46:47):
asked them to be smarter than that. But you knew
they wouldn't be when you gave them this nugget of
dealing with the issues that the Astros held, and they're
going to hold onto it forever and ever and ever.
So Game one of this series Mariners and Blue Jays?
What did the Mariners do to get there? What was
Game five like with the Tigers?
Speaker 9 (47:09):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (47:10):
Well, a one in extra innings, fifteen total, fifteen innings,
used three starting pitchers in that game. Clearly their rotation
was not set up. What did the Blue Jays do
to get to the Game one against the Mariners? How
did they get there. I can't remember now.
Speaker 5 (47:27):
I think they dominated absolutely destroyed the Yankees pitching staff.
Good pictures, bullpen pitchers, bad pictures, young pitchers, old pitchers.
Speaker 4 (47:35):
It did not matter.
Speaker 5 (47:36):
Thirty four innings of baseball played against the Yankees pitching
staff and thirty four runs scored. You get a homer,
and you get a homer, and you score some runs.
You embarrassed the Yankees. How do you think that made
the people that do what we do in New York
feel about the Blue Jays doing that to their beloved Yankees?
And now take that feeling you know they had before
(47:59):
you hear me, tell you to hear them, tell you
they had it, and take that into Game one they're facing,
not the ace of the Mariner staff, not the number
two guy, not the number three guy.
Speaker 4 (48:08):
Guy was hurt this year. But even still, I mentioned
stupidity for a reason because almost.
Speaker 5 (48:14):
Every part of what you're gonna hear from New York
radio is just is this Michael Kay? It's beyond laughable. No,
this is not a Yankees employee, Oh not a Yankees' employee.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
Is this some guy with a bick accent?
Speaker 5 (48:29):
This is some heavy duty rock, solid on point analysis
factually based on what took place in Game one, when
Bryce Miller pitched deep into the game. The Yankees got
just the one hit off of their staff after the
opening home run of the game from George Springer, and
it's kind of a whitewashing for their Blue Jays, very
(48:50):
potent against the Yankees offense when they met up with
Bryce Miller, who of the Mariners.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
So I present you New York Radio.
Speaker 11 (49:00):
They forgot how to hit a baseball, which makes me
think they're probably cheating against the New York Yankees.
Speaker 4 (49:05):
And we're stealing the Yankee signs.
Speaker 11 (49:07):
And I'll go to my grave believing that no credit
they know because the dude started for Seattle last night
was a journeyman, no name their fourth or fifth best picture.
Speaker 4 (49:18):
He was not one of their main guys.
Speaker 5 (49:20):
And all right, so we got I hate whoever that is.
First of there's two people just like us in studio.
They have probably nineteen producers who can't do their jobs.
We have one and he does his job, so we're better.
But the two guys in studio, one guy says something
completely utterly, totally ridiculous and factually incorrect to the nth degree,
and what does the other guy say?
Speaker 4 (49:41):
Uh huh, uh huh, yeah, doesn't stop him, doesn't challenge him,
doesn't say you're an idiot.
Speaker 5 (49:45):
I'm not asking you for the uh Miriam's or Webster's
or the official definition. But journeyman, what do you think
that is?
Speaker 4 (49:54):
Who's bounced around? Bounced around?
Speaker 3 (49:56):
All right?
Speaker 4 (49:56):
So who's the picture again? Bryce Miller, Rice Miller? Okay?
Speaker 5 (50:00):
So how many teams do you think he's been? How
many teams do you think he's pitched for? Maybe I
better ask it a little bit differently. How many organizations
do you think have employed him?
Speaker 4 (50:11):
One one?
Speaker 5 (50:13):
Now, he was drafted by the Marlins, but he said,
uh huh, I'm staying at Blynn. I'm gonna wait till
I get drafted by the Mariners. Glynn Junior College, Yes,
right here in Texas. Yeah, okay, bront him. And then
so in twenty twenty one, he became his first professional
dollars came from the Mariners, the only team that's ever
paid him to throw.
Speaker 4 (50:31):
The baseball and currently pays him to throw the baseball.
What a journey it's been to get there? Yeah, stay there.
Speaker 5 (50:37):
So he's a journeyman apparently, uh huh yeah, so that's
the first part of the nonsense. And you heard the
they must be cheating. I'll go to my grave thinking that,
believing that for absolutely, positively no reason whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (50:51):
And we continue and.
Speaker 11 (50:53):
Toronto, outside of the Springer leadoff home run, didn't hit
the ball last night.
Speaker 4 (50:57):
And I'm saying Mite, Toronto can't hit the ball against
this tool. But when Max Freedi is on the mound, he.
Speaker 7 (51:04):
Couldn't get out of the third inning.
Speaker 11 (51:06):
I made me start thinking maybe we have another Houston
Astros scandal on our hands with those rascals with your
on them.
Speaker 4 (51:18):
It's insane.
Speaker 5 (51:20):
It's absolutely insane, all right, just a caall way in
What do you think about the cheating, cheating, cheating, cheating,
cheating teams, because nobody like, seriously, this is what people
in New York and their fans believe, other than Nick Deturro.
You can't beat us unless you cheat. The Mariners can't
beat us unless they cheat. The Blue Jays can't beat
(51:43):
us unless they cheat. The Astros can't beat us over
and over and over and over and over again unless
they cheat. The Red Sox can't beat us unless they cheat.
The Dodgers can't beat us unless how many more teams
have to beat you till you give this up, till
you let it go. You're losing every single time. Every
single year that Aaron Judge has been a Yankee and
made the playoffs, he has lost an elimination game. He
(52:04):
has been eliminated for the playoffs, all this this era
of Yankees baseball, and every time he's lost, it's been
to a cheater.
Speaker 4 (52:11):
Right, So, sadly this doesn't really surprise me now that
I've rattled more years and seen not only just sports media,
but media in general in this country has no problem
just going on airwaves that are owned by the public,
by the way, and just lying to people because there's
(52:31):
nobody there to stop them. It doesn't matter if you're
talking about the Yankees losing and never winning a championship
since their roided up freak show of a lineup did
so in two thousand and nine. They forget that, conveniently
that they cheated to win their last championship that wasn't
won against plumbers and accountants. But yeah, just go on
the air and lie to make yourself feel better because
(52:52):
you don't like what's going on in the world, or
for in this case, your sports team. It happens every
day in this country, and there's no.
Speaker 5 (52:59):
In We'll take a little bit of time next segment
to see if we can actually piece this all together
so we, like he can go to our grave believing
the Blue Jays cheated against the Yankees to beat them
in the twenty twenty five postseason.
Speaker 6 (53:15):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety case you're wondering,
the answer is no.
Speaker 4 (53:28):
That's the question. I haven't recovered from the absolute stupidity.
Is there more audio like it was? That?
Speaker 10 (53:35):
It?
Speaker 4 (53:36):
Well, you got it right?
Speaker 11 (53:38):
Made me start thinking maybe we have another Houston astra
scandal on.
Speaker 4 (53:45):
Scandle have you lived in my mom's basement in the
Bronx since nineteen eighty five? All right, let's do some thinking.
Speaker 5 (53:53):
What is it we think that the Blue Jays were
doing to the Yankees' pitching staff? Now some similar to
the two scenarios we're talking about. They couldn't hit the
Mariners on one game, and they could hit the Yankees
in four consecutive games in two different ballparks. So they
crushed the Yankees pitching in Toronto in Game one, and
(54:13):
then in Game two they came back and crushed Yankees
pitching in their building. Luis Heal got the start in
game one, Max Freed got the starting game two. They
then went to New York, New York's home park, and
then Toronto scored six runs in one game and five
game five runs in the other. So that's eleven runs
in two games. I think regular season or playoffs, you'd
consider that pretty good offense. Twenty three runs in two
(54:35):
games is exceptional offense. And then one game, one baseball game,
one baseball game. Remember it's baseball. It's not the other
sports where it is kind of the same team every day,
but baseball is different. So one baseball game in Seattle
against Seattle in the same ballpark, you were cheating against
the Yankees' pitching staff.
Speaker 8 (54:55):
Yep.
Speaker 5 (54:56):
So what were they doing with the Yankees in their
building that they no longer did with the Mariners in
their building?
Speaker 4 (55:02):
Is this?
Speaker 5 (55:03):
Well, they're just super familiar with the Blue Jays there
with the Yankees. I mean they play the Yankees thirteen
times a year, seven or six of those games are
right there in Toronto, where they cheat a labor system
against them.
Speaker 4 (55:16):
Well, yes they did, Adam, Well, they would have had
to have otherwise, there's no way they would have won
the division.
Speaker 5 (55:21):
Why do you think Toronto had a better record against
the Yankees this year? Why do you think they won
the season series against the Yankees this year? Because they
were cheating. Because they were cheating. Toronto beat the Yankees
eight times in thirteen opportunities this year because they were
cheating to beat them. Then they beat them three times
in four opportunities when they got to the postseason. When
(55:44):
Toronto and the Yankees got together in Toronto seven times
during the regular season, and Toronto scored eight runs four
of those times, sounds like four times they cheated, four
different times they cheated. Then they went to New York
for a couple of games throughout the year. We're looking
at one run and two runs and four runs and
(56:05):
three runs and what yeah, I mean it is now
making sense. I think my grave will also be filled
with the same thought that the only reason in baseball,
which is a weird enough game as it is, which
is the least consistent from one day to the next
in any sport ever, which is the reason why, yeah,
that's so weird. They won one hundred and five games
(56:26):
this year. Happened they didn't win the World Series. Man
they were the best team in baseball during the regular season.
I can't believe they didn't win the World Series this year.
Speaker 4 (56:34):
It's weird that that happens almost every single season in baseball,
But the Blue Jays are chie. You know what's funny
is it almost sounds like the way his tired cliche
delivery said this sentence. If George Springer was not the
leadoff hitter or a member of the Blue Jays lineup,
(56:57):
it's almost like he wouldn't have even had this theory.
But because he used to play for the Astros, which
was clearly what was insinuated by what he said. I mean,
I think we got another Astro scan here.
Speaker 5 (57:08):
That was I tried to help y'all out and try
to make believe that this is a real thing. But
I gave you numbers, I gave you stats, I gave
you the ballpark, and.
Speaker 3 (57:17):
It is what it is.
Speaker 5 (57:18):
George Springer plays for the Blue Jays. He brought these
hats for several years with him, and six years later
they put it into use. So it's the Yankees. Just
since you said that, and I'm glad you did. And
you know why, I'm glad you did, so, he brought
the system with him from Houston. Correct, that's what you're
across the border, right, I mean he smuggled it in.
They'd also been holding onto it for five seasons without
(57:40):
needing it, and then they put it to use.
Speaker 4 (57:42):
Now. But the system itself is what you talked about, right.
I didn't mishear you. You were talking about the system,
the cheating system. Tried to talk about all this into
the numbers, and I mean it was a waste of it.
You did say, it's a signed George Springer took the
cheating system from Houston to Toronto and eventually it made
its way back to beating the Yankees because he brought
(58:03):
it from Houston. So if he brought it from Houston,
I need to ask you a very important question. How
did it get to Houston? And he brought it there?
Speaker 5 (58:12):
Eest ees t twenty seventeen Houston. It was established in
Houston in twenty seventeen, So Houston, Okay, from the ground up.
Who never came from anywhere else. No other players that
joined the team that year from New York brought it
with him, I promise you.
Speaker 4 (58:27):
So when Carlos Beltron was punished, that's Carlos Beltron r right,
Kansas City Royals. Carlos Beltron, yep, okay, that one well,
and he also played for another team, So you're talking
about Yankees Beltron. No, who you're talking about. He was
an Astro. Oh you talking about Yankee Astros Beltron?
Speaker 3 (58:47):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (58:47):
So clearly Carlos Beltron devised this cheating system back in
two thousand and four when he played for the Astros
after the trade from Kansas City, took that everywhere he
went until he landed with the Yankees, then brought that
here to Houston where he developed it originally. And then
(59:08):
that's when George Springer picked up on things and kind
of took the baton and carried it north of the border.
And that is where the Yankees started losing to his
team that he currently plays for, as opposed to the
Astros team that they lost to all those other times
because they were cheating.
Speaker 5 (59:24):
And that's the only reason I think you kind of
get the gist of this time. I mean, I just
ridiculous scenario.
Speaker 4 (59:29):
Do you know what that sounded like to me? Other
than the fact that it was better Yankees fans who
can't take any sort of accountability for their team's shortcomings,
which I'll tell you something else about that. That's funny.
It sounded like July radio where they had nothing else
to talk about, only they don't have anything else to
talk about because it is July. In October for them,
nothing else is going on unless they were going to
talk about cam Scataby the whole time. How you put that?
Speaker 5 (59:52):
Because I was going to say something similar that sounded like,
you know, what do we do every day? We don't
do it a week ahead of time. We don't do
it a month ahead of time. We don't do it
a ahead of time. We do it every single day.
We do it a day ahead of time. Show ends
today sometime between six h one pm and one forty
five pm. The next day, we put another We put
another rundown together. We put the things we'd like to
(01:00:13):
talk about, some links to articles, maybe some audio from
other states radio stations that need to be played on
the show. This sounds like this is always holstered, permanently.
Holstered has to be what are we going to talk
about in October? It has to be Yankees. Their season
will be over right, We're going to tell you why
they lost again, and it's going to be the same
(01:00:33):
reason every year.
Speaker 4 (01:00:34):
It's the same as what I was talking about with
the news media. The alternative means you have to face reality.
You have to go outside of your little bubble you've
created for yourself and find out that life just isn't
fair sometimes and you just weren't good enough. Regardless of
the situation. I deal with this all the time. I'm
(01:00:55):
telling you, like, I really think the Yankees fit. There's
a whole generation of them. And it's not even like
right to say because two thousand and nine, Okay, that
was that was so long ago. At this point, that's
the last they're slowly becoming the Dallas Cowboys. But even
to the Cowboys fans, aren't this like dense.
Speaker 5 (01:01:15):
Because they know they know why they lost. They have
their own problems. Man, we sure we sure messed that
up in the nicest way I could say it. But
the Yankees so two thousand and nine. So I'm gonna
run through the teams that have been clearly and obviously cheating.
I guess they've been cheating because this is who the Yankees.
These are the teams that the Yankees have lost to.
(01:01:36):
They lost to Texas, they lost to Detroit twice, They've
lost to Boston twice. They've lost to Tampa. They've lost
the Astros once twice, three times, four times.
Speaker 4 (01:01:48):
The wild card game.
Speaker 5 (01:01:50):
Yeah, okay, four postseason defeats. They've lost to the Dodgers. Obviously,
that just happened. They've lost the Blue Jays, that even
more just happened. I mean, they probably can't lose to
the other fourteen National League teams because that would require
them to reach the World Series again fourteen times. But
they might be able to make it all the way
around the entire American League of teams that can beat
(01:02:11):
them in the playoffs before they win again. And here's
the thing, say like, because they're all cheating, right, they're
all cheating, and not the Yankees who have absolutely been shot.
People who want Aaron Boone fired and want Brian Cashman
fired because it's our fault.
Speaker 3 (01:02:26):
We can go back.
Speaker 4 (01:02:28):
Why is Roger Clemens, former huge contributing pitcher to the
New York Yankees pitcher who's not in the Hall of
Fame because of cheating. But it's okay if it's substances
or the cream and the clear or anything. I guarantee
you if Barry Bonds had played for the Yankees and
put up those numbers. They wouldn't give an absolute rats
you know what about cheating of any kind?
Speaker 5 (01:02:49):
Yeah, I think we've bludgeoned this one half an hour's
worth to death. But you mentioned Bonds, and I was
going to think I did. Who belongs in the Hall
of Fame along with Clemens. By the way, Well, I
don't know how this has happened in back to back
rounds of the postseason. I don't know if it's laziness
or lack of creativity. We learned that two different teams
(01:03:12):
call a player on their own team Bonds. Jorge Polanco's
hitting homers like he's never done before. Yeah, and apparently
his teammates call him George Bonds. In the last round,
Carry Carpenter's hitting home runs because he's really good, and
the Tigers call him Carry Bonds.
Speaker 4 (01:03:32):
Is can we?
Speaker 5 (01:03:33):
I mean it's I guess it's cool like Kerry Bonds,
but I really don't like George.
Speaker 4 (01:03:38):
I was noticing last night that George's head looks a
lot bigger than last season.
Speaker 5 (01:03:42):
One of the three home runs that the Mariners teed
off on yesterday. Guess why they're cheating? Obviously, obviously, it
is three point thirty. Guess who else hates the Rockets?
Speaker 4 (01:03:55):
Not me? More positivity from AC this hour, Ah.
Speaker 7 (01:04:02):
The A on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (01:04:12):
You know, I think before we move on and we will,
don't worry. I think what hurts the most me personally,
the Yankees fans did not deserve Derek Jeter. And that
has only solidified itself in my opinion since he retired,
and especially since and again this is just my personal bias.
(01:04:33):
You and I drove up to Arlington a few years
ago for the Alcs, you know, where another guy was
probably doing something not on the up and up.
Speaker 5 (01:04:43):
Well, as you start this whole conversation, you realize, one,
they don't deserve Derek Jeter. Right, one of the driving
forces behind why they have Derek Jeter is your Houston Astros.
Speaker 4 (01:04:54):
Oh, I'm aware, I'm aware. Just for those that aren't,
that's the same. You're welcome. But payback has always been
something that Rhyme's with an itch.
Speaker 5 (01:05:02):
Nineteen ninety two draft, he went sixth. The Astros were
lucky enough to have the first overall pick in the
nineteen ninety two draft. Yeah, they took soon to be
Angels manager Phil Nevin. I mean four other teams also
did not draft Jeter, and yeah he was for the Yankees.
Speaker 4 (01:05:20):
This isn't like a Portland situation. Okay, it's not, Sam Bowie.
Speaker 5 (01:05:24):
Both finished in the top seven for war among players
drafted in the first round that year. So congrats Astros,
you got one of the top seven players.
Speaker 4 (01:05:32):
Yeah, I'm not worried about all that. I just after
deserved Jeter, after meeting him and just being around him
a little bit. The guy's just so like it's not
even the clutch side of things, because I do think
in some ways like his postseason is insane. It is.
Speaker 5 (01:05:52):
I can't not love looking at those numbers, and I
laugh because you look at like the all time home
run leaders in postseason history, and George Springer made his
way up the list again and continues, Kyle Schwarver's making
his way up the list. Means they're getting a little
bit closer to Altuve, a little bit closer to Manny Ramirez,
and a little bit closer to Derek freaking Jeter, right,
and all those four other players' names I mentioned two
(01:06:15):
hundred and seventy, three hundred and forty, maybe four hundred
and five at bats or thereabouts, and Jeter's got seven
hundred and thirty four postseason at bats.
Speaker 4 (01:06:24):
Which is how he got those numbers, which is also
how he gets away with, in my opinion, kind of
being I don't want to say pedestrian, but he's just
he's not like you don't think of him as an
all time great Oh my god, if you get more
he's a volume shooter when it comes to hits in
(01:06:46):
the postseason. If you give a guy enough opportunities, if
he's got like a little bit of talent, he's going
to get hits more often than not. But if you
give him that many Like that's what's so impressive about Altuve.
In some of the those other guys you mentioned, they
don't have nearly the amount of app bats that he does.
Speaker 5 (01:07:04):
He would not be considered all of them would be
considered home run hitters, even Al two.
Speaker 4 (01:07:09):
Yeah, he isn't.
Speaker 5 (01:07:09):
His totals is high because he's he's both been good
in the postseason and has had a lot of at bats.
That's don't don't club this. Derek Jeter's career is Hall
of Fame worthy. Derek jeters postseason career also Hall of
Fame worthy. He's very good postseason player. It's a very
good regular season player. He also played for the Yankees.
Speaker 4 (01:07:27):
So they the team. That's the thing. But here's the thing,
Like I feel the same way about Aaron Judge, not
from the statistical standpoint. I'm just talking about this is
a pretty nice dude by all accounts, who just plays
for the absolute wrong team. Because Jeter, you, I'll put
it this way, there's four guys on that set, right, Jeter, Well,
Poppy A. Rudd, and the host KB. I'd like to
(01:07:50):
hang out with three of them, and Jeter's one of them,
and Poppy's one of them, and Kb's another. You don't
want to hang out with one of the governors of
the NBA, no, because I'm I don't call them that
because I'm not an idiot. That's ay Rod, by the way,
he helps run things in Minnesota for the Tea Wolves.
For those that don't know governor. This is the dumbest
thing I've ever seen in my life.
Speaker 5 (01:08:11):
I mean, Dave Roberts was on there before the NLCS
began and they were talking him about how they gotten
there and playing against the Brewers, and he obviously knew
Derek was there because he prefaced what he was saying, Well,
I hate to do this to you, Derek, but I
kind of don't like the Brewers, Like this is what
the Marlins did to the Yankees way back when. You know,
they do this, a little bit of this and a
(01:08:31):
little bit of that, and that's how they kind of
got past the Yankees. And he went through it all
because the Marlins obviously beat the Yankees and Derek Jeter
in the World Series many years ago. And Jeter came
back and said, well, I appreciate you bringing that up.
Speaker 4 (01:08:44):
I early do. This will be the last time I'll
be talking to you this postseason.
Speaker 5 (01:08:48):
Thanks, Dave. I mean hilarious. He was smiling when he
said it. Yeah, he's just and I think I told
you this story while we were up there in Arlington.
I had a chat with I'll just say it was
a member of their security team that goes everywhere that
that crew goes, and he's a former NYPD cop retired
(01:09:10):
and was so happy to have retired because of what's
going on in the city there. But he was like
he was without saying it, he said basically the same
thing I did. Yeah, there's three of these guys I'd
love to hang out with all the time, and there's
one that's a real jerk.
Speaker 4 (01:09:23):
It does somehow work because I think everybody feels it.
Nobody likes a Rod, and no one likes a Rod
in this business, out of this business. His exes don't
like him. I mean, he is a just a schmuck
in every sense of the term. He played baseball. It's
a better description of Alex Rodriguez than a giant schmuck.
(01:09:45):
He's just not the good nut. He's nothing. I mean,
you talk about people being too orange, and he's got
purple lips, and he's not as likable as me. He
was a liar. He can never be elected president, no way,
no how Like.
Speaker 5 (01:09:58):
I once thought about fifteen or twenty years ago about
the current president, Yeah, why would he want to? I
still like to this day when I mean, I was
in the newsroom having this conversation with somebody over Channel
two and asking him, like, is this for real? He
wants to run for president? He wants to be president
of the United States of America, Donald Trump.
Speaker 4 (01:10:19):
I'll do you want? After everything he wanted to come back,
I know want this. I don't think a Rod will
or wants to run for president. Well, that's good because
he'd be pulling it like less than one percent, I
mean the popular vote, just not that the ecollege.
Speaker 5 (01:10:34):
Could you imagine him on a debate stage, I mean
fun on a debate stage. We've seen it with everybody,
would be no differ. He would get crucified. Maybe No,
you don't know who's on the other podium. I'm whoever
it is, I'm taking the field. They would absolutely decimate
that guy.
Speaker 4 (01:10:52):
He wants no part of that.
Speaker 5 (01:10:53):
What's the line of questioning what are his platforms? Well,
what I'm saying like, what would a Rod's policy be?
Speaker 9 (01:11:00):
Like?
Speaker 4 (01:11:00):
Seriously, I love it. So anyways, I'm glad that the
Yankees are at home. I'm glad that they won't win
a championship anytime in the near future. By the way
I saw this meme, it was talking about al Tuve
and all the hits he'd had that you just mentioned
in the postseason clutch hits, and someone in the comments
was like, and then because the Yankees fans were coming
(01:11:21):
into pile on right, because that's what they do, even
though he's like the one guy just because the cheating
scan that he didn't do it. So you look even dumber.
But it's like, yeah, that's because of all of the
failures of Aaron Judge since becoming the face of the
Yankees franchise, to where when he actually hits gets a hit,
not even a home run. It was just a big
(01:11:43):
hit in what it was at Game four of the
DS this year, Like, oh my gosh, did you see
that swing on that home run? Yeah, nobody talks about
Altuba because he's done, like so many more of those
one off of Eraaldus Chapman. He has quite a resume,
but only because he was alerted by the buzzer that
that pitch was coming, because nobody knew that he was
(01:12:04):
going to throw a hanging slider that he left up
in the zone so that Al two A could smash
it along with their hopes that year.
Speaker 5 (01:12:12):
As we've said many, many, many many times in the past,
this just in Astros are good at baseball the players
that are involved. While they did operate this system, they
were also very good at hitting baseballs, better than most,
which is why all of them have continued to be
very good at hitting baseballs, including al Tuove and his
outstanding postseason career. All twenty seven of those home runs
(01:12:36):
in the postseason. I mean, does Judge having the postseason less? Okay,
it's a little bit less than that, less than Jeter Still,
as a matter of fact, I guess maybe we'll find
out next segment.
Speaker 6 (01:12:45):
Yeah, who else hates the Houston Rockets the eighteen on
Sports Talk seven ninety. Well, I've been told that someone
else hates your Houston Rockets. I mean, WEX has been
(01:13:08):
trying to get to the story for like three segments now,
but it was just so much fun piling on the
Yankees and their lack of success since the Obama administration
that I just had to get in there as much
as I could.
Speaker 4 (01:13:19):
It's fun very much as I know.
Speaker 5 (01:13:21):
The math behind the presidential time periods uh huh, it's
either four or eight each time. I would never be
able to reference anything based on who was in office
at the time.
Speaker 4 (01:13:32):
Well do you think that it's been a long time
since the Reagan administration? Well, yeah, he got shot. I
remember that that was early eighties. You know, he's not
the only one that I'm not going to do it. Yeah,
but that's the gag exactly, that's the eighties. Yeah, I
know that you can't say, well, it's been since the
Bush administration, because people would be like, which, right, I
can't Well, I can't say that because I wouldn't really
(01:13:54):
know when I was talking twelve years of Bush in
this country? Awesome? When was that twice? I know that?
But when bridge the late eighties to the early nineties,
and then Bill took over freight and then he had
eight more of w okay? So who else hates the Rockets?
I don't know. Let's find out.
Speaker 5 (01:14:14):
There are a lot of ways to forecast what's going
to happen this upcoming season. I think the best way,
as always is watch basketball and then analyze it. Talk
to some of the people that maybe you know a
few things, maybe get some intel from those that are
in different places covering different teams, and come up with
your own ideas. We won't go full blown NBA predictions
the way we did with the NFL. When we get
to the season next Monday and Tuesday, the last two
(01:14:37):
days of next week, that will be before the NBA
season begins, but we'll give you some thoughts on where
we actually think the Rockets will finish, what their postseason
will look like, how many first team, second team, third
team nods this team will get on the respective ops
that they have defensive team all NBAC and things like that.
But everybody else has their means of doing so. And
(01:14:58):
this is the point in time where we got to
get that out there, get people talking, get people thinking
about your NBA season, which is now just hours away
from being a week away. Seven o'clock of next or
six o'clock next week will be full blown into pregame
Rockets and Thunder. So I'll take you to the athletic
(01:15:18):
I'll take you to former NBA executive and huge believer
in the numbers. The peer and the Hollinger numbers have
become a thing. So we're talking about John Hollinger, and
I've tried to figure out the best way to present
this headache inducing material for you. I think I'll start
this way. Fifteen teams in the West. We rank them
(01:15:39):
where we think they will finish, what their regular season
record will be. Obviously, the Rockets fit in there somewhere
between one and fifteen. We'll start from the ground up.
Oh good, We're taking it down to the studs and
then building it back up. The five teams that will
not participate in the play in tournament in the Western Conference.
You think you could guess who those teams are and
(01:16:01):
try to match that up with what Johnny H thinks
in the West. Yes, we're not talking about the East
at all in this segment or maybe ever again.
Speaker 4 (01:16:10):
I will go with Utah.
Speaker 5 (01:16:13):
Utah is expected to land fifteenth out of fifteen, win
twenty three times.
Speaker 4 (01:16:18):
I will go with Portland. Portland is expected to finish
fourteenth and win thirty one times. I'm two for two
climbing the charts. I'm gonna go with Sacramento.
Speaker 5 (01:16:31):
The Pelicans are expected to follow thirteenth and win thirty
two times.
Speaker 4 (01:16:35):
The Kings. I heard what you said. Why did you
say the Pelicans because I missed, Yes, you missed, that
was my next guest. Okay, well, don't guess them again
because they're thirteenth.
Speaker 5 (01:16:43):
Okay, even with Zion's Kings are eleventh. So that is
one of the five thirty six times. Who's the other
team in the West according to Johnny H. That will
not be a part of the play in tournament Memphis.
How about Jay Green's Phoenix Suns. I could see that
thirty five wins for Phoenix, They'll finish twelve, So that's
(01:17:05):
the bottom five. That's eleven through fifteen. That's not very
good basketball. That's no postseason of any kind. Even the
playing tournament is the Memphis the next team. Memphis is
the next team. They are tenth, a thirty nine win team. Pause,
Maybe don't trade your second best player. Considering your guesses,
we've named six of the fifteen. You feel like everything's fine,
(01:17:27):
your blood pressure's fine. Where it sounds like it makes sense?
Speaker 4 (01:17:30):
Right, they're all in. Whether you prefer agreement or agreements,
one of them is a made up word, but I
don't discriminate.
Speaker 5 (01:17:37):
Yeah, I think that's where we're all on the sage.
I watch basketball, John watches basketball. I make some beliefs
about what I think is going to happen, and we
happen to agree on it. Two people with functioning brains
in the conversation. Okay, so Memphis makes the play in tournament,
but they don't even win half their games. They win
thirty nine times. Who slides just ahead of them forty
one wins, forty one losses. Ninth best team in the
(01:17:57):
Western Conference not San Antonio, but you're extremely close.
Speaker 4 (01:18:03):
Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks.
Speaker 5 (01:18:04):
They're both in Dexas, so You've got a forty one
win Mavericks team maybe maybe not makes the playoffs, but
they're a playing tournament team.
Speaker 4 (01:18:12):
Uh, they sit in the ninth spot. And then San
Antonio is eight.
Speaker 5 (01:18:17):
So now we've got one through eight. Now we're going
to go in reverse order. So who's the top team?
Either way I go, the segment is going to blow
up immediately. If I tell you who's number one, You're
going to want to I don't know what what it's
something bad.
Speaker 4 (01:18:34):
That you would like to do. Leave which one of
the which one of the mic or something is getting
it by with this. This is a very heavy it's
full of water. Nah, we'll be fine, we'll hear that.
We'll start at the top. Who's going to be number one?
I mean you would assume it's the Thunder sixty six
wins Thunder team, they're number one? Okay, who's number two?
Speaker 3 (01:18:51):
Why?
Speaker 4 (01:18:51):
Why would that upset me?
Speaker 5 (01:18:53):
Defend one's not going to upset you, and you might
be okay after that, but I doubt it. Who's number two?
Rockets finished numb to last year?
Speaker 4 (01:19:00):
Denver.
Speaker 5 (01:19:01):
Denver is not number two. Denver is not number three.
Denver is number four. Fifty win team Okay, Denver ahead
of or behind the Rockets information I'm withholding what stupid
company number two or number three at your disposal?
Speaker 4 (01:19:18):
Who would you like to guess? I was not Houston
because obviously is worse than the Thunder.
Speaker 5 (01:19:24):
This fifty four win team, second best team in the West,
finished second. And it's not Denver, most pleasant Ria, that
is incorrect. It's Chris Paul's team, the LA Clippers. Okay,
I mean somebody's drunk. This is the number two squad
in the West, the Clippers. The Clippers.
Speaker 4 (01:19:43):
So we got okay, see defending champs at number one. Yep,
Fine with that, yep. Then miraculously, fat suit and old
guy get back together and they're the number two seed
in the West. The only thing dumber would be putting
the Golden State Warriors next. They are next, of course,
because we got a we gotta make betch happen. This
isn't even the mast one of the day. Steph Curry
(01:20:04):
is going to be basically metaphorically dead soon, but he's
definitely going to have a top three seed next year.
Speaker 5 (01:20:12):
Now, I will tell you that it's not where the
Golden State Warriors are predicted to finish that is going
to make you most bad. Oh my god, so Denvers fourth.
Speaker 4 (01:20:19):
Who's fifth? It's got to be the Lakers, right because
some you know what riding Lebron's fan. It's Minnesota Chimberwolves.
Forty nine wins. Who's number six? Let me rephrase what
I was going to say, the Lakers are ahead of
the Rockets. Who's number six? Say the Lakers? The Lakers.
(01:20:40):
The Lakers are number six.
Speaker 5 (01:20:41):
That's forty seven wins for the Los Angeles Lakers, the
second best team in LA real quick, stop before you
go any first, just remind people of what we have
not done yet.
Speaker 4 (01:20:49):
We haven't gotten to the Rockets.
Speaker 5 (01:20:50):
Have not gotten to the Rockets. Give the defense in
the NBA, we've given you one through six. We have
not gotten to the Rockets yet.
Speaker 4 (01:20:57):
Give me the win totals very quickly again, going from
one to six.
Speaker 5 (01:21:00):
So far again, sixty six, fifty four, fifty one, fifty
and forty nine at least Lakers at forty seven.
Speaker 4 (01:21:07):
From that standpoint, they have tightly compacted the winds. So
this is a lot like last year's very much so,
where the Rockets were number two, but it was like seven,
not the Rockets.
Speaker 5 (01:21:16):
That is correct, We'll give you more of that, he
also has he hasn't listed the Spurs yet either, So
I guess you guys might have been able to.
Speaker 4 (01:21:24):
Take the library this play, because now I'm gonna get pissed.
Speaker 3 (01:21:27):
No.
Speaker 5 (01:21:27):
I specifically chose this in the one of the two
segments where you do not, and that is one of them.
Right here the four o'clock hour, and a final thought
on what the Rockets seeson will look like according to
John Holliger.
Speaker 7 (01:21:40):
Next the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:21:49):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named at him talking your team.
Speaker 7 (01:21:56):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the team.
Speaker 4 (01:22:07):
It is the four o'clock hour. Here on the A
Team Sports Talks seven to ninety, wex ac Cole Thompson
with you as we take you until six o'clock tonight,
and following that very shortly, you'll have Rockets preseason game
number three pretty much doesn't matter, apparently, according to John Hollinger,
because they shouldn't even play their season. They're barely accepted
(01:22:29):
into the league because they're so bad. After obtaining Kevin
Durant and putting him with the mix that has not
given up a core that includes Alpreham, Shingoon, Amen Thompson,
and a smattering of other casts of characters, plus Dorian
Finney Smith and one of the most elite head coaches
in the NBA that forces you to play defense or
you don't play. But all that aside, they suck. According
(01:22:50):
to John Hollinger, one of.
Speaker 5 (01:22:51):
The biggest questions of the offseason is whether Houston leaned
too hard into the two center front court that gave
some of its best minutes in the twenty twenty five playoffs. Yes,
the trade for Katie is the headline move the Rocket
Saw season for obvious reasons. But when the game start, I,
John Hollinger, AM going to be wondering about the functionality
of their huge playing rotation. They already employ an all
(01:23:14):
star center in Alpi, traded for Durant, who's best suited
at power forward at thirty seven, but that didn't stop
them from also signing Steven Adams for three years thirty nine,
Mels signing DFS for four years and fifty four, extending
Jabari Smith Junior for five years one twenty two, or
signing Clint Capella for three years and twenty one, or
adding Jeff Green.
Speaker 4 (01:23:34):
For insurance that's just the beginning of the write up. No, no, no, no,
that's just the beginning of the drivel.
Speaker 5 (01:23:40):
This is a team that also employs three mean, tough
wings with iffy shooting profiles, often produced their best minutes
as undersized power forwards.
Speaker 4 (01:23:50):
Tarry, Jay Shawn and Josh Okogi.
Speaker 5 (01:23:53):
Finally, the team's best young player, Men Thompson was the
starting power forward for much of last season.
Speaker 4 (01:23:59):
Half, Oh, exactly does this work? I mean, does he
watch basketball or does he?
Speaker 5 (01:24:05):
Just like especially now that the one good guard on
the roster, Fred van Vliet is out for the season.
Speaker 4 (01:24:12):
Oh, he was the only good guard. Huh, the one
good guard on the current roster, Fred van Vliet is
out for the season. Okay, In today's NBA, first and foremost,
and he should know this because he's mister analytics, it's positionless.
So and then Thompson's technically a guard if he wants
to be, and he will be, at least from the
(01:24:33):
traditional sense of the point guard brings the ball up
the floor. Like, all I hear about all the time
is you can't have enough interchangeable wings. Three and D
three and D three and D that's all they have.
Speaker 5 (01:24:47):
That's I mean, that's his point, and he thinks it's
a well, he thinks it's because they don't have anything
in the in the actual creative set up the offense
somewhat traditional sense of a point guard.
Speaker 4 (01:24:59):
Also boh, he thinks that having too many bigs who
can play in what they try to do is a
bad thing.
Speaker 5 (01:25:06):
Apparently, so rockets at Spurs in the playing tournament to
see which one of them gets number seven and which
one of them is relegated to playing the winner of
the nine to ten games.
Speaker 4 (01:25:18):
Okay, look, I'm not trying to be mean here. I'm
really not going to take a personal shot at this
guy hessilarly dropped on his head multiple times as a child.
Speaker 5 (01:25:27):
Forty five wins is number eight. We mentioned this earlier.
It's not that far from the team at number.
Speaker 4 (01:25:31):
Two ASA nine that they won't have fifty plus just
by playing the East alone. So again back to the
number of this. Guys think that like Atlanta is going
to be the number one seed, like everybody else who's
stupid that's writing about basketball here in October.
Speaker 5 (01:25:46):
Told you for the purposes of the Hollinger article. When
we get to the simulations, we can talk about the Hawks.
But we're not talking about him here.
Speaker 4 (01:25:53):
I mean, I genuinely want to walk up to him
because he'll be at Toyota Center at some point this year.
Maybe well, if he's smart, he wants but if he
shows up, shows.
Speaker 5 (01:26:02):
Face because he wrote an article saying they're going to
public after writing that, I'd be fine with it.
Speaker 4 (01:26:08):
I wouldn't have written it. I mean, I want to
walk up to him and be like, seriously, how many
times there only were you dropped on your head? They're
only nine wins away from the two seed, right, I know,
but we can't give that to anybody that's not named
Oklahoma City, Golden State, or of course the vaunted LA Clippers,
who probably uh should have Kawhi Leonard taken away from
(01:26:29):
them because they signed him illegally to an endorsement deal,
not according to the league. Just yet, you're right the
commissioner who's been completely paper thin soft as charman about
this whole thing. Like, I guarantee you, if it wasn't
a team based in LA, he wouldn't be singing that song.
Speaker 5 (01:26:45):
Also notes in a Lakers write up, adding Marcus Smart,
Jake Lavia, if nothing else, that should give the Lakers
seven guys they can more or less trust in a
playoff game before things go off a cliff. It also
gives them a bit more resilience to survive Lebron james
absence in the opening weeks of the season.
Speaker 4 (01:27:03):
Lebron James's absence, which is going to lead to the
sixth seed? What all?
Speaker 5 (01:27:08):
Almost every article that's written, they don't get the NBA
at all. They're not paying attention to what the NBA
is like. The Thunder and the Rockets were in a
class all by themselves last year. They were the only
teams that seemed to have value in trying to win
every game, trying to land the number one seed, and
they had it for such a long period of time,
(01:27:28):
and then the overall number one and winning sixty six, seven,
sixty eight games, whatever total Oklahoma City could get to.
They were kind of hell bent on getting there. The
Rockets played to win every night. The Rockets tried to
not be a forty four win team. They could have
coasted a forty four wins no problem and hit the postseason.
They tried to win every night. They out played teams,
They played harder than other teams on a night to
(01:27:49):
night basis. Most of the rest of the league, especially
in the West recently and definitely in its upcoming season,
those teams goals don't match what you're trying to say.
Denver's not going to try to win that that number
of games because who's on their roster. The Lakers are
gonna try to win that number of games. They can't
first of all, but they're not gonna try to either
the clip. None of these teams are going to be
putting everything they have into the first eighty two. They're
(01:28:13):
gonna put everything they happen into being prepared for the
next opening series of the playoffs. Nobody's gunning for these
win totals to try to get some seed that doesn't
exist in the West End.
Speaker 4 (01:28:26):
It's just like the positions I was just talking about.
And let me do this because we're on camera. I
don't want to be like you know, told I'm a homer,
So let me cover up all of my biases that
I'm wearing today since I'm decked out head to toe
in rocket gear. You had a rockets pull over. But
now what I want John Hollinger to see this somehow
you're an idiot. I'm not either kidding like it's not personal,
it's just factual, because that's not what he's dealing in here.
(01:28:49):
He's not dealing in reality. What he's writing doesn't even
make sense for just like you said the other teams,
like you just got done saying that, I don't know
how this is gonna work. So they're gonna be the
eight seed or the night is it the ninth seed?
Eight seed? Ok, it could be the ninth seed because
they're in the playans right, Thank goodness. I'm so glad
that he didn't put them outside of the traditional top
eight teams that make me play slided.
Speaker 5 (01:29:09):
Maybe in a simpler way, you put the Olklahoma City
Thunder a side. The Rockets were a fifty two win team,
not far off from all the other teams. We've gone
over this a million times. Fifty two to forty five,
forty six wins. That was the whole Western Conference postseason picture.
It's not a big difference in a number of wins.
But what you're saying here is the Clippers and the
moves that they made. Adding John Collins, Brook Lopez, and
(01:29:30):
Bradley Beal elevates their team as the Rockets slide down.
By adding Kevin Durant and Chris Paul and Chris Paul.
Speaker 4 (01:29:38):
Because he said that, like he's like, it's like it's
twenty eighteen again, while they add Kevin Durant while losing
Fred van Vliet, Jalen Green and Dylan Brooks. Look, I mean,
I get it if you want to, like say, I'm
not as high on the rockets as I was going
to be because they lost Fred van Vliet. Perfectly valid
opinion to have. In fact, I would agree with it.
You can't. You just can't put them in the same
(01:30:01):
on paper, you know, vaunted elevated status as you would
have if he was running the point, completely valid, understand it, reasonable, logical,
all of the things that don't apply to anything else.
He wrote. I just this is it's almost as bad
as all these people forcing the Golden State Warriors upon us.
(01:30:22):
Where and we'll get to that. The fact that there
is a six in front of their win total according
to some people, because what you've got a full year
of Jimmy Butler with old Steph with old Raymond.
Speaker 5 (01:30:34):
Biggest example outside of the Lakers of that team, under
no circumstances, there's not a single set of circumstances that
will play out in the NBA this year that you
could tell me that's going to result in the Golden
State Warriors playing good enough, healthy enough, and hard enough to.
Speaker 4 (01:30:49):
Win sixty four sixty, It's not. It cannot happen. I
will not happen. I feel like I have to say
this because it's just inain to me. But I know,
as much as you want it to be the case,
there is no way in the name of Gavin Newsome
that this should have so much California all over it.
They're not that good. It's the Lakers suck. The Lakers suck.
The Clippers have a ton of question marks, not the
(01:31:11):
least of which is their best player is just this
side of Zion Williamson completing a season than James barely.
But I'm saying, like, how many games everybody's talking about.
Kevin Durant's not going to play sixty games, and so
Kawhi Leonard's gonna play what fifty five, and that's gonna
definitely give them the two seed. I mean, if you want,
(01:31:33):
if you want to, because you have to, you just
can't stop worshiping at the altar of the Warriors. Fine,
good luck with that. I really I'm just I'm waiting
for a Jimmy Butler led team to just wow me,
because it hasn't happened yet, and it's not going to
now that he's even older than he was the last time.
He didn't do it. But you're right, Warriors, they're the best.
(01:31:54):
I can't you can't do this as a straight face.
He has to be laughing at us, right, because he
knows what he did, because he knows it's so stupid
that somebody made him put this in a public, publicly read.
People are going to see this article that's out there.
This is in the Athletic, right. Yes, well, I'm sorry Chandler,
but I've just canceled my subscription. He does note that age,
(01:32:15):
you get rid of Netflix, you get rid of the Athletic.
Everything that's going to lie to you or lead you
down a bad path, you just get rid of it.
Cut it out like a cancer. He does note that
age is a big concern for who the Warriors. Okay,
but does he know that he him.
Speaker 5 (01:32:32):
At thirty number three, Butler's thirty six, Draymond's thirty five,
and they've added thirty nine year old Al Horford.
Speaker 4 (01:32:39):
But hey, it's a concern, but to be fair, WEX
they re upped with Jonathan gaminga who definitely wants to
be there, and they definitely want him there.
Speaker 5 (01:32:47):
I mean, he's almost as good as an and as
important as Pajemski.
Speaker 4 (01:32:51):
Hey, we're about to find out just how good of
a coach Steve Kerr really is in his final season.
He's out and he's never been a good coach. He
got his fingers have things on them? Yeah, not many
other coaches do. He couldn't even repeat. He couldn't even
repeat seventy three wins and couldn't even win.
Speaker 5 (01:33:13):
In the show we do run through the ESPN simulated
NBA season, it'll be a repeat of this, but worse.
Speaker 4 (01:33:20):
Nobody else do it, Nobody else that has things on
their fingers ever, blew a three one lead in the finals.
Chump jump yikes, Well he's not schmuck like a rod.
But all the names are today, all day today, I
will call you names. I will do it.
Speaker 7 (01:33:35):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (01:33:45):
Perceived a text message during the break, shall remain anonymous,
what a tool? Tell WEX, thanks for raising my blood pressure.
I had to pull over and punch the air. Look
what you're doing to people and your coworkers.
Speaker 5 (01:34:01):
Rockets and Pelicans tonight, the eighth best team in the
West set to play their first neutral site game of
the preseason, Houston Rockets at the Pelicans. What are your
what are your Dallas boys think of this? Did they
this didn't get them involved? Theyre probably giddy that they
were ninth. Do they think that Cooper Flag has split
the atom? Oh my god, did you see one of
(01:34:23):
the highlights from their game last night? It could have
been awful fast break turnover by whoever Dallas was playing
point guard leads the break. Cooper Flag was following the play,
jumps up, throws the pass back to Cooper, who easily
grabs it and throws down a vicious slam. The ball
goes through the net so fast it landed underneath Cooper
(01:34:45):
Flag and he landed on it. As he came down,
his foot landed on the basketball. And so a Mavericks
fan or somebody from Dallas posted has said, I thought
the whole season was already gone. And he got up
like nothing happened, Like he didn't twist, his angle, didn't sprain,
his angle, didn't even fall down all one.
Speaker 4 (01:35:00):
It's wild.
Speaker 5 (01:35:00):
I don't remember ever seeing a player land on the
basketball he dunked.
Speaker 4 (01:35:05):
Well, I'm I'm just surprised that it didn't make its
way over to Anthony Davison in his season, because that's
actually more likely.
Speaker 5 (01:35:11):
And additionally, they just finished up the Phoenix Suns were
playing their games overseas internationally here this preseason and Dallas's owner,
you know, the guy that's going to move the Mavericks
to Vegas because he's all into gambling and everything, and
the non Mark Cuban, right, he said that I can't
wait for next year when the Rockets and Mavericks will
(01:35:34):
be over here playing basketball.
Speaker 4 (01:35:36):
Is that true?
Speaker 5 (01:35:37):
Are you breaking news here? Well, he broke it, and
it was posted by where were they international reporters?
Speaker 4 (01:35:43):
Where are they playing again? Macaw? Not China? The last
time the Rockets played internationally it was China.
Speaker 5 (01:35:49):
Yes, they also had different players on the team. Yeah,
they were in China. These games were in China. Yes, Okay,
those players are now on the Clippers and they're the
number two seed. According to Hollinger, idiot I tagged him,
I hope your response get him on the show call.
Speaker 4 (01:36:05):
It's I got so many people to yell for it
all the time.
Speaker 5 (01:36:09):
It's exactly what is asked for when articles like this
are written, not that they're wrong.
Speaker 4 (01:36:14):
I can't help doing it on purpose.
Speaker 5 (01:36:16):
In this case, there's thirty NBA teams, thirty NBA markets,
thirty hopefully at least thirty sports talk radio stations.
Speaker 4 (01:36:23):
But I get what you're wanting to do is you
want to stir the pot. You want to have discussion
and debate. Don't you want to be right? Exactly? I don't.
There's no way this lik right. Can the Rockets finish
with it?
Speaker 5 (01:36:33):
Can Can these two through eight in the West finish
within nine games of each other like they did last year?
Speaker 4 (01:36:39):
Right, It's very possible, very possible. But but the way
he's dismissive of them in putting them at the eighth spot.
Speaker 5 (01:36:48):
Yeah, he's had actually some other podcast appearances and just
to give him discussions. He he's he really believes what
he's saying about. I don't like the construction of the
current team. I like the fact that they have all
these draft ass and other players. If they and this
is all related still to the Van Vliet unexpected absence,
he still believes they have the means to tell everybody
(01:37:09):
in the West to look out. In his mind, they're
not there, but they could make a deal that would
then say, Okay, this team, it's over for everybody else
outside of the thunder Well.
Speaker 4 (01:37:18):
And I've said this, like, I do believe there is
a scenario, and you could even say that it's likely
just based on what we have seen, which is very limited.
You know, resume if you will, of the of Reed
Shepherd if it's not going well. But I hesitate to
(01:37:40):
even say this because if it's not going well, I
just can't see that it's Reed Shepherd. That's the reason
for that. He just seems like so far down the
list of reasons why it wouldn't go well, Like even if.
Speaker 5 (01:37:52):
He's if Reid isn't the answer if Reed doesn't play
his way into twenty to twenty five minutes a night,
if he plays his way and we can't playing for twin, Okay,
that's gonna derail, right, Crockett.
Speaker 4 (01:38:03):
So if Aaron Holliday is your starting point guard, I'm
just throwing a name out there that plays. You're telling
me that Aaron Holliday, as the by far fifth best
member of a starting lineup, is not going to be
able to hold his own with Alpera and Shingoon, Kevin Durant,
Amen Thompson, like whatever combination of in Jabari Smith Junior, whatever,
(01:38:27):
whatever combination of players they have out there. And and
the other part of this is, if anything, slide signing
Clint Capella means we're just gonna switch up whatever double
bigs we're throwing at you tonight and keep them healthier
and fresher, which I thought was the reasoning behind Kawhi
Leonard's whole way of going about things. You know, Kawhi Leonard,
(01:38:48):
the guy that's on his number two seeded, I.
Speaker 5 (01:38:50):
Think concerned with John and other people that the double
big lineup was more of a nobody was ready for this.
They found something they now no, not that but that
it's not going to have its unbelievable success rate for
the course of a season and a postseason. But rather
it's something the Rockets found last year. They obviously saw
how much it worked well, was worked against different teams,
(01:39:13):
so they continued to do it during their one postseason
series where you could I think we would both agree
it did work there too.
Speaker 4 (01:39:20):
Yeah, the biggest reason of the Rockets couldn't win in
a seventh game is not because of Jalen Green having
a disappearing act for six out of those seven games,
not to mention the fact he's talking about a guy
who did this well before he got to the Rockets.
Steven Adams is a net positive in every sense of
what you're expecting a big to do on this team.
This is not a gimmick that the Rockets accidentally stumbled
(01:39:42):
upon last year. They traded for him when he was
unhealthy so that they could get what they got last
year the year prior. Like this is chess and he's not.
He's not computing it because again dropped on his head.
I'm convinced of it. No playoff predictions accompany it, of
course not. Why would you want to be done more
than you already are?
Speaker 5 (01:40:01):
Like I said, when we get to the simulation article,
there are plenty of postseason I need to take some
blood pressure matter. I don't want to do it back
to back. I don't think you can handle it. I'm
not here to make something bad happen. Should we do
some NFL power rankings to like bridge the gap?
Speaker 4 (01:40:16):
More of the same. That's not going to get me
all upset. What am I going to say.
Speaker 5 (01:40:22):
And he thought about it. We've talked about it already
quite a few times. Week six finished up last night.
The Bills were the last AFC team to have a game.
They lost their four and two. All those foreign two
teams sit behind the Colts, the Chiefs at three and three,
also ahead of Houston.
Speaker 4 (01:40:38):
That's eight teams.
Speaker 5 (01:40:40):
Their record says they're ninth in the AFC, somewhere in
that same neighborhood overall, eight or nine teams in the NFC,
similar spot. So, if you power rank the NFL, where
do you think the Texans probably fit? Where do you
think they are? How many teams have played better football
than the Texans to this point? Where do you think
they should should be right now, six weeks in five
(01:41:02):
games in probably somewhere in the bottom third eighteen So
the bottom third of thirty two it's a little cloudy.
Speaker 4 (01:41:10):
Well, I don't want to say bottom fourth, that's just
mean well, that's where the offensive line.
Speaker 5 (01:41:14):
That would be twenty five to thirty two. Mathematically, that
would be easy to compute.
Speaker 4 (01:41:17):
I like that. Well, I'm giving them a little bit
more credit since they their defense is go awful.
Speaker 5 (01:41:22):
Bottom third means well, there's ten teams there's ten teams,
and probably the bottom third is the bottom twelve teams,
the twenty one through thirty two.
Speaker 4 (01:41:28):
That stinks, and i'd put them probably somewhere near the
top of that bottom third.
Speaker 5 (01:41:35):
Okay, so they're eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth in varying submissions range. Yes, sir,
I don't think there's anything to get upset about with
where the Texans are for what they've done this season.
Then three well played games, so to speak, that came
out on the wrong end of it, games that they
could have won in the fourth quarter. It good teams
would win at least one of them. If you're gonna
(01:41:57):
go one in five, two and seven, zero for whatever,
in close games, you stink. You're not a good football team.
If you can't win a close game some of the
close games, you're clearly not a good team. When you
win the majority of the close games, it's not usually luck.
And I know these numbers do tend to sway back
and forth year to year, but it's just it's not reality.
Speaker 4 (01:42:16):
Reality.
Speaker 5 (01:42:17):
You're the team making the plays. That's why you're winning
these close games. Why are the Bucks five and one?
Not because they're so much better than everybody else, it's
because they are making the plays at the end of
the game. In three straight weeks against three different teams,
the Rams, the Bucks, and then the Jaguars, the Texans
win all three of those games. If they're the team
that makes one play maybe in each of those three
(01:42:38):
games three plays total, but the other team made them
they lost all three.
Speaker 4 (01:42:41):
That is why when you're just stripping everything away and
you say, well, they're probably near the top of the
bottom third because they did, as you just mentioned, lose
to I'm convinced I haven't seen this list that those
three teams are definitely in the top third. They're probably
in the top fourth one. Okay, that's the best team
in the NFL according to this power ranking.
Speaker 5 (01:43:00):
The Rams are seven, so top ten two playoff teams,
Jacks Jaguars aren't quite as lofty.
Speaker 4 (01:43:08):
They're fifteen, only a couple spots. Three of those games
are not only one score games. One of them is
a one point game, and it's arguably the best of
those three in the Bucks.
Speaker 5 (01:43:17):
Yeah, until you find them in these games more and
I'm I think best case scenario is there in one
this weekend. I think it's very similar unless the injuries
finally catch up to the Niners. The Fred Warner injury,
which we have not discussed, seems like it could be
a crippling one for a team that leans on him
so heavily, both as a football player and as an
emotional leader. And it's just one of a thousand injuries
(01:43:38):
the Giant or the Niners have suffered so far. And
that's who they get after Seattle. I told you already,
they got to win two of the next three. They
got to get to four and four, in my opinion,
playing at three and five, playing behind the you know
you've lost more than you've won for that far into
the season. The idea that you're going to put it
together for a longer stretch of games.
Speaker 4 (01:43:57):
Reality, after this weeky're gonna play a team that's giving
up a ton of points. I don't know what's going
on with the forty nine ers, but they like to
give up a ton of points lately. They're they're they're
very of the twenty twenty five NFL season Barry Baltimore esque. Well,
their players aren't there, That's what I mean. Neither were
the Ravens when they played them. Their players were there.
Speaker 5 (01:44:19):
The first four weeks of the season when they were
giving up billions and billions of points.
Speaker 4 (01:44:23):
Yeah, but I'm just saying when the when the Texans
played them, they were a shell. Yes, for sure.
Speaker 7 (01:44:29):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 1 (01:44:35):
This is Adam and Adamsweekly chaunned through mind bockling moments
that make you.
Speaker 2 (01:44:40):
Go say what.
Speaker 4 (01:44:44):
What? What?
Speaker 8 (01:44:45):
What?
Speaker 7 (01:44:47):
Ted Water?
Speaker 9 (01:44:48):
Is there?
Speaker 8 (01:44:49):
What are you talking about?
Speaker 3 (01:44:50):
Man? On a Tuesday? Very what odillion?
Speaker 7 (01:44:53):
I dare now say what?
Speaker 4 (01:44:58):
I mean? I did not inten to do this, but
just I don't know.
Speaker 5 (01:45:01):
Maybe it's as Costanza would say the opposite, it's it's
not you, it's me.
Speaker 4 (01:45:06):
I think it is you, it's not me.
Speaker 5 (01:45:08):
I've got so many things I want to bring up
here with say what, but I do think they are
more of the same. And I did this to you
the last time you had a Rockets game. This is
only your second Rockets game of the preseason and last
I'll have my number two on Thursday.
Speaker 4 (01:45:22):
Yep, I kind of made you lose it.
Speaker 5 (01:45:25):
And I didn't want to do that, knowing you had
to get in the card right down to Toyota Center
and handle business. So I'm not trying to do that
tonight when you have to walk across the hall and
do the Rockets game and handle business. But yep, quickly
on the second thing that you know, say what should
be audio related? You know we're on the radio and TV,
but say what initially is going to start with with baseball?
Speaker 4 (01:45:47):
Okay, So.
Speaker 5 (01:45:50):
The two games of the American League Championship Series that
have been played, there were clearly some instances where I
don't know about that call at home plate and you're
already hearing from the in game announcers, the national announcers,
more than even the locals that are still doing it
on radio. Oh yeah, so we missed that pitch just
because the pitcher, the catcher, everybody watching, and the hitter
(01:46:13):
all knew that was strike three and he was headed
back to the dugout, but the umpire didn't. They're acting like, oh, well,
that'll be fixed next year. They'll just tap their helmet.
Speaker 4 (01:46:23):
This is the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (01:46:24):
You're limited on the number of challenges you're allowed to
get wrong before you have none left. Are you really
using a challenge in the first inning of a game,
in the second inning of a playoff game with twenty
one more outs to go, twenty four more houts to go,
I really think we're overestimating how many of these botched calls,
(01:46:45):
very badly called balls and strikes are going to get overturned.
With the helmet tap and the ABS challenge system that
will be in place both for a regular season and
for the postseason beginning next year, I'm hopeful they'll be
so bad at their calls that teams will be that
confident that they're going to win it and thus not
lose one, because apparently, according to what was written, it
(01:47:07):
is unlimited as long as you're right, there's no well,
you've already gotten five in a row right with this
terrible umpire, so we got to cut you off. There
is no cutoff. If you're right, you keep going as
long as it's necessary and as many pitches as you
still feel that need to be challenged. So Doug Eddings
was behind the home plate in the last game, and
there was several of these calls that were definitely not
(01:47:31):
good or correct, not good or correct, and the upscorecard.
Speaker 4 (01:47:36):
For it showed those numbers.
Speaker 5 (01:47:37):
But Eddings was, according to one of these sites that
they analyze put through the ringer the calls and how
they rate among umpire ninety two umpires in baseball, he
was thirtieth in correct call percentage behind home plate. Doug
Eddings' that's not even bad. That's in the top third.
We're just talking about good, bad, and ugly thirds of
(01:47:58):
the NFL power rankings. One of the best thirty out
of ninety plus umpires. You're fine, send it behind the plate.
Game three tomorrow, Mariners, Blue Jays. They'll have the twenty
first ranked umpire behind home plate should it reach game five.
In games four, in game five, we'll have a pair
of umpires and back to back games, maybe elimination games.
(01:48:23):
Oh good, with an umpire ranked eighty fifth out of
ninety two and eightieth out of ninety two. So the say,
what is there are two series going on right now.
You put six umpires on the field for each of them,
plus an alternate, that's fourteen umpires. You managed to not
(01:48:46):
select one of the eighty four umpires that are better
than him out of ninety two to be in the
rotation to call balls and strikes in this particular series.
I don't care how many crew chief assignments he's had,
how many years he's been a crew chief. If he
can't call balls and strikes, he cannot ump in the postseason,
certainly not when we're down to just meeting fourteen out
(01:49:09):
of ninety two to work.
Speaker 4 (01:49:12):
Are you kidding? It's not a surprise though, because this
is again and this goes for all the leagues, So
I'm not just picking on Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred.
Speaker 5 (01:49:21):
And as always I have to say, this is an
outside online social media ranking of umpire's ball strikes, not
the official MLB UA or Major League Baseball, which gives
you a plate the size of Afghanistan or Nepal or
Antarctica to grade out your umpires on whether or not
(01:49:44):
the ball crossed home plate those countries.
Speaker 4 (01:49:47):
Those are varying degrees of size. I mean, Antarctica is
a huge plate, but I tried to fix it at
the end. Now some guys it feels like they do.
I mean, look, we're grading out this umpire and he
was one of our best umpires I played. You are
one of the key words we're grading our own. I mean,
the outside entity is exactly what you need. That's why
(01:50:08):
they bring in arbitrators to do contract.
Speaker 5 (01:50:11):
You mean, like what happened with the Giants the other
night with the unaffiliated doctor checking out Jackson Dart, Yeah,
unaffiliated doesn't work for the Giants, doesn't work for the
Dave All was telling him, it's like it's unaffiliated, So
an unaffiliated source grading out on pars is obviously not
happening now, Too much happier and frivolous news. Not to
(01:50:36):
incite anything because an individual did lose his job, and
so did his dad. The only two coaching changes made
on the Titan staff were if your last name is Callahan,
you don't work here anymore. Brian Callahan, the head coach,
was fired after winning four times and twenty three chances,
and they parted ways, according to interim head coach Mike McCoy,
with his dad, who was their offensive line coach, very
(01:50:56):
well respected offensive line coach, Bill Callahan, but also was
in charge of a less talented group and in other words,
an awful group. The Tennessee Titans offensive line under Bill Callahan,
mostly due to talent, was got awful. But I don't
really think that's the reason they parted ways. I think
they parted ways because he probably didn't want to work
where his son was asked to no longer work. He
(01:51:17):
probably went to work there because his son was asked
to work there and now he's leaving for the very
same but opposite reason. So Mike McCoy, he is the
interim head coach that was finally announced by the Titans.
The Titans sent two people to the podium last night
to answer questions after they fired Brian Callahan, neither of
whom were the owner, and everybody knows it was the
owner's decision, so they were questioned on why she wasn't there.
(01:51:40):
But McCoy met with the media earlier today.
Speaker 4 (01:51:42):
And you know me, what do I like to do?
Watch press conferences like a freak.
Speaker 5 (01:51:46):
I watched Coach Mitchell and Coach Sampson YEP for Cougar's
Women's and Men's Media Day earlier today, and then I
had a little bit of time prepping for the show,
making graphics, hanging out looking at a simulator NBA seasons,
wondering when I should splot it into make your head explode.
And I watched a little of Mike McCoy because I
wanted to hear his thoughts and hear his exact words
(01:52:08):
on why coach Callahan wasn't there, and most of the
other stuff is typical. It's a great opportunity we need
to do this better. But he did talk to what
kind of football they need to play, and it's the
same thing everybody says. You'll hear him talk about complimentary football.
And then he briefly addressed the fans and had a
rather unfortunate slip of the tongue.
Speaker 8 (01:52:27):
It's country football, and that's you know, sticking together as
a football team. But when you play contentery football and
you help each other out, good things are going to happen.
So to the fans, hey, we're gonna go out there.
We're gonna fight our tails off and get rolling.
Speaker 5 (01:52:41):
So next time you want to Mick to speedily say
fight our tails off, be very careful when you say it.
Speaker 4 (01:52:47):
Even the first word in the sentence said speedily wasn't
prepared to mesh those words. Why can't he say complimentary?
Why is that to be con I mean, I kind
of cut off the very very beginning. No, he did
it twice. He's played again.
Speaker 8 (01:53:01):
It's country football there, that's you know, sticking together as
a football team. But when you play contentry football and
you help each other out, good things show to the
fans out there, we're gonna fight our tails off and
get rolling.
Speaker 4 (01:53:15):
I mean, this guy is gonna fart his way to
playing cumriray football now his first time as a head coach.
He's been bad at it before, bed playoffs sin his
first year and then fizzled out over the final three.
They said, get lost. Well, I think I asked you
this question yesterday. What could the Titans do to make
somebody who's of any sort of substance want to come
(01:53:36):
coach them? Pay them? That's one way to do it.
Speaker 7 (01:53:41):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (01:53:56):
It is the a team Sports Sox seven ninety, Space
City Network winding down the four o'clock hour. As wex mentioned,
Rockets basketball coming your way in a little over an
hour and a half ish some change like that, maybe
more like two hours. It's getting closer and closer. By
the way, do we know if Kevin Durant's playing tonight
at all? That information has not been disclosed yet because
(01:54:21):
it'd be really it'd be a really mean trick if
the Rockets sent out that Instagram post they put out
there about an hour or so ago with him shooting
a fade away. Well, it's the.
Speaker 5 (01:54:32):
Same thing he did the other night when you were there.
He participated in his pregim warm up and then he
played same thing he did the day when I was there.
He did his pregame warm up and this is also
shoot around that they're talking about. The morning shoot around. Yeah,
and then he didn't play. I think they're the idea
is that they're going to use different looks over these
two games. I don't know what that entails in terms
(01:54:52):
of who's available and who's not. I would be surprised
if Kevin Durant's preseason was already over after one game.
I do believe he will be Oh yeah, no, I
could least one of these two games, if not both.
Speaker 4 (01:55:03):
But I wonder if, like he plays tonight and then
that's it.
Speaker 5 (01:55:06):
I mean, I don't really honestly, I don't really see
the purpose of this location. They're playing in Birmingham tonight.
I'm pretty sure Birmingham, Alabama is going to be the
home for an NBA team right around never It's nice
to have some fan interest. It's nice to send your
games to places where they won't have an NBA team,
I suppose, but I don't really look at it as
(01:55:28):
a man. All these people spent their money to go
see Kevin Durant. I really don't think that's what's happened.
I don't think the Rockets are paying much attention to
that anyway. He's on the road trip, the first road
trip this team has taken. They'll go from here to Atlanta.
In that they are going to Atlanta tomorrow before they
play Thursday. Javari Smith Junior is going to have his
high school jersey retired.
Speaker 4 (01:55:49):
Awesome at this Javari Smith Junior was a good basketball
player in high school. Yeah, I can imagine he might
be low key like the dark horse for most forty
six win Rocks. What are you gonna? What are we
doing the entire NBA season simulated football at five? We can?
(01:56:09):
I thought for football at five we would check in
with some of the things that Texan said today.
Speaker 7 (01:56:13):
We might do that.
Speaker 5 (01:56:14):
There's just one thing to note, very very very minor thing,
but I'm sure it will make people pequk their interest
a little bit for whatever reasons. The time spent in
Baltimore for CJ. Gardner Johnson was one week. He was
signed to the practice squad.
Speaker 4 (01:56:30):
A week ago.
Speaker 5 (01:56:31):
He has been released from their team set off the
practice squad. According to his agent through multiple reporters, this
was a mutual decision in that they had actually traded
for a safety right around the same time they signed him.
That safety was obviously on the active roster. The need
for him to find his way or the avenue for
him to find his way to their active roster, well,
(01:56:51):
it obviously became more difficult since they traded for a
player they must like more than him at the same position.
So they agreed to let him go find work elsewhere
if he can.
Speaker 4 (01:57:02):
I assume he can.
Speaker 5 (01:57:04):
But it is noteworthy and it's not normal. You're six
weeks into an NFL season. Next week is Week seven
and a player that was just on a super Bowl
team and is healthy is looking for team three in
week seven.
Speaker 4 (01:57:21):
It's I just can't believe that that's where this went.
And it's not just him, it's it's the trade of
Kenyon Green. Those guys are essentially not out of football.
But well, Kenyon Green was not released from the Ravens
practice squad today. He still remains and that's astounding to me. Well,
what they both bound up in Baltimore totally different.
Speaker 5 (01:57:43):
I know one player is good at football, are good
enough to be on a super Bowl team and multiple
playoff teams and has earned his way into starting for
several teams, and the other one isn't good enough to
make a roster be on the field. You know, that's
a mistke again, that is that on it's on the
it's on the g The GM made a mistake. Yeah,
and that's it happens. But yeah, he's just not he
(01:58:04):
hasn't proven to be good enough in two places, Houston
and Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (01:58:09):
Ravens.
Speaker 5 (01:58:09):
I'm not sure what his future holds there, and there's
probably thinks he knows he can get better at that
are areas of I can get better at that, But
at some point you just get to a spot in
your career.
Speaker 4 (01:58:20):
Well this is where it ends. I mean, I'm sure
you can.
Speaker 5 (01:58:23):
You're talking about sixty nine player rosters now, nice sixteen
plus fifty three. Every team is employing sixty nine players.
That's a lot more jobs, even at lesser pay, on
the practice squad than there used to ever be in
the NFL. And then irs with the eligibility to return.
Teams are obviously using that a little bit more than
they would have, you know, ten years ago. So there's
(01:58:44):
a lot more jobs out there for players that quite honestly,
if this were fifteen years ago, they wouldn't even have
this opportunity. They wouldn't be on a roster, they would
be out of the NFL completely.
Speaker 4 (01:58:54):
Let me ask you this. I don't know how the
rest of the season is going to go, but I
kind of want to ask this independent of what the
Texans record ends up being, because if they record ends
up going south, you could see a scenario where they
part ways with Nick Cassio. But let's just say they
finish five hundred or maybe a game above something like
(01:59:15):
eight and one. Yes, well, they're gonna who are they tying?
I don't know. That's the only way you can finish
five hundred in the NFL anymore. Well, you know what
I mean? Five hundred Jeff Fisher esque. Yes, and say
Nick Cassario is still calling the shots when the draft
comes around. If he were to trade out again and
not pick an offensive lineman in the first round, like,
(01:59:36):
would they burn the stadium down? Uh? Probably not? Why not?
Speaker 5 (01:59:41):
Well, they didn't draft an offensive lineman in the first
round this year, and yet they found someone who's probably
a cornerstone player.
Speaker 4 (01:59:47):
I think six week season, it.
Speaker 5 (01:59:52):
Looks like they added two plus starters. Ed Ingram and
Tay Nursery kept one plus star Harder because as a tackle,
Titus Howard has been above average this year. He has
played the position very well. Now you got the other
two spots to fix, and you don't take those players
in the first round. Well, there are offensive linemen. Aren't
(02:00:14):
automatics to be found in the first round where the
Texans would normally draft. They are, you know, the twenty
one through thirty two range playoff teams totally normally they
take an interior lineman. I do just because of what
we're talking about. Mistake made on draft day. Remember back
to the Titus Howard year. Pre Casio, Oh, I can't
believe they're taking Titus Howard. Why not Andre Dillard? Andre
(02:00:35):
Dillard's looking for work, He's going on tryouts. He is
not with an NFL team. And I just told you
and Demiko actually said something about Titus earlier today at
the end of his press conference.
Speaker 4 (02:00:45):
Titus is playing the position very very well. That was
a good pick.
Speaker 5 (02:00:49):
A good player to extend a bad player to keep
begging to play everywhere on the line because you can't
get the rest of it fixed. You imagine what Titus
Howard might be as a right tackle. If this was
the position he'd been playing the past five six years,
you'd know what body weight he needs to be, He'd
know everything about it. He'd be the leader of this
offensive line, would have been a bigger leader on the
offensive line even with Laramie Tunzel out there.
Speaker 4 (02:01:09):
But nonetheless that's where he is today.
Speaker 5 (02:01:11):
A couple of other notes elsewhere, kind of as expected,
but I still don't have any definitive word from the
Colts yet, either I've missed it or that and said it.
They did have to put Anthony Richardson on ir with
the eye injury suffered during pregame before their game on Sunday,
so they're looking for quarterback, potentially someone who used to
play for the Texans. Sadly, Jeff Driscoll among those that
(02:01:33):
worked out there yesterday, we never got to this Texans.
Normally every team does this, so that's not anything out
of the ordinary. They worked out a couple of tackles,
two tackles that have plenty of starting experienced, two tackles
that used to play for the Jets and for the
Tennessee Titans, so they weren't good enough to make it
(02:01:54):
on two of the worst offensive lines in football, and
that if you don't understand what's available on the street,
that's what's available on the street. That's why it's difficult
to make changes in season if you're not making a trade.
It's why the Texans traded away Cam Robinson's why teams
are looking for that. It's why trade still could happen,
not necessarily for Houston at the offensive line. But that's
(02:02:16):
how you're going to get better in season, not through
Oh my god, look who they worked out today. Yeah,
non NFL players. That's what you normally work out during
the season. Full on, Football at five.
Speaker 3 (02:02:26):
Is next.
Speaker 1 (02:02:28):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety, Adam Clinton and
Adam Wexler are the eight team.
Speaker 4 (02:02:46):
That music can mean only one thing. It's time for
football at five. Which, by the way, did we ever
when we were looking at the power rankings? Did we
ever get to where the Texans actually are? Funny?
Speaker 7 (02:02:59):
Okay, so it was so I was dead on.
Speaker 4 (02:03:01):
It's what I said.
Speaker 5 (02:03:02):
You had a right right where they ought to be
and where they the person who visited ESPN Power rank
is right where they had them as well.
Speaker 4 (02:03:09):
But they've dropped after not playing from a week ago.
They were eighteen. Well, some of the teams behind them
won their games, and I guess impressive enough fashion. All Right,
this game, this upcoming Monday night, I have a bad
feeling about. I'll just go ahead and put that out there.
Three and a half point dogs. That's actually good news.
(02:03:32):
It's a little surprising if you asked me, well, they
that means somebody likes the Texans chances an awful lot.
Speaker 5 (02:03:38):
It's just you know, neutral feel. That means they favored
the Seahawks, but not by very much, which is surprising.
I mean, I'm trying. It's the same thing I did
last week with the Longhorns game turned out to be
completely wrong. But I didn't think there's any real actual
basis for it. And it's not monetarily based. It's not
(02:03:59):
money's coming in for the timing of it, where the
line officially just kind of drops as the week ends,
and that's where we are right now. So I'm a
little bit surprised by that. I don't want to paint
a picture of the Seahawks being some overwhelming, unbeatable force.
Clearly that's not who they are. They've lost twice, and
even in the last two weeks they have not been
very consistent. A team that gave up thirty eight points
(02:04:21):
of the week prior than this past week, they were
able to hold down the Jaguars to just twelve points.
A lot of secondary pressures in that. Trevor Lawrence, I
don't think is I don't think he's quite as good
a quarterback as Baker Mayfield is. And I think the
Texans know that firsthand. For is as close as they
came to beating the Rams in Week one, and that
(02:04:41):
they had the ball in the red zone at the
end of the Dara play before he fumbled down five
the final two minutes as close as they came to
beating the Bucks. Similar scenario, you ended up scoring, and
then you all you had to do is keep them
from going all.
Speaker 4 (02:04:58):
The way down the field and scoring.
Speaker 5 (02:05:00):
It's not those extremely close and late games that you
could have won that have me more upset. It's just
losing the Jaguars in general, and similar one score game,
but circumstances weren't quite as right down to the wire
as they were in those two games. But it's that
game that stands out because they just they're not as
good of a team at four and two Jags four
and two Seahawks they just played, so we already have
(02:05:21):
the answer, but they don't. To me, aren't even remotely close.
And that's with recognition. The Jaguars defense is good. I
think the Texans defense can be better. But I do
like what the Jacksonville defense tried to do against the Seahawks,
if not for one, you know, the way Lilliam Cohen
described it. They got caught in a bad defense for
what the Seahawks called, which is why they gave up
(02:05:42):
the sixty one yard touchdown to Jackson Smith and Jigbut
but I mean, he just ran straight down the field
into an open space and nobody went with him, and
he scored. I don't know what his explanation was for
the other billion catches and thousands of yards he had
that day.
Speaker 4 (02:05:56):
But that's the challenge. Seattle is a beatable team, but
the Texans have to show that they can beat a
beatable team. They've beaten two teams that can't win. They've
not beaten a competitive, beatable team yet in three tries,
but they've come close. They again, they're a competitive team. Right.
You keep scoring for a reason. I keep going back
(02:06:18):
to this such a because the first three games of
this season are such a moral victory conundrum. I hate
moral victories. I hate not moral victories.
Speaker 5 (02:06:27):
Moral victories are like, we're not very good, but by
some miracle, we show that we can play with this team.
They didn't show that they could play with Tampa. They
should have won the game. Their defense, the best part
of their team is on the field. Don't give up
an eighty yard touchdown drive and you win.
Speaker 4 (02:06:44):
Yeah. No, I agree with that. I agree with that
from that standpoint going into La I just they were
driving to win that game. They I mean, I don't
know how.
Speaker 5 (02:06:56):
Again, the Rams were driving to end the game and
as He's all show here, forced a fumble, so then
you got a chance to drive to win the game.
And then they did the same thing to you, force
to fumble. They're all gut punch losses.
Speaker 4 (02:07:11):
I don't know. The Jacksonville game, I just felt like
they looked uneven the entire afternoon.
Speaker 5 (02:07:16):
That's why lifeless. That's why I describe it as the
one that stands out the most. I'm they could have
and maybe you could say should have. I wouldn't won
either of those first two games, but good teams prevent
that from happening to them. The Rams made a play
the punch out that wins them the game, Baker Mayfield
not getting sacked on fourth and ten. That that was
the play that I think won them the game. Which
(02:07:37):
play did Jacksonville make to win them the game? They
just got to kind of goof off with the Texans
for forty five minutes and play with their.
Speaker 4 (02:07:44):
Food and beat them, and they just happened to have
more points at the end. Yeah, it wasn't special, and
I don't view them as a special team. And I
recognize the plays that Lawrence made in the victory over
the Chiefs in the fourth quarter, two really really good
throws on their final drive, and it was kind of
a mirror that he fell down on the game winning
touchdown run, fell down twice and got up and scored
(02:08:04):
on that play. But has changed my opinion of how
he's played this year and each of the years prior.
He's not a top quarterback. He doesn't play like a
top quarterback. He doesn't see the field like a top quarterback.
And there is there are a few people that hit
me back on the socials when I posted all those
numbers about what the Seahawks defense to did to the
Jaguars last week with those seventeen hits and the seven
(02:08:25):
TFLs and the seven sacks and four for sixteen on
third down four yards per play. These were all the
last of those numbers. They were all Jaguars worsts of
the season, and they've played the Texans defense. But many
people hit me.
Speaker 5 (02:08:37):
Back saying, well, don't you realize a lot of these
sacks were for this reason and a lot of these
pressures were for that reason. And the reasons they're saying are, well,
that's because Trevor Lawrence is back there, and when he
was supposed to drop back and hit this guy running
a slant over the middle, he doesn't. When he's supposed
to drop back and look here and then here's your
next read, he doesn't do that.
Speaker 4 (02:08:55):
So he held the ball for a long time.
Speaker 5 (02:08:57):
He had time to throw, longer than the average time
to throw for any quarterback and for him, but it
will still would result in then a calculated pressure and
ultimately seven times a sack.
Speaker 4 (02:09:08):
It wasn't.
Speaker 5 (02:09:09):
I'm not trying to tell you the Seahawks defense was
an unstoppable pass rushing force, but you can't have seventeen
pressures You can't have a fifty percent pressure, right, You
can't have seven TFLs if you're not doing something well upfront,
and it will again, maybe not the most dominant game
you're gonna see, but it's a task for a Texans
(02:09:32):
offensive line to withstand what they're going to bring upfront
from a pressure standpoint, because they're one of the few
teams that doesn't have to and they might this week
because it works against Houston. They don't have to bring
extra rushers. They're rushing for as much as any team
in the league and it's working. And usually when you
only have to rush four, that makes the rest of
your defense that more much more difficult to overcome against Houston.
(02:09:56):
If you can get pressure with four, you do.
Speaker 7 (02:09:58):
You do that.
Speaker 5 (02:09:58):
But if you know you can get pressure because they
can't handle the stunts the games and then delayed blitzes,
you're gonna do that too.
Speaker 4 (02:10:06):
And on the other side of things, it's funny because
before the BUYE they're gonna play Baltimore and they were
talking about trying to spell Lamar Jackson, who ended up
not playing. But you can't do that. You don't have
anybody on your team that could have done that even
if he had played. I'm not saying that they have
Jackson Smith and Jigba on their team, but at least
(02:10:28):
they have Nico Collins. And when you're going to go
up against as you put it earlier, and I agree,
he's the best wide receiver in football this year, at
least you do have your defense going up against the
talent that you could say is on par or at
least in that tier of receivers. You might have Derek
Stingley Junior as healthy as he's been in a month. YEP.
Speaker 5 (02:10:46):
Presumably the time off helps. It's kind of a tough
injury because you're playing football and it feels like every
time you land in an awkward way, hit a guy
in an awkward way, get hit in an awkward way
from your core, you're just gonna have it's going to
sting a little bit, or it's going to remain injured,
or it's going to get re injured because it's essentially
that core area that oblique So that's always going to
(02:11:09):
be a concern. But they're especially defensively right now, at
least it's a healthy team. You might have Jalen Reid back,
you might have Denico autry at least as an option.
Neither one of them have had their have been taken
off ir both of them had their practice window open
now fourteen days ago. So asked about that today, Demiko
Rans gave the obvious answer, We'll see how the week goes.
(02:11:31):
They're not pressed into needing either one of them because
they have depth currently at both spots, even without C. J.
Speaker 4 (02:11:38):
Gardner Johnson. I think they feel like they're okay at safety.
Speaker 11 (02:11:41):
MJ.
Speaker 5 (02:11:41):
Stewart has not been picked on, has not been shown
to be some sort of weak link in the brief
time he's been out there as the starter so far.
So I don't think they're super concerned, even against this team,
and this is one of the teams you maybe should
be concerned. I think it's more Bullock's responsibility this week
how they'll deploy their safeties. But I mentioned it quite
(02:12:01):
a few times earlier today and will do so throughout
the rest of the week. You have to be concerned
with the big play. I mean, they're count on one
hand how many times the Texans have been beaten over
the top this year pretty much none. I don't really
consider that Brian Thomas play beaten over the top. That
was more of a twenty twenty five yard route that
he turned into a fifty yard game. But that's what
Seattle will want to try to do with what Sam
(02:12:24):
Darnold likes to do with their offense, and it is
clear who he's going to want to throw the ball to.
It's not easy you know what's coming. Same thing as
you mentioned on the other side. Do you think the
Seahawks know that the Texans want to target Nico Collins
eight to ten times?
Speaker 3 (02:12:36):
They do.
Speaker 4 (02:12:38):
It's just not that easy to stop.
Speaker 5 (02:12:40):
There's so many I do love one thing about Nico's abilities,
and I like something that both Bobby Slowch did last
year and Nick Cayley is doing this year, and most
teams seem like they're starting to do it in this
day and age in the NFL. These guys don't have
one position. It says wide receiver. You line up three
wideouts on a big chunk of your plays, there's a
guy on the slot. It's the outside receiver over there.
(02:13:02):
They play all the positions, They run all the routes.
These bigger, taller receivers in twenty twenty five, they run
all the routes.
Speaker 4 (02:13:10):
They line up all across the field.
Speaker 5 (02:13:11):
They create mismatches that maybe would not already otherwise have
been there for those players. And if they don't, well,
then they're creating a mismatch for somebody else. And you're
gonna see some other player on your offense, whether it's
what he marks, whether it's Nick Chubb, sometimes it's going
to be Christian Kirk that are gonna have. There's gonna
be a linebacker against them. There's gonna be a mismatch
they want to take advantage of because the defense had
(02:13:34):
to choose how they want to defend Nico Collins.
Speaker 4 (02:13:37):
Well, like I said, I got a bad feeling about
this game, but it has a whole lot more to
do with what the what the Texans may or not
be able to do on offense. And I do think
very strongly it's gonna be the Texans defense that is
going to be the reason they win this game, if
they go into Seattle and win in a place that
they've never won before, although they haven't played that many
times there before. All Right, for the second time in
(02:14:00):
as many hours, I think Wex is gonna try and
make my head explode. We'll see next.
Speaker 7 (02:14:07):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 5 (02:14:14):
Look a reminder coming up in the final segment of
the show about half hour from now. The payoff on
this tease your opportunity to win some tickets. Got a
pair of tickets to see the Cougars play some football
The five and one Cougars mentioned that earlier. We have
tickets to go see them this Saturday eleven am game
over TDCU Arizona is in town for U of H homecoming.
(02:14:36):
You can get tickets at uchcougars dot com slash tickets,
or you can call for tickets at seven to one
to three go Koog's come early, be loud where red.
We'll give those tickets away in the final segment of
the show five forty five or so. We also have
a pair of tickets to the Never Ending Nineties with
Ezra ray Hart be playing December thirteenth at the Smart
Financial Center that can be found in Sugarland. More deats
(02:14:59):
on that and how to win those tickets. Thanks for listening,
which is technically exactly how you win the tickets. Between
now and then, I'll ask you something in the final
segment of the show that's been discussed here in the
five o'clock hour, you'll know the answer because you love
the A team and your ears were on and you'll
know the answer. We'll ask you for that.
Speaker 4 (02:15:16):
Then, Is this the moment that we've all been waiting for?
Speaker 5 (02:15:20):
Yeah, the last they needed to have their entire season
simulated by the only people qualified to do so. That's
ESPN simulates the NBA season. I don't know if you
want me to get into the particulars exactly how that
is done and what exactly they needed to do the numbers.
They're looking at the process that Kevin Pelton, ESPN analysts.
Speaker 4 (02:15:42):
That's with the right up for this. It's a simulation.
It's not his thoughts. Unlike earlier this week when you
freaked out about it. It's a little bit different. Like
Jerry maguire on his way easing out of the office,
what did he have his fish? He flipped out in
that case though, Yeah, rightfully, so you know he knew
(02:16:03):
nobody wanted to go with him after that mission statement
fiasco until he got the fish and they and Renee
Zelwiger did go with Come on, you know what her
name was, Come on, Dorothy? There go Dorothy Boyd, high
powered super sports agent and his new wife Dorothy. What
(02:16:25):
do you have against the name Dorothy.
Speaker 5 (02:16:28):
Well, it's more of a where are I know this
wasn't a super recent movie, but I also know it
didn't come out in the nineteen hundreds exactly.
Speaker 4 (02:16:35):
Come on, now, I know one Dorothy in real life,
and I adore this woman. Well, I'm not saying that
her entire family, but you're right, it's not a common
name here in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 5 (02:16:44):
And not only that, after he said, well, that's John
Travolta's wife. We don't need her my go ahead and
get with Dorothy.
Speaker 4 (02:16:53):
Well it had never been better until it wasn't quite
a scene none, even if he had got her the ring.
She wanted, Well, hello, all that is there, Bruce Springsteen
and everything you complete me.
Speaker 5 (02:17:04):
So we have completed the circle of trying to make
your head explode by bringing you the simulation outcomes what
might happen this year. They've given us who's gonna win
us certain specific games, like opening night, Oklahoma City's gonna
beat the Rockets. They have given us what record your
(02:17:24):
team will have at different points in the season. Twenty
three games into the season, the Rockets will be thirteen
and ten. Forty five games into the season, they'll be
thirty two or fifty four. Games of the season will
be thirty two and twenty one. And then I wanted
to get to at the end of the season. I'll
give you this from the postseason, because this gives you
postseasons as well. Simulated the entire season, the top two
(02:17:45):
seeds from both conferences will reach the conference finals. The
top seed from each conference will reach the NBA Final,
and that will give us our NBA champion.
Speaker 4 (02:17:56):
How do we get there? How shalky of them?
Speaker 5 (02:17:59):
Yeah, well, that's what the simulations do. You would not
expect too many upsets. However, there are some postseason upsets.
The Western Conference's sixth seed will beat the three seed
when we get there.
Speaker 4 (02:18:10):
But we got to get there. How do we get there?
Speaker 5 (02:18:12):
Ac Two of the five teams we talked about earlier
from Johnny h are in fact going to simulate themselves
to be in the bottom five, just Utah, New Orleans.
Three different teams are simulated to miss the play in
tournament entirely. Two of them are from Texas. Spurs, MAVs,
and Lakers, along with the Pels and Jazz via the simulation,
(02:18:36):
do not even reach the play in tournament, nor should they.
The Lakers are thirteenth in the fifteen team Western Conference.
You liking what you're hearing so far, don't you? I
mean so far thirty six and forty six. Last year,
teams two through eight were separated by four games. Fifty
two win Rockets, forty eight win Grizzlies. The Blazers make
(02:18:59):
the playoff. They're the eighth seed. Sons and Kings are
nine to ten. They're playoffs playing tournament bound. The t
Wolves are seven. Those are your floor playing tournament teams.
Rockets are up a couple of spots, but down a win.
A forty four and thirty eight Rockets team will be
the sixth seed in the West, four games back of
(02:19:19):
the Clippers, three games back of the Grizzlies, four games
back of the fifty five win Nuggets Clippers. The Clippers
only won forty eight games more more than the Rockets,
just like last year, same spot.
Speaker 4 (02:19:32):
So this isn't at least Hollinger hype.
Speaker 5 (02:19:35):
Now we're the top two seeds in the West, the
same top two as the Hollinger We'll call it the
Hollinger Report.
Speaker 4 (02:19:41):
Uh huh.
Speaker 5 (02:19:42):
Oklahoma City in at fifty eight wins and the number
two seed in the Western Conference. So that I just said,
fifty eight wins not good enough for the number one seed.
Golden State is the number one seed in the simulations.
A Golden State team with four key rotation players thirty
(02:20:03):
five and older, Curry Green, Jimmy, and Al Horford, they
have eight seed at best written all over them.
Speaker 4 (02:20:09):
Sixty three wins. They only play eighty two times.
Speaker 5 (02:20:12):
They're only going to lose nineteen times in an extremely
important eighty two game regular season. I mean, that's what
the simulations are telling me. The Golden State Warriors, who.
Speaker 4 (02:20:24):
Did they get that? I don't know. Michael Jordans prime.
Speaker 5 (02:20:26):
At last year's deadline and had a very nice record,
a pace that would put them as a six a
pace over a month and a half, over barely over
a third of the season. That would put them at
a sixty win pace, which has now been extrapolated and
simulated to the entire season. The sixty three win Warriors.
(02:20:47):
Is that what the record was last year? If you
were to extrapolate it, it would have been I believe
it would have been sixty four wins. Actually, okay, sure,
sixty three and nineteen. Best team in the West Okay,
they will like Oklahoma City in their opening round playoff series.
Oh good, the Rockets will be the team that upsets
the Nuggets, so they get to play Oklahoma City in
(02:21:07):
the second round, where they will losing seven games. Warriors
will tell the Kings goodbye, Then they will tell the
Clippers goodbye. Then they will tell the Thunder goodbye, and
the Warriors dynasty will reach the NBA Finals, where they're
going to lose to Palo Benco in the Magic.
Speaker 4 (02:21:25):
Right, this team that supposedly put together better than sixty wins,
only losing nineteen times the entire regular season in the
vaunted Western Conference is going to roll over and die
to the Orlando Magic. Yeah, the best team in the
East in what they do, thee win magic right in
a weaker conference with absolute dregs of society, both always
(02:21:50):
there and then ones created by catastrophic injuries, multiple they're
only going to manage fifty seven wins being in that conference,
but they're gonna beat the Golden State Warriors.
Speaker 5 (02:22:02):
So in my opinion, and you haven't even looked at
the East, so you don't know this. The West and
the East, the thirty two to thirty teams that were
evaluated via the simulation. I think the team they are
badly overrating is obvious the Golden State Warriors. I think
the team they are badly underrating is the twelfth seeded
Detroit Pistons, missing the playoffs winning thirty six times.
Speaker 4 (02:22:24):
Okay, the Pistons gave the Rockets problems last year. They
gave their postseason opponent problems last year. Oh, you're right,
the Orlando Magic. Yay Orlando.
Speaker 5 (02:22:36):
How many wins is Cam Whitmore's Wizard's team going to
get via the simulation?
Speaker 4 (02:22:42):
Well, since this thing is completely out of whack, I'm
gonna say like thirty less, twenty five less, seventeen less,
fifteen less. Oh my gosh, they're the worst team in
NBA history. They're gonna win twelve times. No, they're not.
They're gonna lose seventy times. They're in the East. They're
gonna trip and fall into twenty wins simulations. I don't
want to put too much into it.
Speaker 5 (02:23:03):
I did not make his head explode, but I wanted
to pass along the information to AC and the rest
of everybody out there. We've got a week to go
to until the NBA season begins. We actually get to
see what these teams look like. I think we have
a much better idea of what they're going to play
like than some of what we have discussed today.
Speaker 4 (02:23:16):
I think that's rather obvious. You didn't point out the
best part of this drivel. What's that the top two
seeds in both conferences advanced in round two for a
second consecutive year. The thunderneeded seven games to reach the
conference finals, but the Rockets pushed the defending champs without
injured point guard Fred van Vliet. Will it be bach,
(02:23:38):
Durant said in a somber Houston locker room.
Speaker 5 (02:23:41):
That's the best part about a simulated article. They simulated
locker room comments from a team that got ousted in
the West only the semifinals.
Speaker 4 (02:23:49):
I mean only in the West, not the East. That
we didn't get any fake quotes in the East.
Speaker 5 (02:23:53):
Will be back, Durant said in a somber Houston locker
room if you missed.
Speaker 4 (02:23:57):
That, also, no fake quotes from Orlando after beating the
Warriors in the NBA Finals. Look, I know that he
didn't do this, it's just his name on it. But
Kevin Telton is an idiot, and I said it last
week and I'll say it again because nothing has changed
to make me think anything other than him being one
(02:24:19):
of the biggest idiots at one of the biggest platforms
on the planet in sports.
Speaker 5 (02:24:24):
Note this is not my prediction or ESPN's of how
the season will on FAD. You know, we got to
that last year simulation. Take it easy, But okay, he's
still the one write license. He's still the one writing
all this stuff. After the simulation, ye making up Kevin
Durant quiltz Right, they didn't simulate those. It's him being him,
(02:24:48):
big dumb idiot.
Speaker 7 (02:24:52):
The on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 5 (02:24:59):
Halfway through the far hour of the program, we have
reached in case you missed it. In case you missed it,
we will be giving those tickets away in the final
segment of the show. In case you missed it, we
got one baseball game tonight, Dodgers trying to take a
two games to none lead over the Brewers off day
for the American League.
Speaker 4 (02:25:17):
In case you missed it.
Speaker 5 (02:25:18):
An hour from now, we'll begin coverage of Rockets Pelicans
from Birmingham, Alabama. MT and AC have that for you
this evening, and then one preseason game will remain coming
up on Thursday. We're a week out from the regular
season opener in the NBA, and for you, Houston Rockets
Tuesday of next week Rockets at Thunder for the non
(02:25:39):
simulated but actually played NBA season that's on the horizon.
Speaker 4 (02:25:44):
What do we have in case you missed it today?
Speaker 9 (02:25:45):
Cole Well, you guys also missed that we have three
awesome games tonight between Liberty and New Mexico State, South
Alabama and Arkansas State, and Western Kentucky takes on Florida International.
Speaker 4 (02:25:57):
I need help, I really need actual awesome game and
Liberty should not be in the same sentence.
Speaker 9 (02:26:03):
How dare you say that that it Jamie Chadwell squad?
How dare you ty Kenzok Texsons Dimiga. Ryan's earlier met
with media was asked about the offensive surge over the
last two games. Houston scored twenty six points and then
forty four points against the Test Titans too, as we
already mentioned, all right, Ryan Callahan, and then of course
(02:26:23):
the which that drave into can't stop anything, the worst
scoring the events in the NFL. But he was asked,
what have you noticed about the offense that's changed over
the last two weeks that have been missing in the
first three games of the regular season.
Speaker 12 (02:26:37):
The things that worked the past couple weeks offensively is
us being able to stay committed to the run game
and run the football. You can run the ball, you
can sustain drives. That's the key, all right, That'll be
the key for us moving forward.
Speaker 8 (02:26:49):
We can do that.
Speaker 12 (02:26:50):
We can control the line of scrimmage, get positive plays
in the running game.
Speaker 7 (02:26:53):
That allows ours, That allows.
Speaker 12 (02:26:55):
Kaylee a right to be able to open up the
playbook and call whatever he wants, whatever he's installed a
particular week.
Speaker 4 (02:27:02):
Everything is at his disposal.
Speaker 12 (02:27:03):
When you're disposal where you can stay on the schedule,
and that's what has been.
Speaker 7 (02:27:07):
The past two weeks.
Speaker 5 (02:27:08):
An elimination of pre snap penalties is part of that.
The commitment to the run does play a little bit
into the scoreboard. You're likely to be committed to the
run when you're playing from in front, and in the
fourth quarter against the Titans and most of the game
against the Ravens, not only were you playing from in front,
you were playing for multi scores in front.
Speaker 4 (02:27:27):
They were much better on third down.
Speaker 5 (02:27:29):
Remember, as the season began two for nine on third
down in each of their first two games huge improvement.
Speaker 4 (02:27:35):
The following week they went four for fifteen.
Speaker 5 (02:27:37):
They were the worst team in the NFL through three
weeks converting third downs quite obviously, many of those third
downs were very, very long in distance to gain to
get a first down. The last two weeks against Tennessee
and Baltimore's defense, they were thirteen of twenty seven, a
shade under fifty percent, which would be one of the
best marks in the league. Marx and Chubb and a
(02:27:58):
jumbo package and full back usage and tight ends on
the field more often have all been part of this
surge as well. Now you're playing a team, a real
team with a much better defense than either of the
two teams that you just got through.
Speaker 7 (02:28:14):
That's the task.
Speaker 5 (02:28:15):
A real competitive team that you can do the things
you want to do. Didn't really happen in any of
the first three weeks, despite them being close. We would
never confuse anyone, even this many weeks removed, and say, yeah,
I like what the Texans did on offense the first
three weeks.
Speaker 4 (02:28:29):
They almost won. No, they almost won, but you could
not have liked what they did on offense in those
three Get back to five hundred. That's the first step.
Take care of the rest after that?
Speaker 7 (02:28:39):
What else?
Speaker 9 (02:28:39):
So, I don't know if you guys have been paying
attention to the stuff that's going on at the Los
Angeles Angels, but they're in hot water once again because
of the Tyler stags unfortunate timing of was passing due
to the drug incident that occurred earlier, this earlier, the.
Speaker 4 (02:28:53):
Last couple of years.
Speaker 3 (02:28:54):
Well.
Speaker 4 (02:28:54):
According to reports, Los.
Speaker 9 (02:28:55):
Angeles Angels should be held responsible for the drug overdose
staff of one of its because the team failed to
follow off its own drug policies and let an addicted
and drug dealing employees stay with his job and have
access to the players. According to the lawyer that is
representing Skag's family, according to the lawyer named Holly, they
buried their heads in the sand over and over and
(02:29:18):
over again and as a result, Tyler Skaggs is that
top Theodora, an attorney for the Angels tortures autops.
Speaker 4 (02:29:24):
He showed Skaggs had also.
Speaker 9 (02:29:25):
Been drinking and taking oxy codin on the night that
he died, while also dealing with pain killers at the
tier's passing.
Speaker 5 (02:29:32):
Yeah, this is six years have been elapsed since his passing,
and this is where we are with a court case
that has Ardi Marino in court. He's the owner of
the Angels and has them in a position where I
do think this is stuff we have discussed many times.
You know, how much how far into the sand were
their heads? Maybe this is something of question. I really
(02:29:53):
don't think it's even debatable at this point with some
of the information that we have from internal communications with
than the team. It's there's clearly parts of what took
place here that the team was one hundred percent aware
of with this employee, which is why this employee had
been reprimanded before, had been dealt with from an employee
employer standpoint, because they knew that he was involved in this,
(02:30:17):
and yet the ultimate wasn't never took place, like you
kind of can't work here anymore?
Speaker 4 (02:30:23):
Well, I look, I know it's only one side of things,
his law, his family's lawyer's side, But where was the
lie in any of those things that were listed there?
All of those things are factually true, they're not subjective.
Speaker 5 (02:30:38):
Right, And just for those that have been following this
case throughout, you brought it up quite a few times,
and I do believe this is still the case. This
is a Rusky Harden case. Rusky Harden is representing these
Skaggs family.
Speaker 4 (02:30:50):
Yeah, which means that's bad for you, Artie. And I'll
say it again, there's like zero uproar about this story
compared to a cheating scandal or other things that are
totally trivial in comparison to a team being responsible for
one of their players dying. Right, only way to say it, Yes,
(02:31:14):
one of them is baseball and one of them is not.
That's why people care about one and not the other. Okay,
I mean it's true. You know, I'm watching it all happen.
I know. It's really what's wrong with today's society. Like
it's okay to root for the Angels because they don't
cheat on the baseball field, Like they don't go and
get booed everywhere they go because they killed the guy.
(02:31:36):
But if you cheat, boo that doesn't hurt your team. Well,
if it were another more visible team, prominent team, I
do wonder how this would go. But yeah, this is
a civil case.
Speaker 5 (02:31:54):
There's millions of dollars being requested in this court filing
in case that's now ongoing.
Speaker 4 (02:31:59):
It's it's an awful story all the way around. What
else do we have Texas A and.
Speaker 9 (02:32:02):
M right now is sitting at six and oh, They're
gonna go on a three game road trip with stops
and fall to go visit by Petrino down A bat
and Rus Vision, Garrett Asmyer and the LSU Tigers, and
then visit Eli. Drink Ritz is in front of the
program before.
Speaker 4 (02:32:15):
Turning to Kyle Field.
Speaker 9 (02:32:17):
During that stretch, they'll be without their star running back
L'avian Moss. According to Mike Goko, he suffered an injury
in the win over Florida on Saturday. He's expected to
miss significant time. They'll will not miss the entirety of
the season. He led the Aggies with seventy carries, three
hundred and eighty nine yards, and six rushing touchdowns. The
good news for Texas A and M. They got a
slew of running backs, including the Ruben Owens, who's had
(02:32:38):
a phenomenal sophomore season with three hundred and twenty seven
rushing yards. They also have Amari Daniels and a few
other guys including E. J. Smith, the son of legendary
Hall of Fame running back Evan Smith, in the wings
for these next three to six games.
Speaker 3 (02:32:52):
That leave and Moss could be out.
Speaker 5 (02:32:53):
You got a quick thought, as we close things out,
Aggie's minus seven and a half. The over under is
sixty one and a half against the defenseless Arkansas Razorbacks.
What would you play if we were doing this here
on a Tuesday, Arkansas plus seven and a half. I
would probably play the Aggies minus seven.
Speaker 4 (02:33:10):
I really under this game.
Speaker 5 (02:33:12):
Is this always gonna be shootout, shootout, shootout, score score score,
and they'll win by thirteen.
Speaker 4 (02:33:17):
Yeah, but it's they're not gonna get to that many
who knows it is Arkansas. Like if once they start
blowing them out, they're just gonna start running the ball
to turn.
Speaker 5 (02:33:24):
The clock and they'll find their way into the end zone.
I don't know, we'll get to our college football game
of the week. When we get to our stone cold locks,
it will just mean you don't wait to lose that choice.
Speaker 4 (02:33:35):
But we'll wait to get to that till we get
to that.
Speaker 7 (02:33:40):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (02:33:49):
Unlike Lex, I'm gonna make you work for the tickets.
You just like to hand them out. Hey, here's the
easiest question ever, and the answer draw your tickets. I
don't give the answer away. You practically give it away
every time. Pair of tickets to see the Houston Cougars
take on Arizona for U of H home Coming this Saturday,
(02:34:09):
October eighteenth at td ECU Stadium go to Uhcougars dot com.
Slash tickets are called seven one three, Go Koogs now
to get your tickets. Come early, be loud, wear Red
and para tickets to Never Ending Nineties with Ezra ray
Hart Nineties Hits and Christmas Riffs on December thirteenth at
Smart Financial Center in sugar Land, featuring members of Sugar Ray, Tonic,
(02:34:35):
and Wex's favorite nineties band Better than Ezra performing their
biggest hits along with festive holiday favorites. Tickets on sale
now at Smart financial Center dot net. Way back in
the day, earlier in the show, when we were talking
about the guy that I said was probably dropped on
his head several times, the one and only John Hollinger.
(02:34:57):
We were talking about how he had the NBA season
shaping up, where he.
Speaker 5 (02:35:04):
Records and final fishes for all thirty NBA teams and
their respective conferences.
Speaker 4 (02:35:09):
What seed did he have? Your Houston Rockets falling to
see what I did there? I gave you a wex hint,
not first or second, otherwise it would not be a fall.
Don't give any more numbers, or you're going to do
the thing you always do. I'm definitely not going to
do that. You just give it away the answer. I'm
just helping them with the obvious non guesses. They weren't
(02:35:32):
going to make seven one, three, two, five, seven ninety?
What seed did John Hollinger have the upcoming twenty twenty
five twenty six Houston Rockets finishing up at for the postseason.
They're in the postseason. There's another hint right there. Otherwise
they really wouldn't have a seed. They would be the
fifteenth seed. But you could even argue that it'd be
the fifteenth seed not the fifteenth seed. So there's your Uh,
(02:35:56):
there's your question. You gotta work for it. You had
to have been listening. Can I tell Cole what the answer?
Apparently you're gonna have to since he's asking us what
it is he wasn't even listening. I'm gonna tell him
right now. Is that okay? Not on the air? Well,
how else is he gonna get the answer? I'm gonna
shut my mic off while you tell him on the talkback. Ready,
here we go. But if you turn your mic off,
nobody's talking to the listeners. I can keep talking. Well,
(02:36:17):
you tell him I'm talking right now. And it's not
the first or second seed, but it is. It's not
the third seed either. What are you doing? Oh, I
just got your seeds to go. You're probably gonna give
a no one before the end of the show. Now,
there's a bunch of people that already know the answer.
They're calling in.
Speaker 5 (02:36:34):
They might not know this though. What Kevin Durant starting
tonight in Birmingham, Alabama for your struggles dead Pelicans. You're
so fake dead Emay. Do you think you could start
a bigger lineup that is a reasonable group of five?
Speaker 4 (02:36:50):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (02:36:50):
No, We're gonna go with Amen, Katie Jabbari Alpi and
Steven Adams.
Speaker 4 (02:36:57):
That's your starting lineup tonight.
Speaker 5 (02:36:58):
And according to Daniell Learn, who obviously is on the
road with the Rockets, the Rockets beat Rider for the
Houston Chronicle again this season, I bet.
Speaker 4 (02:37:05):
She has them higher than that season.
Speaker 5 (02:37:07):
He said, this could be a regular season starting lineup
depending on a opponent personnel.
Speaker 4 (02:37:12):
Oh so they're basically just going to put a bunch
of trees out there and dare you to make shots.
Speaker 5 (02:37:16):
Let's let's take it to next Tuesday. So let's say
this is what they want to start against the Oklahoma
City Thunder so out, I mean, they're gonna be switching
a ton. The only thing I know for certain is
a men Thompson will begin on a man, begin on
shake gildess Alexander who's chasing, fronting, working against Jalen Williams,
(02:37:42):
who's got hit. We've seen some success for Alpi against him,
except when he takes it out to the three point
line like this. This is when it becomes difficult, even
if you're switching everything. One thing that this group, and
I think all season long, they're gonna have a big
advantage of, like a better defense than the lashing length. Well,
you gotta have some foot speed with some of these
(02:38:02):
guys and your too. Everybody does, don't. Defensively Alpi and
Steven Adams, they're very Steven Adams as a plus defender.
Foot speed's not one of his greatest attributes, certainly if
he's not very close to the basket, but he's a
he's clearly a good defender. What they're going to have
that I always thought teams that weren't all that great
defensively had and did to the Rockets because they had it.
(02:38:25):
I thought Memphis had it a little. I thought Minnesota
had it better than anybody else.
Speaker 4 (02:38:30):
They have length.
Speaker 5 (02:38:31):
They are going to be the Kings of deflections, and
when Easton is out there and a men is out there,
that means these deflections are going to lead to easy
runouts in baskets. All the dunks that will miss that
Jalen Green won't have on the fast break because he's
clearly their best finisher off ball on the break. That's
what those two guys are going to lead to. Tary
Easton and Amn Thompson are going to generate so many
(02:38:53):
easy baskets for this team. There are their fast breaks
are going to be built off all of the steels
that they're lengthy defense team. They're deflecting defensive team, getting
in the passing lenes and blocking shots by the way,
which will lead to runouts and they're gonna need it.
Every half court offense could use a boost from easy baskets.
And this is how the Rockets are gonna get them.
(02:39:14):
And starts in a week against Okay See then Detroit,
then Brooklyn, then the other seventy nine games.
Speaker 4 (02:39:21):
Brooklyn's the Monday night. Mm hmm. I can't remember if
I have that win or you have that one. It's
all it's all on the schedule. Yeah, I don't want
to look it up right now. By the way, I
knew what I was doing when I asked that question,
because I'm already getting people that are texting me guessing
the wrong seed, the one that we just talked about, Hollinger,
was a few hours ago.
Speaker 5 (02:39:41):
Yeah, not the stupid simulation we just talked about. Not
even the five o'clock hour.
Speaker 4 (02:39:46):
Was even real. Hollinger, though he knows better. Do we
have a winner yet? Cole, here's the eighth seed. He
has your Rockets at the eighth seed with forty six wins.
So oh, they won the title with forty six wins
from the six seed back in nineteen ninety five, and
no one has ever won a title lower than that.
Speaker 5 (02:40:07):
Yet now they're I mean, thank goodness. The team that
beat the Rockets last year didn't win any other series
and could have only imagined if that had happened.
Speaker 4 (02:40:16):
Well, obviously, beating the Rockets as the seventh seed and
then losing in spectacular fashion means they're going to win
sixty plus games this year. According to John Hollinger.
Speaker 5 (02:40:25):
Rockets, if you were unaware, we'll see some of their
familiar Texas foes early in the season those three games
I mentioned out of the gate.
Speaker 4 (02:40:32):
Then they have a road trip to the Northeast.
Speaker 5 (02:40:34):
They got Toronto and Boston, so they'll see Boston early
this year, maybe as they try to figure things out
in the post Tatum era for this upcoming season. Dallas
and San Antonio both come in the batch of the
next five games. The lone visit from cam Whitmore to
Toyota Center comes within the first ten games of the season,
and the Rockets hopefully be nice to get off to
(02:40:56):
a good start. And as this grew, it seems weird
to even say this, although it kind of feels like
it's true, when it's really not. You'd like to get
off a good start, a good start while everybody's healthy.
Well everybody isn't healthy because you're not gonna see Fred
all year, and that does matter. Finney Smith early on, yeah,
I'm not. I can't quite figure out how he wants
(02:41:17):
to use him. I know he wants him in the rotation,
I know he's a nice three D start off the bench. No,
I can't imagine he would ever be a starter unless
you add a lot of guys out. But I'm trying
to figure out what what groups does he work well
with and what does he want to see from him defensively?
How much does he think he can stretch him? How
big a defensive player can he be? Can he play
more of those fours or fives? I don't think so,
(02:41:39):
but probably be a little bit before we get there.
Because of the surgery, he is still yet to fully
overcome and be prepared for the upcoming season. They got
the Pels tonight, they got the Hawks on Thursday, and
it's time to play basketball for real.
Speaker 4 (02:41:51):
Funniest text I got all day long from someone we
both know better than Ezra bleeping rules. They went to
a fine college. They were all Capus Tiggs at l
s U.
Speaker 7 (02:42:03):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety