Rockets Try To Keep Rolling, Waiting On Bregman and Billy D. Washington In-Studio

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team A.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Team, What's Up, Houston, Texas.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
It is a Thursday edition of the A Team Sports
Talk seven ninety Fresh off My Banter with Matt Thomas.
At the end of that show, Ross is somewhere on
his death bet. At this point, I feel bad for
that guy because I'm kind of getting over it still
and wex had a little bit of it like a
few weeks back, I want to say, so it's going around,
but it's that time of year, and it's also the

(00:40):
time of year where we speculate if there is a
marquee free agent that is at least still somewhat attached
to your baseball franchise, and that's exactly the case today
is we'll get into both semi old and new audio
with regards to the situation surrounding Alex Bregman. I don't

(01:01):
even know if you'd call it a situation at this
point because Dana Brown's sound bites.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
It's definitely a situationship. See thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
That is a very very good made up on the
fly moniker for what we have going here.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
I mean, they definitely broke up and they've been flirting
with other people. Can we take this to the next level?
But they haven't locked in on a new relationship. He
has not updated his status to say in a new
relationship with the Tigers.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
Since this is the first hour of the show, which
means it's radio exclusive, I think I can get a
little out of bounds here.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
I'm gonna take this.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Oh you like ACDC, all right, I'm gonna take this
to the next level.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
This is I wish the astros would take it to
the next level.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Maybe Bregman's saying that too, or maybe maybe the astros
are saying that to Bregman, or maybe they're saying it
to Boris.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
I don't know what's going on.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
All I know is that the national boobs are weighing
in on this, and we'll get to that a little
compare and contrast. But since you brought up the dating analogy,
and it's been I mean, it's been a long time
for me, so it's definitely been a long time for
you because you and r have been wetted bliss for
like what fifty years now.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Guys been together in a long time. That's a year's question.
So I've struggled with the answer.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Well, I know that Samantha was born in two thousand
and five because I was there then. Well that's good,
although in today's society it's not a big deal.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
We've been married for several years by then, and we
were together for several years before then.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Here's a pro tip for all the guys out there.
I mean, if women are listening, that's fine too. They'll
agree with me. Maybe, I don't know. Don't get married.
I told this to Connor the other day on the air.
Do not get married until you're thirty.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
I've updated my relationship status on Facebook if I ever
did just once. Since the Texans have arrived, I've done
it twice. But I was in a relationship with the
same person for the entire existence of the Texans. Okay,
so we get married in two thousand and three preseason
Chargers game.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
She got married during the preseason. You knew who they
played in the preseason game.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
They had a Saturday night wedding. They played a Saturday
night game against the Chargers. How did you allow this?
I mean, I pretty much I knew then what I
know now. Preseasons not that important. I definitely am not
going to miss anything. You must have chiseled since then.
I missed about ten minutes of important preseason that night
of the sixty that was played.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Gosh, because you're two of the franchise, so they still
suck and you are looking at a charge.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
I wonder how David Carr is gonna look tonight, so
I can see if maybe they will win more than
four games this year. How about?

Speaker 3 (03:34):
How about I wonder if Junior say I was playing
in this preseason game, because the last time these two
teams got together, he nearly killed him.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
More was a Ryan Leaf game than anything else.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Really, yeah, Junior sayout. They sacked David Carl like twelve times,
and I think.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Junior had nine different than which of the other games
that year?

Speaker 3 (03:54):
I no offense Chester, Well, I think individually he had
the most sacks against David Carr of anybody that season,
which is saying something. I suppose he was sacked seventy
six times. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I do, is.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
What I actually remember from that night.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
All right, So all of this is to say the
Astros and Bregman are definitely since we're gonna take the
the analogy, here are they are you saying that there's
like a buddy situation, you know, like when let's just
say you're both single.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Okay, there definitely isn't.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
But you're both single, and you're you want to probably
get a long term relationship with whomever. It might be
the two of you, but it might be someone else.
Maybe you guys are either one of you or both
are talking to other people, but you're still hanging out
spending time together.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
That's what it feels like right now. I'm being serious.
It doesn't feel like that at all. Why they're not
hanging out because every time he doesn't return text messages
immediately he might not. Well, that means they're not hanging out. Well,
what about the agent? That's the thing? The agent is
there always a third party in this announce che which
makes it really weird, well really weird, not today's society. Well,

(05:04):
I mean it's hard to you got to really think
outside the box, which is what the askers are trying
to do, trying to come up with something creative.

Speaker 3 (05:11):
His side, just to keep it to two parties. His
side has been the one that has reached out. And
again I don't think we give it. We gave it
enough attention the other day when Dana Brown kind of
flip it flippantly said, yeah, I think I own a
text message.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
What I treated it properly, And I'm like, clearly, this
is not front burner stuff. He's got too many media
obligations because we keep asking them questions almost every day
for four days in a row.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
But he's talking about it's more internal conversations and oh,
by the way, like, yeah, it's internal because you haven't
texted back.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Because he knows it's pointless at this present time. What
do you are you gonna ask for something less? Okay,
I know you're not, So what do you What do
you have for me? I don't have anything new for you,
and I know you don't have anything new for me,
so I'll get to it. He called it a long shot.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, but I don't, I guess in my heart of hearts.
And I was saying this long before we saw them
break up and then try to get back together again,
which is kind of what this sounds like, but not really,
because it sounds like one party's more interested than the other.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
This what happened is he broke up with the Astros
because it had run its course. They had some really
great times together. It was seriously somebody they thought they'd
be with forever, and then they weren't getting on each
other's nerves. No, it's just a people's changed situation. There
was an end in sight if things didn't get worked out.
There was obvious friction in that they spent an entire
at least an entire year together when they knew there

(06:40):
was friction at least. I mean, you could say they
stayed together for the kids, call all two day the kids.
They stayed together for another year because they were, you know,
contractually obligated to do so. But then they broke up,
clearly and convincingly. And then he started flirting. I don't
even want to call it dating because it's more like flirting.
He flirted with multiple other people out the last several months,

(07:01):
as people do when they're single, totally normal stuff, and
he didn't flirt with his old flame at all until
the other flirtations looked like they were running its course,
and then one of the he go happened. One of
them said, you know, I like where this thing is going.
Can we get some you know something to it? Can
we finish this off? And the answer was no, we're

(07:23):
not going to get to where you want to go.
I want a commitment, Well, I don't want to give
it to you. I still don't want to have kids.
I want to commitment of in this case, I want
a certain financial commitment. And one party wasn't willing to
meet the other party's terms, so he had to re
attach himself to the open market, which now included even
old flames. He's not I can't. I mean, he might

(07:44):
have said no to a team or two like I
can only envision him actually saying no to the Diamondbacks,
a team that he might have actually been engaged with
in a free agent sense. Yeah, and have said, okay,
you signed Corbyn Burns. I know there's no money for
me there, even on a you know, opt out deal
where I know I can get more money anything you
could offer. I can get more somewhere else and still
be just as happy. So we're gonna go ahead and

(08:05):
call this thing off. I'm not gonna call anymore. I'm
not gonna return your text. You can go ahead and
lose my number. But the Cubs, the Red Sox, the
Astros now again, the Tigers. I don't even want to
I really don't believe the Toronto Blue Jays were or
are a factor, so I'll limit it to those four teams.
He's currently on the open market, he's currently taking texts

(08:27):
from people, he's meeting people out for drinks. I mean,
he's open to extended time together, but he certainly hasn't
made a commitment to anybody because they're terms to get
a once and for all. Nobody's gotten down on one
knee expecting the answer to say to be yes. Really,
except for Houston, I think they truly thought this is

(08:47):
above and beyond what we've normally been willing to commit
to a partner, and we thought this partner would say yes.
He did not say yes. In fact, he said, please
get up, don't do this at the stadium. Don't propose
here at the stadium. Everybody's watching. I think you're make
me compelled to say yes, but I'm not going to
get the cameras off. Go to somebody else in the arena,
put the kisscam on, whatever you want to do. This

(09:08):
proposal is not going the way you thought it was.
You me to peel back to curtain on something. As
it pertains to that.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
You remember that very famous video of the woman saying
no to the proposal at a Rockets game several years
ago and running out of the arena.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
Yeah, unstaged. I remember, very staged.

Speaker 4 (09:26):
There you go.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
Some people still think that's real. I feel like I
think that is a stage. She was in my first wedding.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
But I remember the conversation we've had. You were there,
Uh huh, you were there? Well, it sounds like abby
it was a great wedding. I do think some of
the other things we see at like kiss cam for instance. Yeah,
well definitely, when when team mascots, confetti or cake a

(09:54):
opposing team, an opposing teams fan in your arena, occasionally
those are occasionally those are people we might know, or
if you worked at the arena, you might know. I
think people kiss came related. You know, when one of
the man on the right or the woman on the
left points to the person that they're in the frame

(10:15):
with and mouthed something like, that's my brother, that's my sister.
I'm not with him. I'm not going to do this.
Every once in a while, it's so funny. You're like, well,
we got to make sure this happens tonight. But I
don't think anything that they were astros and Alex Bregman
are doing or for show for drama. They clearly wanted

(10:35):
him here, very very strongly wanted him here when the
off season began and when they were able to kind
of do what they wanted without anybody else being involved
in the mix. And like I said, I think we
can definitely say now they the offer was fair. We
debated whether we thought it was a low ball offer,
whether it was a surprising offer where they thought they
over would be end up overpaying for him. I think

(10:56):
most decided on it it seemed a little light for
what we expected the market to be. Well, if it's
any indication of the market that he hasn't signed anywhere
and that the offer they have is still on the table,
not totally rejected to the point where they're not talking anymore,
that sounds like a pretty fair offer and it's still
out there.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
That's a lot of relationship talk for the opening segment
about a baseball player.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Well, he became a free agent, not this month of January,
which is over Dux Bregman and the Astros, So we
discuss that's what it must happen. We will also discuss
quite a few other things, the ongoing search for a
new third offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, continues interviews
being held today at their facilities, and they also have

(11:42):
people in their department personnel department handling some of their
scouting duties, like Nick Cassario at the latest All Star
Game with the East West Shrine game wrapping up the
Reese's game, their good friend Jim participating, so they've got
to take down not that Jim. And of course your

(12:03):
Houston Rockets are playing tonight right here on Sports Talk
seven ninety. So a little bit about trying to go
four for four, four and zero against the Memphis Grizzlies.
I know they team gets along with each other really
really well, and maybe they've got different motivations for any
given night of basketball. Maybe a little birthday present to
the twenty two year old is something they have in

(12:23):
mind for Amn Thompson later on tonight. All those items
and a conversation that you might not have heard earlier
here on Sports Talk seven ninety with head coach Amy Doka,
coming your way a little bit three point thirty. We
usually like to hit you with a heavy dose of
that from earlier today on the Matt Thommas Show with
Ross we will do that then, as we just get
underway here on the A Team.

Speaker 5 (12:45):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
Back to Adam Clinton had Adam Wesler.

Speaker 5 (12:53):
The eight on.

Speaker 6 (12:54):
Sports Talk seven ninety eighteen rolls along here on sports
Sock seven ninety It's a Thursday edition of the program.

Speaker 2 (13:07):
Rockets Memphis Tonight.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
Rockets going for two sweeps both the road trip and
the season series. They've already won the season series because
they're up three nil on the Grizzlies.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
This is another example of.

Speaker 3 (13:23):
An entire series in the season being done in Western
Conference are the only ones that really matters, since she
only played the East twice before the calendar flips to
February or the trade deadline, whichever way you want to
look at it. Trade deadlines February sixth. But I know
that the Rockets have played all but one game against
the Spurs that happened in like the first month.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Of the season.

Speaker 3 (13:46):
But this is a This is more important to me
because even though the Rockets have already won the season
series against the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies have consistently been the
team right behind them in the standings, and I mean
right behind them Rockets have been the two seed for
most of the year, under in a class by themselves,
although the Rockets have beaten them. Rockets are the only
team to beat Thunder Calves and the Celtics this year.

(14:06):
No other team can say they've beaten those three teams
at least once. But you know, while the Nuggets, which
is the next team in line in the Western Conference standings,
they're as solid three games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for
that three seed, Memphis is like just stopped. They just
had their six game winning streaks snapped, albeit in spectacular fashion.

(14:30):
The Knicks destroyed them at Madison Square Garden on Monday,
but before that they were playing very well, which meant
that all these wins the Rockets have had, it's a
good thing they kept having them, because otherwise Memphis would be.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Closer than the game and a half.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
They still only trail the Rockets, with them beating the
Memphis Grizzlies three times out of these four meetings already,
and with all of the winning the Rockets have done,
it's gotten them a whole game and a half lead
on the Memphis Grizzlies, which kind of tells you how
good they can be even though they looked like actually
against the Nicks on Monday.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
They are good and it's not going to change. And
I think that's probably true talk about it yesterday. For
the top four teams, I don't think anything's gonna change.
You know, Denver got beat last night, so there's a
little bit of a gap between themselves and the Grizzlies
and Rockets. There's also a little bit of a gap
between themselves and everybody else, and I think the everybody
else is just not in position to catch any of

(15:22):
these four teams. The key might be, this is your matchup.
You know, one obviously plays eight whoever that might be
out of the play in tournament. Two gets seven whoever
that might be out of the play in tournament. I
don't know that there's much of an advantage other than
I mean just who it is. I mean, potentially you're
getting the team with the eighth best record in the
seventh seed if they win that opening game as the

(15:44):
two seed, and maybe you find that as fairly valuable,
but really the payoff is as the two seed, you're
getting the three seed in your building for home court advantage,
and right now, that is the current matchup technically a
two and a half game lead because you have the tiebreaker.
So unless the Grizzlies outplay the Rockets by three games
with only one head to head matchup remaining, well and

(16:06):
the Rockets would at least stay ahead of them. I
can't speak to anybody else passing both of them, but
that does seem fairly unlikely. I know, there's seemingly a
lot of season left. There's thirty six games left. That's
not a huge number. You know, the Rockets at thirty
two and fourteen are are winning at a pace that
suggests they're gonna win close to sixty games. Roughly twenty
twenty one wins remain. You know, if they go twenty

(16:27):
one and fifteen, well someone that's three games behind them
has to go twenty four and eleven. You've made plays already.
But I see what you're saying. She's just saying that. Yeah,
it doesn't sound like much. But in order to fall out,
first of all, in order to fall out of the
top four, then more people on the Rockets are gonna
have to start dressing like Jabari Smith Junior at games,

(16:47):
which is one way of saying guys would be out.
That's the I don't want to say the word, so
I don't. I don't think that's gonna happen, and you
certainly can't forecast anything like that. The games against Memphis,
the opener heavy Rockets, they got on a run and
kind of blew the Grizzlies out and kind of coast
to that victory late in that game. The other two
games two of the more two of the top ten

(17:09):
twelve most exciting games of the season, a two point win,
a one point win, and things getting closer and closer
in each of those matchups, or a pair of less
than five point wins. I was actually over at Tom's
watch bar for one of those two road wins or
two road games against the Grizzlies earlier this year for
a Rockets watch party. I'll be doing the same again

(17:30):
tonight for the Grizzlies Rockets eight thirty tip off tonight.
So definitely encourage you to come by. As you mentioned,
there's awesome, awesome grub, obviously, great drinks and cocktails over there.
We will have some prizes and giveaways. If you like
basketball at Toyota Center Saturday night, well maybe come on
by tonight you watch you I didn't have to try

(17:50):
to get you out there. If you go ahead and
register to.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
Win, Yeah, and that's going to be that's a great
game to go to.

Speaker 2 (17:57):
You know. There was a couple of reasons for that.

Speaker 3 (17:59):
One, the Nets suck, so it's there's a better than
average chance it's a victory you're gonna watch. But two,
you better get out there because they're going right back
out on the road again. This is ridiculous, I get it.
It happens every year, and the direction for forty.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
One games at each location home end Road.

Speaker 3 (18:14):
Well, why do they have to play forty of them
over the course of March and April.

Speaker 2 (18:18):
Well, when you get out on the road, you want
to knock them out, especially when you go out west
or out east. They finally made one trip to Cleveland
and one trip to Boston, and they were supposed to
make one trip to Atlanta, but they knocked all three
of those games out and span of four days. This week.

Speaker 3 (18:33):
They're setting back out to the East coast after this though,
because they're gonna play the Nicks.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Because that's those are two teams they only visit once,
so you knock them all out, which it's good and bad.
It's good that you don't have to make a second
long trip to the Upper East Coast. It's bad and
that whatever games you're trying to fit in, it extends
your road trip. But I'd rather do it this way. Yeah,
But if I'm gonna go somewhere and have to say,
you'd rather go Houston to Brooklyn and Houston, do New

(18:57):
York or just Houston, do both of them.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
Just stay somewhere in midtown Manhattan so you can get
to both arenas fairly comfortably. Because that's what you would
need to do. I would recommend staying in lower Manhattan.
Then you're right in the middle of the two of them.
But I there's worse places to have to spit an
extended stay.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
I mean, the only thing I care about, since I'm
all about the game, the Knicks are good, that nets
are not, and the nets are not, and that also matters.

Speaker 3 (19:22):
You've already beat the Knicks once, but it was very different.
I mean, the season was like a day old basically Knicks.

Speaker 2 (19:27):
If you were watching any of the Knicks last night
national TV game, you can see what they have put together.
And I can't even every time he goes out there
with a new team, whether it was in Minnesota, or
in Chicago and now in New York. He doesn't change
what he does talking about Tibbs, who are my best players?
All right, you guys that are currently not in the game,
because we're about to tip off, go ahead and get

(19:50):
comfortable on your seat. What would he do with the men? Thompson?
Play him fifty minutes?

Speaker 7 (19:56):
Somehow?

Speaker 2 (19:56):
A men would every time a whistle blew, he'd look
over at the bench and Tip would just shake his head.
You're not coming out? Uh uh, I plan he's like
he is.

Speaker 3 (20:05):
He treats NBA stars on his team like a team
just running their running back into the ground. What is
going on with my chair right now? Yeah, look at this,
you do have to consider it's going to work. I'm
sinking to the floor.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, well we're not on TV. It doesn't matter.

Speaker 4 (20:20):
My gosh.

Speaker 2 (20:21):
It will work during the regular season. It will be
and you will have days off in the postseason, so
you think it will still work. But those postseason games
aren't going to be played with thirty games or forty
games or fifty games in the rearview mirror. They're going
to be played with a full season of NBA games
and the minutes that you've been asking of your players
for that entire season to play top seven in minutes played.

(20:44):
This year in the NBA, the Knicks hole down spots one, three,
and seven.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
That's insane. Wait, hang on, let me guess Jalen Brunson. No,
he doesn't play that many.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
He's not among the top seven and minutes played, he's
twenty fifth Karl Anthony Towns. Also, you guess the two
wrong players first, Well, then what are they even doing
out there? Those are their two best players. Well, they're
trying to preserve them as the other glue guys do everything.
They have three glue guys in the starting lineup and
they play all the minutes. Carl's thirtieth, Jalen Brunson's twenty fifth.

(21:15):
Seventh is og Ananobi, third is Josh Hart and the
iron man who doesn't sit out games either is Michael Bridges.

Speaker 3 (21:23):
I ever told you I have a sports rage for
Josh Hart. I just don't like his face. It's very punishable.

Speaker 2 (21:28):
I am as usual here on the A team. They
complete opposite. I would say, I don't think you could
ask anybody in the NBA to name the five most underrated,
un heralded players and they would leave him off the list.
Vastly underrated for what he does for courts the ball
very well. By the way, he does everything very well.

(21:49):
You know, it doesn't maybe doesn't sound like much, averaging ten,
ten and five. Well, he's one of four players in
the league doing it, and the other three are like
the best players in the league. And it's not ten,
it's more like fourteen. Yeah, he's on this season, he's
averaging fourteen points and it's more like six instead of five,
ten rebounds, six assists. If you round up, I do.

Speaker 3 (22:06):
Yeah, he's went nine point seven and five point seven
and thirteen point nine.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
I round up. And if I told you he was
their fifth best most talented starter, you'd probably believe me.
And this is what he's giving the team. And he
does at the beginning of the game, and he doesn't
in crunch time. He does it all throughout the game.
That will be an awesome game, the last game they'll
play this year against the Knicks. Yeah, and then they'll
also have a game at the Nets, yeah, which we'll

(22:30):
talk about that not at all.

Speaker 3 (22:32):
Right, all right, what we will talk about next is
what we always talk about around two thirty this time
of day.

Speaker 2 (22:37):
The best of X coming up next.

Speaker 3 (22:41):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety. That wasn't supposed
to rhyme, but it did. Big City Wings doesn't care
if your rhyme or not. They just want to give
you the two things you are looking for. Lots of
screens to watch the games you are looking for, and
lots of good good food burgers, chicken tenders bone in
and boneless wing of course, and much much more. I

(23:02):
like to go with the tenders there and then get
them in the hot sauce. That's what I like to get.
But man, the fried pickles and the fries. Really pretty
much everything on the menu. You cannot go wrong at
Big City Wings. There's a reason they're called Houston's wing Joint.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
Great day to go get your boneless wings at Big
City Wings that you just mentioned Thursday two for Thursday
boneless wings along with the awesome drink specials. As we
always mentioned, there are specials, food and drink specials every day,
all seven days every day that they are open for you,
and they are open for you at thirteen Houston area locations.
You visit them at Big Citywings dot com. Find the

(23:39):
location nearest you find out that there are multiple new
locations all on the way, and get to your first
glance at the unbelievable menu offerings they have over there.
It's a great place to enjoy yourself, great place to
enjoy friends. It's Big City Wings, Houston's Wing Joint.

Speaker 4 (23:55):
Hey, it's Hunner Brown.

Speaker 8 (23:57):
Catch every as shows game on Sports ninety four, the
iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 4 (24:03):
Home of your Ashruss. Did you all see this?

Speaker 9 (24:09):
We should be putting out between five and just posts
a day.

Speaker 2 (24:12):
Four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media. History repeats itself type banguils succeed.

Speaker 5 (24:21):
Never doubt that you're the one to pus no one
building lead.

Speaker 2 (24:25):
You're the best of it. Nothing's gonna ever top You
know you're the best of X post an every single day.
You know you're the best of its breaking.

Speaker 10 (24:39):
The entire Internet.

Speaker 3 (24:44):
All right, it's time to go to the former Twitter streets.
And before we get into anything else, I did want
to highlight a guy who routinely sends posts into the show,
King Tiro thirty five or Sam the sports Fan. Going
back to our first segment where we were doing a

(25:04):
terrible job. I was doing a terrible job of making
an analogy involving the Bregman Astros strained relationship, as it were.
I use that word appropriately here because Sam says, is
this strained analogy, y'all are making basically the equivalent of
Bregman being on The Bachelor and he's having trouble committing

(25:26):
because of all the proposals are Mid. Now the proposals
would be, I'm assuming the contracts that he has had
in front of him, contract offers.

Speaker 2 (25:36):
Has our friend Sam the King, has he viewed the
program he's referring to, I haven't so. Well. First, there's
more to the person than what you see on the surface.
But by the same token, this is a television program.
Well that's the thing. What you see on the surface
is why it's on your television and why this exists.

(26:00):
So I'm hesitant to refer to the options to hand
a Rose two as mid Granted, when we hear from
them and we see some of their activities on the show,
and we see some of the interactions and some of
the descriptions of why it's not going well or why
they don't mind that the Bachelor just made out with
four other people and that's just fine with them. Yes,

(26:21):
maybe then they would drift towards mid or lower even
he just doesn't found what he liked. That's where the
Bachelor comparison comes from. You know, the Bachelor's like, I
know I'm single, I will go on the Bachelor. Alex
Bregman knows he's a free agent. I am going on
a manhunt for a team. I'm going on. I'm searching. You.

(26:45):
Show me what you got. You come to the tape.
We're dating. I'm taking you out. We're gonna go on
a hot air balloon rider, going to take you out sailing.
I'm gonna have a third dinner with you, and then
the second our dinner is over, I'm going to meet
with somebody else. I mean probably have three of these
in one night. I'm gonna meet with three in one night.
I'm gonna talk with teammates that I once had in
three different teams and one night. That's what I'm gonna do. Now,

(27:06):
you got the analogy going, So Sam, there you go.

Speaker 3 (27:10):
That's all I got for that, because I I mean,
I knew it was convoluted as it was unfolding. But
that's like a segment a day at least on this show.
And that's all, he's my fault. It's never Wax's fault.
That's why I bring to the table chaos. Well at
Real CJ ten.

Speaker 2 (27:26):
Do you know who that is? At Real CJ ten. Yeah,
it is. It is. Also it has one of those
blue check marks. I'm on this. I can't remember who
it is. I know it's obvious. He's hubby to at
Little Georgia Peach, father to seven strapping boys. Uh huh,
they're his world. Uh huh. Oh yeah, played a little

(27:46):
baseball for the Atlanta Braves. Oh, Chipper Jones. It's Larry, Yeah, Larry.
Larry has been on the X platform recently, he's been
on a tirade. Uh No, I don't think it's a tire.
I don't think it's He's really really having fun with this,
as a former excellent Major League baseball hitter should with

(28:06):
the topic that he's chosen to have fun with.

Speaker 3 (28:08):
Blom insists to me that he is an even better
guy and that when we meet, when we meet.

Speaker 2 (28:15):
Which he will of course facilitate, I'm gonna love him.
He's gonna love me. We're gonna get along famously. Well,
the reason why this is so awesome and why we'd
even bring it to the table. I mean, Chipper's great
in and of itself, and I'm sure he'd find himself
probably back here on the Best of X at one
time or another in the future. If you've ever seen
him during random broadcast Braves broadcast that he's been in

(28:35):
the booth for, especially when a former teammate is the
subject or in the booth with him. It's why Jeff
tells us what an awesome, hilarious guy he is and
a great teammate to be hero, because he's constantly giving
these guys grief. Oh you remember when you did this?
You remember? Just not it's awesome. It's just what you
think a fun baseball clubhouse atmosphere led by.

Speaker 3 (28:55):
Him and Greg mag in that same clubhouse. I can't
even imagine the pranks.

Speaker 2 (28:58):
So I say, this is is this is really what
brought Chipper to my attention, is that he was responding
to a post from somebody else. That post said there
are like twenty hitters on the planet that are true
competition for me. I'd steam roll the rest of them.
I remember. Now, does anybody out there have just I'll

(29:21):
give you one guess which non current major league pitcher
would have posted that on their Twitter streets. It's Trevor Bauer.
I'm gonna guess, Trevor Bauer is that right?

Speaker 11 (29:34):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (29:35):
Trevor Bauer is the guy pitching in the Mexically, is it?
Trevor Bauer is the guy who thinks he's wrong? Yes,
you're all right. It's Trevor Bauer. And so when other
people respond with things like do you think you could
still get major league hitters out, that's what he responded with.
There are like twenty hitters on the planet that are
true competition for me, I'd steamroll the rest of them.

(29:55):
The Astros employ twenty six players every time they go
into a ballgame. Of them are pitchers. So maybe twelve
to fourteen guys or our hitters. Well, okay, so you
wiped out this, take the whole Astros out of the mix.
Who can get their whole team? We still got six
to eight other guys to name, or we could take
the best players. That's probably what he's referring to. You know,
the Jan Soto's, the Kyle Tuckers, the Jordan Alvarez, the

(30:18):
Carlos Carez, et cetera. Guys. He would probably have trouble
finishing off well. Somebody decided to grab a video of
very famous Major leaguer Alexia Mariista posted a five ninety
nine ops as a career major leaguer. He hadn't even
been in the leagues for eight years. He just want

(30:38):
to remind people that that particular player had a multi
homer game against Trevor bohrer Bauer just this past year,
seven years removed from his major league career. So I
don't know if he's one of the twenty or not
one of the twenty. But this is where old Chipper
jumped in and he writes, a Mariste is one got
nineteen to go? Who did he say? Random? Nobody, barely

(31:06):
a major league talent who homerk twice off him? Oh
my god, in the major or in the Mexican League.
Is somebody like the referenced.

Speaker 3 (31:13):
Do you feel like Tyler is one of those guys
that just ca well, this is a rhetorical question, one
of those guys that just can't help himself in every
situation in life, which is probably one of the biggest
reasons he got himself into the pickle that he did,
because he's just everything is in excess. When when he
was pitching his celebrations. You know, Jose Lima did the

(31:35):
same thing. But Jose Lima was, by all accounts, a
guy that everybody loves, so even if he didn't like
what he was doing on the mound, when he celebrates
striking you out, eh.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
What did you think of Lima when he told everybody
he had to do it on in an interview because
there was no social media when he told everybody he
thought he could. You know, he'd have competition from the
twenty best hitters in baseball, but he would blow everybody
else away. What did you think of Lima when he
said that? When did he say that? I ever exactly so,
I don't care about any other antics or any other
comps you're gonna make. Nobody ever said this because nobody

(32:05):
ever thinks like that, even the most confident pitchers out there,
especially the ones that aren't currently in the major leagues,
though they are of typical major league age, like Trevor Bower.
As we're not talking about some forty five year old retiree,
talking about somebody who's dying to get back in the
major leagues. Trevor's added with happy to prove at any
time one of the quote Sweets Chipper also had for

(32:27):
Trevor was the comedic aspect of this app is what
I'm here for. It also had the Twins Almanac posting
this fun fact Trevor Bauer is the only pitcher in
Major league history to give up five straight home runs
to the same batter in a single season. That also happened.
So there's a lot of people on Trevor Bauer's side,

(32:49):
I mean one person on his side, and I recognize
there's still people who feel like he was actually wrong
by how Major League Baseball treated him. Referencing allegations that
weren't ever really proven to be true to the extent
that they were brought against him, doesn't mean other things
didn't happen here. And in that regard, I would say
there are some aspects of that where case was brought

(33:10):
against him, or cases like a quarterback here in Houston,
cases were brought against him, settled or not taken to
court to have proven that he was guilty of those
civil charges. But he he's in the league, so we'll
move on from him until we have to get back
to him because of Baltimore's kicker. But Trevor is honestly

(33:31):
for someone who's this now far removed from major League
Baseball still the gift that keeps on giving. Yeah, because
I appreciate his confidence and his total nonsense social media videos. Now, Hey,
I'm gonna tell you a pitch I'm throwing. You still
won't be able to hit it. And he's micing himself
up so he can talk trash to all these non
major league caliber players that he's getting out repeatedly, terrible

(33:52):
teammate with the team he's on. In my opinion, they
may say otherwise they're there, I'm not. He's just he's
showing you why if you were were unsure, it really
doesn't matter at this point if you can get hitters out.
I didn't there's a time a GM or manager that
wants you in their team's clubhouse.

Speaker 4 (34:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (34:10):
I didn't see a ton of ex teammates with the
exception of one who is an even bigger scumbag possibly
than he is, that were going out of their way
to taking up for Tyler whenever he got into his
legal issues and or his I can't get back into
the majors.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
And by the way, for the days when people were saying,
do you think the Astros should sign Bauer.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
I remember, I was about to bring that up, because
who would have thought that the two principles involved in
the Tyler v astros, as far as being verbally just
out there about it, him and Lance mccullors would pitch
as little as they have in the majors for very
different reasons. From the time their spat happened over the
cheating scandal to where we are today, neither of them

(34:51):
have pitched nearly as much as just the average Joe
Blow baseball fan would have considered them moving forward in
their respective careers based on what we had seen on
the resume. Just interesting stuff, all right, speaking of which
is Bregman coming back to Houston, What some of the
national types are saying?

Speaker 2 (35:08):
And should we even care when we return.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety back to Adam
Clinton had Adam Wexler the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
Mary Anne Faithful no longer with us at the age
of seventy eight. She's sanging the little hook on the
end of that song and passed away today. So I
had to get that in because the missus and I
are huge fans of that song in the Clinton House,
and yeah, she passed away today. December twenty ninth, nineteen

(35:43):
forty six is when she was born. No longer with us,
and speaking of which, I don't know if Alex Bregman
will no longer be with the Astros when all it's
said and done, but I do know that if you
are looking to compare and contrast what some of the
national types, not just the ones that are you know,

(36:03):
they throw stuff against the wall. Although there's at least
one of those included in this group. What they're saying
about this situation and how it compares even you know,
earlier in this week or over the weekend versus in
the last twenty four hours, it's very, very interesting, depending
on who you listen to. Ken Rosenthal is the first

(36:24):
one I want to play here because it was over
the weekend that he had and we talked about this
a little bit, but just to refresh some of the
things he had to say about the potential reunion between
the Astros and Alex Bregman.

Speaker 12 (36:38):
Their fans won Alex Bregman back, and the Astros are trying.
I don't know how far it's going to get, but
if I had to bet right now, I would bet
the Astros in this negotiation, even though they've made their offer.
It was six years, one hundred and fifty six million.
Jim Crane offered that to Bregman. But if they come
up a little bit and he doesn't really have anything

(37:00):
that he likes as much, and he supposedly has long
offers along those lines. But again it's where do you
want to play? And if Alex Redman goes back apparently
he played third, they'd moved Paradus to second, and jose
L Tuvey would play left.

Speaker 2 (37:14):
That's interesting, now crazy too, Right's good? That's good right there?

Speaker 3 (37:17):
So I mean that he's at least saying he would
bet on the Astros. That got my attention just simply
because that's a guy that I think is you know,
he's in the know, he's a national guy, and he's
even though we keep hearing it's a long shot and
the door is a jar or cracked or whatever it is,
he's betting on the Astros and going on the record

(37:38):
with it.

Speaker 2 (37:39):
Yeah, he's at a sports bar. He's playing darts.

Speaker 3 (37:43):
Okay, Well, if he said it in a studio or
if he said it to you, would it be more
important to you or would.

Speaker 2 (37:47):
It be han't had any drinks yet. It doesn't He
wasn't slosh. He's still very clear thinker when he was
playing darts and he had a couple of teams on
the board.

Speaker 3 (37:55):
All right at triple twenties, Let's go with one of
your favorites, John.

Speaker 13 (38:01):
If you got to choose one team that will eventually
get Bregman, what team would that be? Maybe I would
say Houston. We know kind of where they've at least
have a starting point. It sinks for one fifty six.
I'm gonna say them, but I know there is an
alert of the Cubs. We just saw his great friend
Ryan Presley leave the Astros to go to the Cubs.
There are two Astros now on the Cubs. I mean,
the Cubs are an interesting team. They're a fun team.

Speaker 4 (38:23):
You know, youve got.

Speaker 13 (38:24):
Tucker Now on right field. You've got Presley now is
the closer. That may be an extra alert for Bregman.
I know that he and Presley were close. Maybe the
Cubs could could.

Speaker 14 (38:34):
Come in there.

Speaker 4 (38:35):
So I'm gonna say one of those two teams. I
think I.

Speaker 13 (38:36):
Tweeted that a week ago that Houston and the Cubs
were certainly big players in on Bragman. But I don't
know that we're close at this moment, you know, I mean,
one of these other teams is gonna have to step up.
And if they do, if they step up and go
to that sixth year or seventh year the Cubs Red Sox,
they might be able to them because we all know
where the athletes more.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Please give us more, tell us more that we don't know.
Don't stop playing this ever. We have another one we
can play. I know we do. Let's do that too.
Hold on, I'm glad we have four. I'm not ready
for it yet. No, I don't. It doesn't bother me
as much. Take a deep breath. It's gonna be okay.

Speaker 3 (39:16):
So the interesting part about that SoundBite, to me, at least,
I'm not saying that they weren't. But I've just never
heard of Bregman and Presley being that tight.

Speaker 2 (39:27):
Have you? Presley has said it before, and he said
it again during his availability yesterday. I just didn't.

Speaker 3 (39:33):
I guess I wasn't aware of that. I guess I
thought I would have seen that more if it was
the case. Well, it's in the system.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
Let's fire that one off before we get to Jeffrey
passon number two from Presley from his comments yesterday about
Bregman meaning a lot to him.

Speaker 15 (39:47):
Me personally, I would love to play with him again,
just because he's just a solid dude and a great teammate.
And you know his kid plays with my kids, and
you know our wives are our close friends. So again,
having another familiar face on the team would be you know,
super helpful, and the left side of the NFL would
be really really good.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
That's that last part is the most important. The most
important part is thankfully somebody nationally knows that Kyle Tucker
and Ryan Presley are on Chicago's baseball team that isn't
the White Sox. I'm glad he'd let us know that
Jeff passing with his thoughts on this.

Speaker 16 (40:21):
Six six is still in play. Okay, So theoretically, would
it take more for him to sign somewhere else, I mean,
one would think. But it is a three or four
year contract with a higher AAV and an opt out
after years one and two more valuable than the long

(40:44):
term deal. I think we're going to learn a lot
about Alex Fregman's priorities here and what's important to him
and the belief is that he wants a long term
deal now might not need any opt outs, like he
wants to be locked in, and then he's just not
getting those years elsewhere at this point. But you know,

(41:05):
the closer we get to spring training, man, I think
the more teams start to recognize, hey, maybe we have
this week this year and we need to take advantage
of this opportunity. Which is why I think at the
end of the day, Bregman is still going to do
just fine. Yeah, I don't I don't know that he's
going to end up in Boston at this point.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
That last part is interesting because why wouldn't Why would
Boston not be.

Speaker 2 (41:25):
Well, the reason he said that is because he was
on a Yankees podcast and the Yankee person asking in
the question throughout a well, that's the Yankee in me,
we don't want to see him in Boston. He goes, well,
I don't think he's going to be in Boston. So
it was a response to that. But that's also if
you were listening closely, why Jeff Passon is not like
John Hayman. He wasn't just saying the obvious. He wasn't
even giving his opinion. He was saying, this is what

(41:47):
I understand, and that is information that not everybody I
think knows or believes, and if his reporting is to
be accurate, what he wants is what the astros have offered,
just maybe a little bit more money. I don't I
don't want a three year deal with outs, is what
he's saying. He is under the understanding, based on his
reporting and his sources, these opt out options, the shorter
term deals. Well, unless there's a much bigger AAV that's

(42:10):
that's not really what he wants, and that is information
that could lead us to what his decision ultimately would be.

Speaker 3 (42:17):
All Right, we will dissect that, we'll discuss that, and
we're going to get to maybe the most unlikeliest news
story involving a kicker.

Speaker 2 (42:24):
I think I've ever seen.

Speaker 5 (42:27):
The A ten on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham Talking Your
Teams series, Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A
Team A.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
It is the A Team Sports Talk seven ninety and
now Space City Home Network as a simulcast has begun
so you can stare at us while we host this
radio show. In addition to listening to us, if you're
on the television side of things. WEX tod a see
with you until six o'clock tonight. Number of things discussed
in the first hour, obviously, Alex Bregman in that situation

(43:10):
or not situation? Would you call it a situation? Ship
in our number one? I like that, Yes, all right,
WEX is a little cantankerous today, but yes you are.

Speaker 2 (43:19):
No, I'm not.

Speaker 3 (43:19):
You absolutely are. But the end game here for both
parties and what it ends up being is fascinating to
watch unfold, especially when you consider that it feels like
it feels like I don't know, like if somebody said
the right thing, this would happen. I know, I've heard

(43:40):
Dana Brown, I've heard everybody say that it's like a
long shot and all that.

Speaker 2 (43:45):
Why isn't he signed somewhere else? Because he doesn't have
what he thinks he can still get and once just money?
What else is there? Years? Well, okay, yes, money and
years side isn't that You're right? There are also years.

Speaker 3 (44:00):
I'm not even being like that's a big thing in
this particular scenario, given.

Speaker 2 (44:04):
His age that it was what I meant, he hadn't
got the contract of the terms that he would like
to get, and that he has still might maybe still
has been convinced by his agent that he can still
get I mean, there is kind of a deadline, but
he still does have time. I mean, he doesn't have
to pack up today, he doesn't have to be at
spring training early. It is rapidly approaching, and then I

(44:27):
could find out that he doesn't treat spring training like
a deadline. It would shock me if he was, in
my opinion, if I'm Alex Bregman and I operate the
way he does, going to spring training late, arriving with
my new team late makes my twenty twenty five season
not what I want it to be. It puts me

(44:48):
in a position I don't want to be in. I
know how hard he's working right now. I have social media,
and I have every other year. It's not I don't
mean to point him out, but yeah, we know what
kind of work he puts it. He'll be ready for
the season no matter when he signs. But I don't
I think that's what he would ever allow to happen.
And he doesn't strike me as a player who would
want to come to camp late. I'm sure his teammates
would be excited he's not on their team. Yet it's

(45:09):
not like it's not a holdout situation. It's not a well,
these guys are working out there and I'm just off
to the side being selfish, which is what football often had,
And even the players in the locker room then weren't
feeling like he was selfish unless it was during the
season or unless it hurt their season, which it very
rarely did. If you sat out the season or torpedoed
your career like Le'Veon Bell did, that would be different.

(45:31):
But I anticipate the early days of February probably being
a sort of deadline for him in order to get
everything he needs to get in order think about for all,
I know, the pregnants have already made one very very
important decision. And I don't know if they have, and
I don't know what it would be, but they could
have already made the decision. Where we live in twenty
twenty five, that decision could already be made. They could

(45:52):
have decided, Look, you know, she's pregnant, we have young knocks.
We're living in Arizona. That's that. This is where we're
gonna be, she and he and our other. He will
be at lots of games this year, just like they
always have been. They'll travel with this, they'll come out there,
We'll get a temporary place wherever I am, but this
is where we're staying. This is our life, this is
where we're going to be, and that might help with

(46:13):
whatever future decision might be. I mean, if he comes
back to Houston, it's a piece of cake. You know
everything about the city you need to know as a
baseball player in his family. If he goes anywhere else,
it is very, very different. And I absolutely think the
idea that well the Cubs, despite Tucker's tenure there being
tenuous because he's not under contract after next year, and

(46:35):
for that matter, neither is Ryan Presley, it sounds nice
to say he'd like to play with them and he
can believe in the Cubs because part of that is true,
the twenty twenty five part. Only in twenty twenty five,
if Alex Bregman plays for the Cubs, he'll be in
the playoffs. I would make that prediction today, but I
don't know what he's going to look like in twenty
twenty six. And if what we just heard from Jeff

(46:56):
Passon is true, and I tend to believe it is,
he would prefer six year deal, a long term deal.
This is the contract I want, These are the years
I want. This is where I want to play, and
that's that. I believe in the team. I believe in
the management of the team to make sure we're always
in it, and that's what I want to do. If
it's the Cubs in twenty twenty five, well then he's
probably right back in the free agent pool in a year,

(47:19):
which I don't know that he truly wants if he
can avoid that.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
Do you think because five if six for one fifty
six that was the Astros offer, correct, Yes, if it were,
I mean that's that right there alone is kind of
going against the grain of the way Jim Crane likes
to do things correct.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
Yeah, but the only thing that says to Bregman and
Boris is, oh, he's willing to do that for us.
He doesn't really care that he's never done it before.
It just shows him that, you know, he really he
does have a sense of belief in what he could
be in the future. He was willing to do this.
But I think we're pretty clear. I doubt there's no
other team close or above it. I mean, he's got
offers like this. I think just not offers that blow

(48:02):
it away.

Speaker 3 (48:03):
Which which begs the question, what's going to be the
magic number for him? And if it's because if it's
not him, why is he letting Boris do this?

Speaker 8 (48:12):
Well?

Speaker 2 (48:12):
Why can't you sign a three year deal for ninety
three million with opt outs after year one? In year two,
so you get a raise for this year. Now you're
up to thirty one, which is five more million than
you could get from the Astros you opt out, Can
you then get a five year, one hundred and twenty
five million dollar deal which would now match exactly the

(48:34):
offer you had on the table. And now you have
other teams on the mix, Probably not the Astros, but
you know, are the Cubs in the mix if that's
the team that gave it to you, Are the Red
Sox or even the Yankees? Any number of teams? Could
it open the door for that? Could he play well
enough that even at that age he could now get
five years more than one twenty five, which would then
surpass what the Astros offer would have been. All that

(48:56):
being said, you're still then playing a twenty twenty five contra.
He just played a contract year. He just set himself
up because he wanted to be into free agency. Players
want to be in free agency. They don't want to
be in free agency again until they're already there. Like
Blake Snell didn't want to be in free agency again
until he had to, and then he went out and

(49:17):
had a very good season. It worked out for him.
Carlos Korea didn't want to be in free agency again,
but he was able to opt out and get a better,
longer term deal at that point in time. But it
certainly was nowhere near the multiple two three hundred million
dollar deals he could have had if things went I mean,
he basically agreed to a deal with two different teams
before signing with the third team in Minnesota. It's a

(49:41):
risk a player at that stage of their careers. While
you could argue they're still in their prime, Alex Bregman
has multiple awesome seasons left, but the end of the
contract seasons are not in his prime. The end of
corea is long term contract seasons. They are not in
his prime. The further you go into when am I
getting that big fat contract, you go, the fewer of
those years in it. The team actually believes you're gonna

(50:02):
be great, and he'd be pushing it off another year,
he'd be getting paid tremendously well this year. But now
you're also telling me a team's gonna offer him that.
I don't know that that's the case. For one year,
would you pay Alex Bregman thirty one million dollars knowing
there's a really really good chance he's not coming back.
They're probably a team or two that would do that,
including this one.

Speaker 3 (50:22):
I don't think this one, because I was gonna say,
if you did five years on that deal, which makes
it thirty one a year, he's not getting the years,
but you're not having to pay him in that sixth
year where maybe his play has declined to the point
where you're like, I cannot believe I'm paying this guy
twenty six million to do this.

Speaker 2 (50:38):
I mean to me, if you were willing to do that,
you would have signed one or the other not quite
as goods. Like would you sign Alex Bregman for thirty
one million knowing it to be the only year he'd
be here versus signing Jerkson Profar for forty two million
over three years? Wouldn't you take the ladder not saying
he's Alex Bregman because he's not.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
I would just because the outfield right now scares the
bad Jesus out of it.

Speaker 2 (51:00):
Well, you still have the additional seventeen million this year.
You have the additional money in the future years to
spend it differently and still stay Again, if you spend
it all, then you spend it all, then you're right
back where you were. You know the weir Jim Crane
is operating like that.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
Yeah, and you know what the weird part is. You
have to keep in mind that they are paying both
Montero and a bray You this year, and then those
two deals both come off the books after twenty twenty
five concludes. And I don't know how much that factors
into because I keep hearing these not whispers, but there's

(51:36):
just there's a lot of people out there that I
think are thinking that the Astros are closer to maybe
not blowing it up, but closer to a rebuild than
being super competitive. Then we're all willing to admit just
because of where guys are in their timelines.

Speaker 2 (51:53):
And I don't dispute you could be hearing that, and
people could be saying that, and some people might even
be reporting that. It makes absolutely no sense to me
whatsoever that that would be the case. What do you
have Hater, Altuve and Alvarez under contract for through twenty
twenty eight, all three of them not to mention Christian

(52:13):
Xavier through twenty twenty seven. Altuve is actually through twenty
twenty nine. You've now committed to Christian Walker at twenty
mil through twenty twenty seven. They absolutely positively are not
doing that until what happened to the Mets happens to them.
We spend all this money, we have all these commitments,
and we are thirty and we're not winning.

Speaker 3 (52:31):
Right So, and having said that, because I figured you
might have that kind of response, then why aren't you
doing everything to win? If you do have all those
parts in place? Because it's expensive, Well, then what are
you in this for. There are limits, and that's all
I'm saying. There are limits to what he believes is

(52:52):
worthwhile for him to spend and still earn before he
sells the team and earns tremendous amount of money. Maybe
I would be a little bit more comfortable with this
being the way of thinking, provided your farm system was
not ranked in the bottom tenth of all Major League
Baseball right now.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
I mean, there was another new ranking out today. I
brought his name up yesterday to indicate how little I
pay attention to him, So I'll bring it up again
today when we actually get into that segment of the show.
Astros ranked twenty ninth by the Twitterless Athletics Baseball Prospect writer.
What does he have on social I mean his name,
his name's Keith Law, just not on Twitter. Oh you're

(53:35):
not a fan of his?

Speaker 4 (53:35):
I take it.

Speaker 2 (53:36):
I mean I'll read to you why when we get
to that. It's so unbelievable. It's shocking to me almost.
It's just I don't know.

Speaker 3 (53:44):
It continues to be the most fascinating thing for all
the different reasons I didn't think it would be. As
we continue to see where Alex Bregman's going to wind
up landing with spring training, because WEX mentioned right around
the corner, and like you said yesterday, Wex he does
not strike me as a type of guy that wants
to be late for preparing for a season mentioned that

(54:05):
there is a wow type of story involving an NFL kicker.

Speaker 2 (54:09):
We will get to that next.

Speaker 5 (54:12):
The ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (54:16):
Speaking of Wow, you say that when you look at
all the money you spent for the holidays, or maybe
some of the other expenses unexpected or otherwise that have
gotten your debt into a serious situation where you're like,
I need help with this. People get into debt for
all kinds of reasons. It could be the holidays, it
could be unexpected car repairs, school tuitions a big one,

(54:38):
medical bills. I mean, the list goes on and on.
And those credit cards they keep piling on the interest.
You know, they're nice like that, making it seem like
you're never going to get out. Well, Prime Way Federal
Credit Union is here to help. They are all about
giving you solutions to your financial problem, So why don't
you let them do just that. They can consolidate your
debt into one low monthly payment and with low introductory rate,

(54:59):
you'll be able to see a future where you are
debt free. Get rid of that debt stress now by
taking your first step to financial freedom and going to
PRIMEWAYFCU dot com.

Speaker 2 (55:08):
Visit PRIMEWAYFCU dot com.

Speaker 1 (55:10):
Today back to Adam Clinton at Adam Wexler The eight.

Speaker 6 (55:16):
On Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (55:22):
We continue with well, everything that's on our plate here
on a Thursday, it seems like it's taken forever to
approach the weekend. We are approaching the weekend. Talked a
lot about the Bregmann situation, which remains basically unchanged. Nois
in discussions with multiple teams. NOI hasn't seen an offer
contract length and years or and money that he liked

(55:42):
or else he would be signed. He would be being
introduced with his new squad, and that obviously means the
Astros remain in the mix of not talked much about
the ongoing search for a new offensive coordinator for the
Houston Texans, with a pair of interviews scheduled for today.
I haven't talked about the announcement coming from the NBA
this evening with the other seven players that will be

(56:04):
asked to participate in All Star Game festivities. The name
of the five starters for each conference last week, now
the seven reserves to be named well before the Rockets
take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, actually before the early
game on the national TNT side. Also, there's a little
bit of support for both Jalen Green and alprin Hinngoon

(56:25):
to draw considerable consideration for participating in the All Star
Game for the first time in their respective careers. We
also have basketball right here on Sports Talk seven eight
to seven ninety tonight, because they'll both presumably be playing
tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. Two rather important injury updates

(56:46):
we all still await as the rest of the afternoon
and early evening comes our way. One for both sides.
I'll answer your obvious question. Marcus Smart is still out.
He will not be playing tonight for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Yah Morants with his right shoulder soreness. He's on the
injury report and has not been for all these games recently.
But is tonight. Yeah, a rough Monday. He is questionable

(57:09):
to participate tonight. Don't worry, Zachi ed he is available.
Even with his face fracture. He'll have six fouls by
the second quarter. The Rocket side does, since I said
hopefully it does include Alpura and Shangoon. He is listed
as questionable. That left cast that calf contusions come up
a few times, but it hasn't cost him game time yet.
And Steven Adams also questionable, but most notably with the

(57:31):
Rockets trying to make it four games and four wins
against Memphis, the availability of Alpi and or Jahn morants
of great importance, and I say, afternoon progresses. We'll try
to keep you updated on that. All right, did you,
I mean, how much of that game if you, if
at all.

Speaker 3 (57:45):
Did you see against the Knicks the other night with
with jo Is getting locked down.

Speaker 2 (57:50):
I haven't seen.

Speaker 3 (57:51):
I don't think anybody's seen that a lot because he's
just such a dynamic score and all the credit was
for the most part given him Michale Bridges since when
he was out there, I think they outscored the Grizzlies
by forty one during his time on the floor and
primarily was guarding John Morant. But that's just not a

(58:12):
guy that typically gets held a ten points. Ever, he
liked well they all out of the buzz and scores.

Speaker 2 (58:17):
Ten part I mean acknowledged that some of it was
the fact that he didn't play a full game because
they were getting slaughtered.

Speaker 3 (58:23):
Yeah, yeah, but they wouldn't have been getting slaughtered if
he was having his usual night.

Speaker 2 (58:28):
Well, his teammates also probably in the midd.

Speaker 3 (58:32):
Game, and Jaron Jackson Junior I think had a decent game.
As I recall, they weren't held to ten.

Speaker 2 (58:40):
It's US five or thirteen Baine was six or fourteen,
so he took another shot and made it and it
was a three. He had sixteen points. Jared Jackson Junior.
You're probably pretty fair if you go back and look
at how he played. In addition to the numbers, he
was fine. They they had almost nothing else, and I
think that actually is one of their big problems. There
are a lot of Knights where they do get nothing else.

(59:00):
The biggest problem was and the Rockets have taken advantage
of the same problem in some of their games. Well,
they have scored one twenty eight against them, They've been
at that number or close to it in both of
the other two games. They like to run a push pace,
they like to run up and down the floor. They're
near They're definitely the highest scoring team if you're only
looking at points per game one twenty three point three,

(59:21):
and it is one of the highest marks we've seen
in the last twenty years. But with that comes with
the other teams going to get into their offensive flow.
This is an athletic, lengthy, gambling defensive team that relies
on their shot blocker or shot blockers to kind of
recover for everybody else. And when that isn't working. They
give up one hundred and forty three points on fifty

(59:42):
two percent shooting. That's what happened against the Knicks.

Speaker 3 (59:44):
And the Knicks are good offensively, don't get me wrong,
but I just and by the way, Memphis is bad defensively.

Speaker 2 (59:50):
Now this just in like that.

Speaker 3 (59:52):
I don't know when that happened, because you can't really say, oh.

Speaker 2 (59:56):
Grit and grind, blah blah blah.

Speaker 3 (59:58):
If you're not gritting and grinding on that end of
the floor, you're just like olea like whoever wants to
get to the basket can now, which is good for
the Rockets tonight because they like to do that a lot.

Speaker 2 (01:00:07):
Yeah, Memphis is fifth in the NBA and offensive rating,
you like to use that as well, that's how good
they are. But they are still seventh in defensive rating,
a couple spots behind the Rockets. Their biggest problem is
just merely they run themselves into some bad defensive sets.
They're pushing pace so hard that the other team is
able to take advantage of mistakes that might get made,

(01:00:29):
and that's where the Rockets have really gotten off great
against Memphis. Memphis is twenty seventh in the league in
turnover percentage good. You don't want to be near thirty
thirty is bad. By the twenty seventh, both these teams
are like neck and neck rebounding one and two. By
the way in the association, I feel like this is
such low hanging fruit, duh. But like, whoever wins the

(01:00:53):
glass tonight is probably gonna win this game. And I
haven't looked.

Speaker 3 (01:00:56):
I know they've won all three games, and I know
that Jalen specific like, did this.

Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
We're on TV, so I can do this. Hey average
thirty points in their three games, Yeah, twenty two to
twenty seven and forty two a career high. As I recall,
that kind of skews the afforage.

Speaker 11 (01:01:09):
I guess if you say so, but he clearly it
does specifically, and it's you know, watching him and John,
like you know, Jahn Moran's gonna want to come out
tonight and put ten games or ten points in a
game behind him.

Speaker 3 (01:01:21):
He and Jalen were trash talking each other at that
game intoy nicely nicely as somebody called it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
They were flirting. They love each other like their their boys.
A lot of I think this probably would be felt
by most people, especially if they just eliminate the Pacers
and Pistons. From the conversation, a lot of the upcoming players,
up and coming stars, they have respect for the other
up and coming stars, and they've probably known each other

(01:01:48):
for a long time.

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
They've probably played Thompson twins, they've known each other forever.

Speaker 2 (01:01:52):
They haven't gone against each other, but you can see it,
and these type of interactions are what we're talking about.
They're not they want to win that these are the
people they probably want to beat the most. But I
don't think it's unhealthy or and that doesn't bother me
that it's clearly different. A lot of people think, oh,
the jersey swapping and the constant hugging and helping guys up.
We don't need that in the NBA. We need to
get back to what we once were. I don't find

(01:02:13):
issue with it. I don't think it's made the game worse.
I don't know that's made the game better. But I'm
totally fine with it. I think you were referencing the
rebounding looking for the numbers. I have the numbers for
those of you that would like them do it. When
the Rockets won by twenty opening week of the season,
they did out rebound the Grizzlies sixty four to forty three,
dominated them on the glass. When they won by four

(01:02:33):
at the FedEx Forum, they out rebounded him again by one,
and when they beat them this last time at Toyota
Center also this month, they won the rebounding battle for
a third consecutive time, three rebound advantages, three victories.

Speaker 3 (01:02:45):
It just feels like, and I know that first game
kind of like got out of hand. It feels like
it's always close with these guys, even like generations of
rosters ago.

Speaker 2 (01:02:53):
It was like this didn't get out of hand until
after the Rockets took the lead in the third quarter.
They were down six at the half, bombarded them in
the third quarter and ran them off the court.

Speaker 3 (01:03:04):
I feel like, and you've watched long enough to know this,
I feel like when Harden got to Houston is when
they started routinely beating Memphis, and that before that, the
Rockets almost always found ways to lose, especially in Memphis
because Paal Gasol was there those years.

Speaker 2 (01:03:20):
A season series sweep on the line for the Rockets,
something they have not done since the on nine to
ten season, which was actually before James Harden got here.
So ignore what I just said, well, they might have
won the season series, doesn't mean they just didn't sweep it. Yeah, no, No,
that's true, that's true. But yeah, that's that's.

Speaker 3 (01:03:37):
Domination, especially when you're talking about the team that's right
behind you in the standings. And John Moran's not out
for an inordinate amount of games for suspension or injury
or anything else.

Speaker 2 (01:03:46):
So this was forecast. What the Rockets are doing is not. Yeah,
I told you Memphis was gonna be from one of
the five teams that did not make the in season
tournament last year to one of the top five teams
of the West, you would have said, yeah, totally. Joah
Morant was a non factor, that injury issues and just
what they couldn't win. It wasn't their year then of
the right player, the talented players on their roster. Weren't

(01:04:07):
they talented players on the court. But if I told
you the Rockets went from one of those five teams
that did not even make the play in tournament last
year to one of the top five teams in the West,
you probably would not have believed that. And it's obviously
could be said much more favorably for Rockets fans. They're
one of the top four teams in the West for
sure by the end of the season, barring some major injuries.
I think that will definitely hold true even when Dallas

(01:04:29):
gets healthy, even if the other teams remain healthy. With
Aaron Gordon back, the Nuggets are definitely different, even though
they lost last night. And you know, the Rockets are
also playing hurt all these games since the injury early
this month to Jabari Smith Junior and Tarry Easton is
still not a full time every night player, as he
did not play in the second night of their most

(01:04:50):
recent back to back well and their second in the West. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 (01:04:54):
Two things I think about based on what you just
said is that, you know, the first one is that
what is Jabari's role when he comes back off the bench, because.

Speaker 2 (01:05:01):
That's where he's coming from. I'm sorry saying, who do
you think tweety this tarb of ours when he gets
back off the bench. Well, I like it.

Speaker 3 (01:05:09):
It's just a matter of what he's going to be,
who he's going to play with. Maybe him and him
and Thompson are out there together at the end of
the game, just they will be. I mean, his linked that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
Is, it provides you some much better matchup advantages that
you usually can take advantage of, and that's when you
have your full depth and you're really saying the matchup
advantage is ours. You're going to have to match up
with us. We can do whatever we want to do
at any time with whatever lineup works for us, and
you can figure it out. Now there's still the offense
for defense stuff at the end of a game. But

(01:05:38):
Brian Large, good luck matching up with this five at
this point in the game with whatever you've got is
what he may can say to them.

Speaker 3 (01:05:45):
And the other thing is, you know, Dallas is going
to be that stupid team that's going to get Luca
back late in the year and getting one of those
low seeds, and then it's going to be this skewed
first round matchup.

Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
Rockets MAVs opening rounds. Suck it, Dallas delicious. I'll be
saying that so much. Hey, Billy D. Washington is in
studio with us next. I cannot wait to catch up
with this guy. And you guys are not going to
want to miss this either. Straight ahead.

Speaker 1 (01:06:09):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 14 (01:06:15):
You don't have to be a pepp to get your
lady to.

Speaker 5 (01:06:17):
Work at your command, mister Bonbee, that's.

Speaker 14 (01:06:19):
Right, just asks just my device to play Sports Sock
seven ninety on iHeart Radio.

Speaker 2 (01:06:31):
It is the eight team Sports Sock seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:06:33):
I'm absolutely pumped because my good friend, and it's for
a from a long time back, several stations ago.

Speaker 2 (01:06:40):
Billy D. Washington is in.

Speaker 3 (01:06:41):
And I didn't know this until you guys actually like
did the awkward side hug that you mentioned that you
and wex had never met in person before.

Speaker 17 (01:06:49):
No, we communicated online and stuff and many times. And
he knows I'm a fan of his and of your dead. Yeah,
so we're friends by hell.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
That's why.

Speaker 17 (01:06:58):
Now let me ask you guys this, what's wrong with
being a homer. I'm just curious, but.

Speaker 2 (01:07:05):
Just a Houston well any homer, because you mean, like
if we did a local Houston radio show and war
like rockets gear.

Speaker 17 (01:07:10):
Well, I mean, I mean, you guys are attacked. I mean,
but you guys are like you guys are like stats
and you love our home teams. Yeah, but that's there's
nothing wrong with that. But I hear people complain a
lot about like the homerism. I hear it a lot.
Oh well, you know, they just like they're just homers. Dude,
if you're here, I just mentioned that because the reason
I called you was because when I was considering asking

(01:07:31):
for favors, I wanted to come on here because I
get so tired of snark radio, just just a snarky
take just to get the callers and the negative stuff
about our teams. Dude, I'm an unapologetic homer. I don't care.
I don't care how long it takes hate. I'm not
joking subject here. I'm just saying I don't care how
long it takes Alex Bregman to decide what he wants

(01:07:52):
to do whatever, because of the way that dude has
made me feel over the course of his career. So
as that makes me an homer a homer, then then
that's school. But don't get mad at me just because
I won't criticize a guy for not making a decision.

Speaker 3 (01:08:04):
Or how do you how do you in your mind
justify the homer versus the business side of things when
you understand that, like Jim Crane's sitting there.

Speaker 2 (01:08:16):
Like I gave you a good deal and he everybody's
laughing at it. On that like the term insult was.

Speaker 3 (01:08:22):
Used a lot when we found out, Oh they offered
Alex Bregman six one fifty six, but then he hadn't
signed anywhere else, which means it doesn't mean that necessarily
other teams haven't offered more.

Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
But then he mean it was fair. That means it
was fair.

Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
Yeah, yeah, I think we all have had special feelings
that Alex Bregman has given us.

Speaker 17 (01:08:41):
Oh god man so many years. And he said, a
great community person. Like remember when he helped out this
him and his wife, they helped out this African lady.
They like bought her a car or something and you know,
I don't know, horse, I don't know what it was,
Rick Shaw something on a horse. Oh yeah, like I
don't know up in an apartment something he bought that.
They bought her something, and it was all over the
news and he just you know, he's just that dude.
And he created the camera thing when he walks into

(01:09:03):
the dugout and he mugs into the camera. Everybody I
knew what the camera until Bregman did it. The look,
and he never gets credit for it. Everybody's hacking this
dude's bro. You can't take that dude's joke. And I
give him credit for it. He was the first one
to do it, so he can take as long as
he wants. I don't care. I'm a fan, call me
a homer, I don't care.

Speaker 2 (01:09:21):
That's what you're supposed to be, fans, Homers that stand
up for the team, back the team, absolutely, back against
others who don't. That's what fandom is all about. Well,
and that's a fan of you guys.

Speaker 17 (01:09:30):
And not because you guys are like super super homers,
but you guys have so much, so many substance of takes.

Speaker 9 (01:09:35):
I mean like.

Speaker 17 (01:09:35):
You're like such a statistical genius when it comes to
just like the stats and the and the reason behind
this and and you you know what's your phrase is
it's ques towards the average who says that on on
on afternoon radio.

Speaker 2 (01:09:50):
Yeah, but you've always keep just in line, like you.
We're just here to entertain and inform you. You are
an entertainer, you know all about that business. What what
is the latest going on for you as you entertain us?
All right?

Speaker 17 (01:10:01):
Hey man, look, I'm just here to get flowers and
to thank you guys for being these solid these beacons
of sports Houston sports like man for all these years.

Speaker 2 (01:10:10):
Yeah, but when people want to go see you.

Speaker 3 (01:10:13):
Yeah, and I asked you this question almost every time
we interact, whether it's text or today in person, like
when's your next show? You told me it's actually the
show that you want.

Speaker 2 (01:10:20):
To talk about.

Speaker 17 (01:10:21):
Yeah, Like the next show is the next show Saturday,
this weekend. And I'm doing something like really special. So
but people that know me, they knew I do a
lot of work on the cruise lines, right, and the
cruise ship stuff for comedians, you know, friends of ours
like like John Westling and myself and other dudes. Man,
it's a it's been a blessing for us all but
whenever we get a chance to do something that's super special,

(01:10:42):
like everything goes to the background and this pushes up front.
Margueritaville contacted me and a friend of mine, a former
cruise director at Carnival Cruise Lines, and they wanted us
to do this thing back during the pandemic. It was
a comedy series and it was so successful until they
reached out again and they wanted us to do it again.
So I'm doing this seven week comedy series because I
don't have time to do it perpetually. But it's a

(01:11:04):
seven week comedy series at Margaritaville Resort and Hotel.

Speaker 2 (01:11:08):
And it's fun, dude.

Speaker 17 (01:11:09):
I mean, I'm putting together these great lineups full of people,
controversial comedians, straight, lace comedians, everything. I'm not going for
the big names or whatever. I just want to have
a great lineup because everybody's been to that one comedy
show with the one celebrity and everybody else sucks.

Speaker 2 (01:11:29):
I'm not gonna do that, dude.

Speaker 3 (01:11:30):
I mean, when you pay all the money for the
big celebrity and the opening act kills too.

Speaker 2 (01:11:36):
That happens too.

Speaker 17 (01:11:36):
But this is gonna be a nice, equal even representation
of who we are as this melting pot of the
of the conro society that they are out there. So
it's it's fun, man. I had a great time last weekend.
We sold out with a guy by the name of
Dustin Sims who came in and absolutely killed it. This weekend,
it's gonna be this Saturday night. It's gonna be Carolina Peakard.

(01:11:58):
She's a queen of comedy. People love her. I'll be
there with my dude, Craig Bush in a couple of weeks,
the afore mentioned John's Westling. I'll be there on Valentine's
Day and Kid from Kid and Play is gonna come
and hang out on Super Bowl weekend, so he'll be
there that Saturday night.

Speaker 2 (01:12:14):
So spending all that time working the cruise ship crowd
and being on the cruise ship. So I'm sure some
stories that have turned into bits and jokes come up.
Do they play better on the cruise ship with the
crowd or maybe at this resort.

Speaker 17 (01:12:27):
Well, for me, it's different because I'd never care how
they play. I don't do it. I never I'm never
on stage to impress an audience. I look at them
as the monolith that wants to impress me. You know,
I want them to like okay, I get because some
of the stuff that I do has really hard math
to it, and if they laugh at it, I want

(01:12:47):
them to be the ones that come to me after
the show to go, hey man, nobody else got that,
but I did. So I don't care whether they like it,
you know what I mean? Like I want, I want
to be entertaining. I'm gonna go up every time. I'm
gonna do my job just like you guys are. I'm
gonna do my job every time. I know that I
put the work in. I know this is as supposed
to work. If it does, and that's great, but if
it's if it doesn't, Hey, man, it's not my fault.

Speaker 2 (01:13:08):
You're showing us obviously how much you're here. You're houstony.
I love the Ashleys. Are you ready for the Texans
to take the next step?

Speaker 4 (01:13:15):
Bro?

Speaker 17 (01:13:16):
Are you kidding?

Speaker 2 (01:13:17):
I mean, I think you know. I'm home.

Speaker 17 (01:13:19):
I'm a homer again. Referees, man, let me find let
me see one of them. Let me see one of
those referees in at Margaritaville and Conroad this weekend and
watch what happens.

Speaker 2 (01:13:28):
I was.

Speaker 17 (01:13:29):
I was so upset, mortally wounded. I mean, that's who
we are as a as a as a sports fan
in Houston. Every time my teams go down. I mean,
I'm even with the with the with the rockets. I
don't want to, uh, you know, get too excited about them,
even as good as they're looking. I know there's an
inevitability that's going to show up in the.

Speaker 4 (01:13:47):
Next couple on.

Speaker 2 (01:13:48):
Thompson's giving you those special feelings, isn't.

Speaker 9 (01:13:50):
He he is man, he gives me those.

Speaker 2 (01:13:53):
He gave me those.

Speaker 8 (01:13:54):
C J.

Speaker 2 (01:13:54):
Strouds Man, the CJ shrouds and there.

Speaker 17 (01:13:56):
You know, you know, you know, CJ is an emotional dude,
and like I'm back to and I just imagine him
losing that game and him going crying and praying and stuff,
and it.

Speaker 2 (01:14:05):
Just, you know, it's just he's just so sad. Man.

Speaker 3 (01:14:10):
He was sad. We were all sad. Give us the
details one more time about where it's gonna be. It's
Margeriteville and Conroe.

Speaker 17 (01:14:15):
It's Margaritaville, uh and Conroe. So I think it's Margaritaville
LC on dot com or something.

Speaker 2 (01:14:22):
It's this week. It's gonna be sad.

Speaker 17 (01:14:23):
It's gonna be every Saturday night for the next six weeks,
and I will be there for five of those six weeks.
So come out, hangout, and you having.

Speaker 2 (01:14:32):
Some best way to go?

Speaker 17 (01:14:33):
Yeah, basically, just hit me up on something and I'll
shoot you the link to.

Speaker 2 (01:14:37):
So I'm Billy D.

Speaker 17 (01:14:38):
Washington at everything, Instagram, Facebook and whatever.

Speaker 3 (01:14:40):
So awesome. Well, I'm glad you stopped on by. Good
to see you.

Speaker 9 (01:14:44):
Thank you man.

Speaker 3 (01:14:45):
Yeah, So get out there to see Billy. He's absolutely
hilarious and he rips the band aid off at the beginning.

Speaker 17 (01:14:51):
I try to Yeah, yes, sir, just you know everybody's
voice gets heard.

Speaker 2 (01:14:55):
That's that's right, that's the dog whistle, equal opportunity of
equal opportunity offender. I love it. I love it. I'll
take here, Billy D.

Speaker 3 (01:15:01):
Washington here on Sportscock seven ninety Space City Home Network.

Speaker 2 (01:15:04):
All right, I promise you we're gonna get to the
Justin Tucker story.

Speaker 5 (01:15:08):
Next the A Team on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (01:15:12):
Ninety Adam Clinton, Adam Wexler, The A Team continue continues
the ball, football, basketball, isn't you on Sports Talk seven
ninety home for your home teams?

Speaker 2 (01:15:29):
Shout out again, Ability Washington. Good to catch up with
him that.

Speaker 3 (01:15:32):
I promise you if you've never seen him live, it
will be a fantastic show.

Speaker 2 (01:15:35):
So check him out. Just hit him up on social
you can get the details there. Billy D.

Speaker 3 (01:15:41):
Washington, Okay, Am, I having dejav who you know what
I'm talking about, the First of all, Justin Tucker kicker
like just absolute nails in so many different postseason situations,
not to mention regular situations, and not just for Baltimore,

(01:16:01):
but going back to his days as a longhorn. And
we're talking about another NFL player having multiple accusations of
that nature from a massage therapist, six of them being
levied against.

Speaker 2 (01:16:16):
It are what are we doing? Are you seriously we're
doing this again? I mean, I wouldn't it quite like that. No,
but I just that kind of lessens what might have
happened to these six that have come forward and spoke
with the newspapers.

Speaker 3 (01:16:30):
I'm not I'm not at all like I'm just saying
it is. I just can't believe that this is so
similar in nature.

Speaker 2 (01:16:40):
Well, I would say it's similar in that the setting
is similar, and it was multiple times that there are
multiple accusers, and it all stems from the same activity,
from massage therapist work, from body work. The extent of
what these six people are alleging to have happened have
not risen to the level of civil charges. They all

(01:17:01):
stem from activities that took place between twenty twelve and
twenty sixteen, and some of the statute of littations long
since past. And thus, as we knew then when we
were talking about the Shaun Watson allegations that went on
and on and on and on and reached much higher
numbers than this and were mainly different for what was
being accused much. I mean, I'm trying to say it

(01:17:25):
in the most accurate way because I do not want
to make these allegations any think any of you think
of them any less or any more lightly. Justin Tucker's
not being accused of some of the much more graphic,
much more I thought criminally illegal things, though there were

(01:17:45):
no criminal charges brought. Not sure how Tom Sellik saw
it that way, but that's how he saw it.

Speaker 3 (01:17:52):
Every time you say that, I think of Tom Sellek,
who just just it is Tom Selleck I know it is,
but it's not the Tom Sellik who just had a birthday.
These aren't cases.

Speaker 2 (01:18:02):
Those civil charges had not been brought against Justin Tucker.
I read the entire article in the Baltimore Banner, and
I know one of the writers, reputable sports writers covered
the Ravens for quite some time. But nonetheless, these are
the types of situations for it to be repeatedly accused of.

(01:18:22):
And Justin Tucker, I think, unlike Deshaun Watson, he offered
a different type of denial in a lengthy statement. You know,
Deshaun's initial denial was it's not true, it didn't happen,
and not long after before he heard much more from him.
He had hired an attorney, Rusty Harden and associates, and

(01:18:44):
most of what came further from him came through Rusty
and publicly. I thought that played exceptionally poorly with some
of the things that Rusty said publicly and in the
attorneys for Justin Tucker, should they speak on his behalf
at any time in the future, I don't even believe
they would ever have the opportun tunity to take such
a bad tact and bad path. When Rusty acknowledged that

(01:19:07):
some of the acts that Deshaun was accused of, yeah,
there's nothing wrong with that. Now, what they're accusing him
of is not you know, we were saying didn't happen,
basically saying, yeah, the sexual relations, those things, and that's
not what Justin Tucker's being accused of. He's being accused
of being indecent and potentially a little bit more than that,
and you know, making in appropriate contact and obviously doing

(01:19:29):
things outside of what would normally be considered work from
a massage therapist. And that's what each of these six
individuals claim to have happened to them. Justin Tucker does
take the same path that DeShawn somewhat took with his
attorneys when he suggests, I've been with hundreds of people
doing body work and not once have any of them
said this or any of that. And that's obviously what

(01:19:51):
you know DeShawn did with some of the people that
they had come forward when they had what seventeen massage
therapists come forward and say I worked with Sean Watson
and I never saw this, and this never happened, and
he never asked me to do this, and I never
felt uncomfortable. I'm not sure where this one will go.
And again, the severity from a legal standpoint is vastly different,
because there's not a single case that we're aware of

(01:20:11):
that's been filed against Justin Tucker. But he issued a
fairly lengthy statement, and I'll give you the brief version.
The article and allegations within are unequivocally false, and he
continues to say some of the things I mentioned in
a very lengthy statement.

Speaker 3 (01:20:29):
So the fact that none of these women knew each
other before or hadn't met each other, I guess I
should say before basically putting forth very very similaring.

Speaker 2 (01:20:41):
Word or finding someone who was willing to I don't
know what tipped them off to it, or if this
person initial person went to the banner, the Baltimore banner,
and then they sought to well, if this has happened,
let's see if we can find others and reached out
to other places and other therapists, and as you indicate,
and as the story was written, they did not know

(01:21:01):
each other. You get five other individuals. That's the total
of six recounted details that were strikingly similar. That too,
does take you back to the civil cases, which I
sadly still have here in the old CPU somewhere. They
were written in a way to make it this way,
even though the facts or the allegations were probably all similar.

(01:21:27):
The way the case was written, the way the charges
were laid out, the way the meetings took place, the
things that happened, just section by section by section. So
each one of these cases civil cases that were filed
against Watson were worded so remarkably similar. And usually in
the introduction they would also note, as you'll see, this
is just like this has happened time and time. You

(01:21:47):
cite this, and that's what the article was written in
a very similar way, and they run through the encounters
a little bit and what's happened and what Tucker left
behind upon completion, and it's it is remarkable, and it
is unseemly, and it's very much not what's supposed to
take place during a professional therapy session on facility or off.

(01:22:12):
And these are all on off facility instances we're talking about.
Ravens have had no comment and Tucker up until now
he said he was nobody reached out to him for comment,
and thus he provides it now.

Speaker 3 (01:22:23):
I will say this on that particular topic. Professional athletes,
especially at the highest level like the NFL, the NBA,
and Major League Baseball, to me and I see this
firsthand when I'm walking into Toyota Center on any given
night for a home Rockets game and I'm making my way,

(01:22:47):
I take the same route every time from the seats
where I put my stuff down we sit at the
top of one twenty one to broadcast games, and make
my way to the Rockets tunnel where the players run out.
I walk back through that tunnel to towards the locker room,
and by the time I passed the lock the Rockets
locker room on my right and the next turn is
to go get food, which is what my primary goal

(01:23:08):
is at that moment of the day, because it's the
only time I eat every single day.

Speaker 2 (01:23:13):
Almost always.

Speaker 3 (01:23:15):
Just outside of the visiting locker room is a massage
table set up and some player is getting worked on
right then and there.

Speaker 2 (01:23:22):
And this is like what five thirty ish calf is
a commonplace, yep.

Speaker 3 (01:23:27):
But point being, these guys have professional staffs on call,
probably twenty four to seven for a lot of them,
and yet.

Speaker 2 (01:23:37):
Well, an NBA team just to it has easier access
to it in that there are so few players. Yes,
in NFL, team is you know, and you're spending more
time away from the team. You're you know, these guys
are with the team twenty four to seven. Travel travel, travel, travel,
there's time to book outside work that you want above
and beyond what you're getting. That's pretty normal based on

(01:23:58):
what we know.

Speaker 3 (01:23:59):
Yeah, I just I cannot believe that the similarities of
this is. We're talking about this again, So we'll see
how this develops. We will also see what Emai Udoka
had to say about those rockets as we replace some
of his visit with Matt Thomas from earlier.

Speaker 2 (01:24:13):
As the four o'clock hour gets underway.

Speaker 5 (01:24:14):
Next the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:24:23):
Two.

Speaker 1 (01:24:23):
Lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Team series
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team.

Speaker 3 (01:24:35):
A four o'clock hour underway here on Sports Talk seven
ninety It is the A Team. Wex and Ac with
you on a rainy Thursday edition of the program. Just
got done talking about Justin Tucker. So that was a
lot of fun. Look, the the Rockets are like one

(01:24:56):
of the best stories going right now, and it's funny
to see the the national media catch up to what
we already kind of knew. Now, Look when you come
from forty one and forty one and you know, basically
basketball Siberia the years prior to the arrival of em
Udoka in his first year last season, it's gonna take
some time, right, It's gonna take some time for the

(01:25:16):
national media to get you know, the you have to win,
first of all. But then once you've been winning like
the Rockets have been doing consistently since the beginning of
this year, it's gonna take everybody else a while to
catch up. But that's more than happening now. And uh,
now you've got a situation tonight where they're in Memphis.
You're gonna see that game on Space City Home Network.
You're gonna hear it here on Sports Talk. No, you're
not gonna see it on Space City Home Network. It's

(01:25:38):
nationally covered by T and T. I apologize. I knew
that as soon as it came out of my mouth
and you made that expression on your face. You won't
see it on Space City, but you will hear it
right here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.

Speaker 2 (01:25:49):
Matt Thomas will be on the call.

Speaker 3 (01:25:50):
I'll be with him, and it will tip off a
little bit later eight thirty tip because of that nationally
televised game, which again means that the you know, the
hot air guys will have their takes.

Speaker 2 (01:26:03):
Well, there's one in particular that really has hot air.

Speaker 3 (01:26:05):
It'll be interesting to see what version of the Rockets
Charles Barkley gives an opinion on this time around. But
guy that's been usually pretty consistent about his Rockets no
matter what is their head coach, EMYU Dokay. He joins
Matt Thomas each and every week here on your home
for Rockets Basketball Sports Talk seven ninety. We always like
to turn a little bit of that visit around and
let you hear it in case you missed it earlier.

(01:26:27):
So here's some of what e May had to say.
As he will start out talking about the fact that
they grinded out ground out another win in Atlanta after
that emotional win in Boston.

Speaker 2 (01:26:40):
The conversation starts right there.

Speaker 8 (01:26:42):
Yeah, I mean, it was a tough stretch and obviously
the postpone game, we had to squeeze it back in there,
and so where we would have had two days of
rest after Boston and before tonight, you know, we got
to squeeze that game in and make it three and
four totnits. So understanding, guys are going to be fatigued somewhat.
You know, obviously a hard fought game in Boston, and
then you know you get in two three in the
morning and have to get your energy and everything up again.

(01:27:03):
So for us, it's what we want to be going forward,
and everybody els to deal with these things throughout the season,
and we rely on our depth and energy and the
goals that we set to kind of propel us through
certain through through certain things. And I think you know,
the first half was up and down, back and forth
a little bit. We show we didn't play our best
until only be down one was a good sign. So

(01:27:24):
got to go in third quarter. Obviously built the lead
in the fourth court, and then it kind of slipped
away at the end. And want to avoid those. You know,
we've gotten leads this year, and that was how can
we maintain and finish games?

Speaker 18 (01:27:36):
And Jay Sean Tait, guy you've used in different spurts,
I mean, comes up with sixteen points. That was good,
But let's go back to the night before and everywhere
we go this year, it feels like, especially when you're
taking on some of these upperational on teams, you're asked
about is this a measuring stick? You know, playing Cleveland,
playing Boston? Give the answer to what those mean to you?

(01:27:58):
Is it just one to eighty two on the score?
Do the players get extra juice for it? I know
obviously Dylan was extra excited about winning the game.

Speaker 2 (01:28:06):
Your thoughts about.

Speaker 18 (01:28:08):
How you get your guys ready for those teams that
are you know, quote unquote potential championship contenders?

Speaker 8 (01:28:15):
Yeah, I think in general, you know, the teams that
you want to measure yourself against. You know, if we
want to be a really good team, we need to
handle our business against the lesser teams. I think we've
done that for the most part, a few slip ups
early in the season, but the higher exchelon teams, you know,
we understand the challenge that that brings and where we
want to get to, we have to beat those teams.
And so naturally they all count as one regardless, but

(01:28:39):
guys get up for a certain matchup, certain games and
national TV games and those things of those nature.

Speaker 4 (01:28:44):
And so that's going to happen. But the message, more
so than that is just.

Speaker 8 (01:28:47):
Be who we are in every game we play, and
that's good enough to beat every team. And so did
that against Cleveland, did that against Boston, And the message
after that is did not have that natural letdown, And
you know, it's a way the game if we get
one back against a lesser team. So as ugly as
it could be at times, you have to grind your
way through those and I think that's why the Atlanta game,

(01:29:07):
pulling it out and hanging on for the win was
just as good as a Boston game. They all count
as one, and to beat a good team like Boston
and the Lewis Atlanta would have been a letdown.

Speaker 4 (01:29:18):
For us for sure.

Speaker 10 (01:29:19):
Rocketedd coach Ima Adoka was here on Sports Talk seven
ninety and we're just reaching the obligatory of men Thompson
part of the conversation, getting a lot of national recognition
and finally getting noticed, it feels like nationally. Just in
this season alone, what do you think has been the
biggest growth in his game that you've seen from him?
And if you could give us something that you think

(01:29:39):
that you would like to see him improve, I.

Speaker 8 (01:29:43):
Would say his confidence and aggressiveness more so, you know,
all that was hampered by the injury last year and
then not being available at times, and so when he
has been able to play and you can get his
minutes up and get him the opportunities, he's been really good.
And he showed a pretty quick jump in his skill
set and understan end of the game, and now he's
taking that. You know, he using all these physical abilities,

(01:30:05):
learning on the fly and just being extra aggressive and confident,
understanding who he is in the league and how teams
are scheming and trying to guard him.

Speaker 4 (01:30:11):
And so that's one thing with him.

Speaker 8 (01:30:14):
I think a big thing for our team in general
is you know the IQ piece we talk about.

Speaker 4 (01:30:17):
You know, guys have all these tools and how can.

Speaker 8 (01:30:19):
We play together as a team, you know, sacrifice and
then you know, just Iq picking up the nuances of
the game that he has to learn on the fly.

Speaker 4 (01:30:27):
You know.

Speaker 8 (01:30:27):
It's only you know, a year and a half in
and he's asked to do a lot of different things
than he has been in the past, with the ball
on and off the ball, the ball out of his hands,
and guarding all these different positions.

Speaker 4 (01:30:37):
So we're throwing a lot at.

Speaker 8 (01:30:38):
Him understanding what he has to do one through five
on defense and offense.

Speaker 4 (01:30:42):
And I think that's getting better as we go.

Speaker 10 (01:30:44):
And speaking of guys getting better, Jalen Green, we know
he had that big stretch where he was scoring a
lot of points and hasn't been doing so as much
the last few games as far as the shooting, But
in that game against Atlanta, I was impressed by him
not shooting threes, but still being aggressive and in contributing
other ways and getting to the basket.

Speaker 8 (01:31:04):
Yeah, they switched to all those actions to take him
off three point line, or they brought the big up
very high obviously kind of a semi trap, and teams
have done that to him this year, and he just
has to understand when he can pick his spots, but
also kind of be a decoy and get others involved.
And so his understanding of that has been much better
this year throughout. And yeah, sometimes he just has to

(01:31:24):
pick a spot so let other guys go to work
and it opens everything up for him, and then he
still has his spurts that he can go off and
end up with twenty five obviously and really carried us
through the third quarter when we were struggling a little bit.

Speaker 18 (01:31:36):
It is a man's twenty second birthday today. Did you
get him a gift or are you just like happy birthday?

Speaker 14 (01:31:40):
Move on?

Speaker 8 (01:31:42):
Just happy birthday from all the from all the first
time Houston Rockets, So him and og OG's birthday was yesterday,
so they got a duel one and shoot around and
you know they can get their own gifts.

Speaker 4 (01:31:55):
But he just sing it to him piggest singing.

Speaker 8 (01:31:57):
To him one time and we'll try to get away
from tonight.

Speaker 4 (01:32:00):
I like that idea.

Speaker 2 (01:32:01):
Hey, I know that a man's going to play the
Rising Stars.

Speaker 18 (01:32:05):
I know that there's a couple of rockets will be
obviously Jalen and Alpi for allsart consideration. What does that
mean that they're in the conversation to you. You know, look,
this team's not had a lot of national attention. I
think you're going to start to get a lot more
of it. And that's good because it means teams are
recognizing what this team has done. But to talk about
where they are today, then maybe when you first got
them here as a Houston Rocket, well, so it means.

Speaker 4 (01:32:29):
For them recognition and credit for what they've done for
our team.

Speaker 8 (01:32:32):
You look at the standings, I think you have to
take winning into account and obviously Alpi and Jalen have
been huge as far as a credit toward our winning,
uh scoring, shortening the load of times and and yeah,
they're they're getting rewarded just by being in the conversation.
Hopefully they both are have an opportunity to play, and
so for us, it's good to get that recognition. Like

(01:32:54):
I said, winning puts everybody on the on the map,
so to speak. And you know, you get the higher
televised games, you get national TV games, you get great matchups,
and so for us, it's really continue to do what
you've done to get us here.

Speaker 1 (01:33:07):
We know what you do.

Speaker 8 (01:33:08):
Maybe not everybody else yet, but they're starting to see
and then you know, Jalen and Alia both shouldered the
load at some point this season. Now everybody else kind
of is being incorporated and adding more to the picture,
and I think that's where our depth comes in.

Speaker 4 (01:33:21):
We don't have to rely on one guy every night.

Speaker 8 (01:33:23):
But I'm in one night, Fred one night, Dylan one night,
and that's a beauty of our team. So the recognition
is good, but we got to continue to get better
throughout the second half of the season.

Speaker 3 (01:33:34):
Yeah, it's the most email Udoka Birthday wish ever you
would hear for a men Thomson's.

Speaker 2 (01:33:39):
For the players. Players, Yeah, coaches, I don't know. Hey,
I'll be birthday kid, And they've said that many times
over the last three two seasons while they've been here.

Speaker 3 (01:33:48):
There if you don't mind working overtime tonight for your birthday,
well we hope it has a good overtime. But I
have a feeling that men thoms Is gonna be playing
the line share of the minutes by any Rockets in
the lineup tonight. But it is it is fascinating to
see just how well they have played without because remember
uh Jabari Smith Junior went down with that that it

(01:34:10):
broken hand. The day of that Celtics game here and
ament Thompson wasn't in the lineup, and they looked like,
I mean, they got smoked by the Celtics, And it
wasn't like they convincingly beat the Celtics by just destroying
them the other night in the rematch, but they held
on on the road. It was just a huge, huge
win and that's what really got the Nationals types talking.

(01:34:32):
But this is something that they've been doing all month
long without him in the lineup. He is a big
piece of what they had done up to that point,
because remember it's not like the Rockets had a bad
record going into that January third matchup, the first game
that he missed. But to me, that's why I know
it sounds cliched, But to me, I do think they
are looking at his return like it's their trade deadline

(01:34:54):
acquisition because it's not going to be that long after
February sixth, where he's probably.

Speaker 2 (01:34:58):
Back in the lineup. Well, we'll see if they're g M.
Dana Brown talks about it as we lead up to
July's deadline and if Luis and Lance could be available
to them. We heard that all season this year.

Speaker 3 (01:35:07):
Tell me this and I look I want the best
for Lance mccullar's junior as much as anybody. But when
you hear that he's not gonna be ready for opening days,
it's a day that you note. It doesn't mean he
won't be ready not long after doesn't mean anything. I'm
not saying he is or is. I'm just saying that's
not what I means.

Speaker 2 (01:35:24):
Garcia, Well, they did indicate at least Dana was had
some more information to share about why they slowed him
down and what soreness and where they think things stand.
Everything seems to be fine now. Rockets. They're looking for
their second five game winning streak since Jabari Smith Junior
went down. They've won each other last four, three of
them against the best in the East, one of them
against a really bad and hurt Hawks team, and now

(01:35:47):
one of the teams start fighting with in the Western Conference.
So a little bit more of what that entails for
the Rockets still on the horizon here on the A Team.

Speaker 1 (01:35:55):
The A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety Adam Clinton
and Adam Wexler, The.

Speaker 5 (01:36:03):
A Team now continues.

Speaker 3 (01:36:11):
I can't believe it's been this long into the search,
and I do say that tongue in cheek. I hope
so that I haven't asked you about your spreadsheet for
the Texans offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and assistant to
the regional manager offensive line coach.

Speaker 2 (01:36:28):
You also haven't asked me if it was bogus that
the Blue Jays were interested in an American League West
free agent that they finally landed. Max Schurzer goes to
Toronto to die fine. I mean, that's what he's doing.
It does not make them better. It does reinforce the
point I made earlier today. Yeah, the Blue Jays aren't
serious about Alex Bregman. Anybody who keeps suggesting it could
turn out to be right, very very serious doubts that

(01:36:53):
this is money that they want to spend or Alex
wants to take. Coming from Toronto, Max suser signs of
fifteen and a half million dollars deal with the Blue Jays.

Speaker 3 (01:37:02):
He's justin Verlander East literally now. Yes, he's a guy
that signed for fifteen million dollars. He's not going to,
in the grand scheme of things, do anything good or
bad for a team that's probably not going to do
anything this year.

Speaker 2 (01:37:16):
Although the Giants I think are actually better, they're in
a tougher division, but they compete in it too. He goes,
I mean the player goes to a tougher division in
both cases. Oh yeah, Max, and just so the ALS sucks, right,
But the two I don't even know if they're the
too toughest. They feel like they're the two toughest where
they've both landed. You've got to be better. You don't

(01:37:36):
have to be better than the Padres and Dodgers. You
can still make the playoffs as a third or fourth
place team. The way that the playoffs are set up,
Toronto's a very similar situation. I don't have to have
to be better than the Yankees or the Oriols, but
it might help you get to the playoffs if you are.
They might not this. He might have just signed with
the fifth place team I'll do. You want a very
good chance that he did.

Speaker 3 (01:37:56):
I mean, I know we're talking about an AL team,
so presumably you have to at least account for them
when you're talking about what the Astros may or may
not do. But let's just get it right back to
the Astros themselves and how it immediately affects them. If
I were to sum up the Rangers offseason as this.
They lost Max Scherzer and Kirby Yates and they got
Jack Peterson.

Speaker 2 (01:38:17):
I don't think it'd be inaccurate. I mean, did they
get better? I mean, Jake Berger is gonna make a
big difference. I think eliminating him for the conversation is
not you can't he's too interested. Well, I'm putting him in.
You're gonna get I think you're getting twenty five plus
homers from him. I think that won't matter. But you're
gonna get that from Christian Walker in Houston. I'm not
comparing the two. I'm just saying, what do the names do?
This is what they did. I mean, if they are

(01:38:38):
they have told all of us.

Speaker 3 (01:38:40):
Jack Peterson told us at his introductory press conference that
they're little run. They're a little run. The Astros just
had for the better part of a decade is over.
Because he's there now. Now I'm putting words in his mouth.
But if you're just okay, if those are the two
teams you presume are going to be at the top
of the Vision and maybe Seattle, what did Seattle do
this season?

Speaker 2 (01:39:00):
Be real? Do the same thing for the Astros offseason?
They we don't know about Alex Bregman not here. Okay,
their outfield is atrocious, and it might be talking about
the people they added, Christian Walker, they added e Zac Peretz.
They lost Kyle Tucker and Ryan Presley. It's a good point.
Did they get better?

Speaker 3 (01:39:19):
I think that they're both. When you lose a player
like Kyle Tucker, I can't say you got better.

Speaker 2 (01:39:24):
I just Can's kind of why I'm saying that. But
at least they're in the same position they've been. At
least I still think they're the best team the vision.

Speaker 3 (01:39:30):
That Christian Walker could at least. You gotta remember you
lost Kyle Tucker for how long? He didn't play all
of last year? He played half of it at most.

Speaker 2 (01:39:37):
And last year was your worst year in five years? Yeah,
but years where he was playing full season.

Speaker 14 (01:39:43):
But it was.

Speaker 3 (01:39:44):
It wasn't because you didn't have Kyle Tucker, because you
played your best ball when you didn't have him.

Speaker 2 (01:39:48):
But this is the team we're talking. We're talking about
the twenty four Astros to the twenty five Astros.

Speaker 3 (01:39:53):
Right So if you have if you don't have Alex
Bregman right now, which team do you think is better?
Which has a better chance of winning the Division. I
think the ash I said that just then. I think
the Astros still would be my pick to win the
division finish third, So you think Seattle is still going
to be second?

Speaker 4 (01:40:10):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (01:40:10):
Having basically not even stood pat it is lost. Guys
figured we would get to this at some point. It
didn't matter if it was today or March or February, whenever.
We know what Colorado coors Field, what it's been for years,
all offense, no pitching, a launching pad. Seattle is is

(01:40:32):
the opposite, and I don't think anybody's paid any attention
to it. They can't score, they can't score, and the
other team can't score. But when those very same awesome
starting pitchers go to other teams ballparks, just go ahead
and add a run and a half to your offense,
because you can't score against them when they pitch in Seattle,
but you can score against them when they're not pitching

(01:40:52):
in Seattle, and their offense was very similar. They couldn't
score as many runs at home, and they could score
a lot more effectively away from it. You can't even
a lot more.

Speaker 3 (01:41:00):
You can't even fault them for saying we've got the
best pitching staff in Baseball now the Dodgers probably do now,
or at least it's up there.

Speaker 14 (01:41:09):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:41:10):
The other part of the pitching staff, starting staff, I
brought up earlier that I think it was this week.
They got unbelievable injury luck last year. They used six
pitchers to start, like the Astros in twenty two one
hundred and sixty two games. I think the Astros were
even one number higher, maybe two, but it was similar.
They needed one guy to step in for Brian Wu

(01:41:30):
that's it. Everybody else made every start all season long.
It's it's almost impossible to repeat that, especially when it's
all of the same pitchers you're expecting to stay come
incredibly healthy for a second consecutive year. They have depth,
you know. Again, I'm not still not ready yet to
fully dive in on the unlawful production from Keith Law
earlier today, but he probably accurately assessed the Mariners farm system.

(01:41:55):
They're loaded, and they seem to be okay with hey man,
look at us, but wait till this, but wait till
this instead of kind of going for it ever. But
they have an impressive, pretty young group of players, one
or two maybe your big contributors or contributors at all
in twenty twenty five, and then most everybody else by
twenty six. So it could be something that they're just Okay, well,

(01:42:18):
we'll get there when we get there, we'll see what's
left to play with them when they do. But they're
still good enough to finish second in the division. Somebody
in this division wins ninety one or ninety two games,
they're gonna win it.

Speaker 3 (01:42:30):
And you hope, if you're the Astros or presumably anybody
trying to come out of the Al West, that that
division where you mentioned the Blue Jays competing for fifth,
is just bludgeting each other all season long.

Speaker 2 (01:42:46):
Yeah, it's just a it's different than it could have
been had they not redone the schedule. When you were
playing teams nineteen times and beating them eighteen like the
Astros did to the Mariners that one year. That's half
your schedule. Yeah, nineteen times fourth, seventy six, seventy games.
We're in your division, you're going to beat up on
them and be awesome. And if you're Toronto, that's seventy

(01:43:07):
six games against the Red Sox and the Yankees and
the Orioles and the Rays, all of whom are at
least as good of you as you as not, if
not better. Three of those teams are deathly Now it's
fifty two. That's twenty four more games against randos, and
some of those randos are good sometimes, but many of
you're not. Yeah, it's just a very, very different DYNA.

(01:43:28):
You don't have to dominate your division to win it anymore,
and if you don't succeed against your division, you still
can win it. That really wasn't the case before, even
with half your games elsewhere. So it definitely changes things
a great deal. It's probably better for baseball in that fans,
if they're trying to help fans, you know, imagine that
get You do get to see everybody, not always in
your park, but you do get to play against everybody.

(01:43:50):
I do think once they went to interleague play, they
might as well advance it to what we have now.
Go ahead, just play everybody. You'll get a series here,
a series there, a couple of home and homes with
your rivals like the Rockies for the Astros, And yeah,
that's I think that is probably it's a better way
to do it big picture. It's just dramatically changes the
emphasis on what's going on in your division. I don't

(01:44:13):
think the Astros have a team now that's complete garbage,
but the Angels and A's are still a bit behind.
They're not one hundred lost teams that they might not
even lose ninety either one of them, but they're still
at the bottom of the division. Alex Bregman signing with
the Astros. By the way, today a good day for
Alex Bregman. Times you post that I'm manifesting it. I'm

(01:44:34):
tired of this. Well, he should be more tired of it,
but he just needs to just do it.

Speaker 3 (01:44:39):
Just if that offers on the table, then it's that
that offer with the with the years, the money, and
the setting.

Speaker 2 (01:44:48):
No one else can offer you all of that. The
Tigers signed Tommy Kinley the other day. Their GM met
with the media and the last question and he got
was about the market and about did he feel like well,
the last question he got was actually about are you
still interested in a reunion with Jack Flaherty, to which

(01:45:09):
he said, I'm not gonna comment on a free agent
that's out there right now, but you know how we
feel about him. The question before that was about the market.
Did he feel like the market got held up a
little bit, got kind of skewed, kind of through the
whole off season out of whack from a timeline standpoint,
because of the international interest, and basically because of Juan Soto,
the big one Soto deal that kind of had everybody

(01:45:31):
waiting to see. And I know it didn't take forever,
but then what was going on with Sasak and some
other things. He actually he tended to agree, and in
saying so said, I believe that's why there's still work
to be done for a lot of teams. Where we
sit now, we're focused on Alex Bregman. What about Pete Alonso?
We're less than a week removed from Jerks and Profar

(01:45:51):
finally finding a home. You just had a fifteen and
a half million dollar pitcher find a home. There were
more players available later in the free agent period, which
goes on in forever than usual, And I do think
that is why. So if you take that and try
to spin it into next year, if Alex Bregman is
okay or settles for an opt out deal to go

(01:46:15):
back on the market next year, presumably after a good season,
what could do that? Again, There's Vladimir Guerrero Junior and
there's Kyle Tucker. Is that enough to kind of make
him have to wait again, make him have to wait
behind them, make other teams wonder exactly how far into
a Tucker pursuit or Guerrero Junior pursuit can we go
before we have to back away and then focus on

(01:46:36):
a Bregman or things like that. And I'm sure an
agent will say I know exactly what's gonna happen, but
they don't. It's an interesting place to be, not necessarily
the most fun place to be. Signature segment time the
greatest place to be. That's next.

Speaker 1 (01:46:51):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety cannon Ball weekends.

Speaker 5 (01:46:56):
Are better all the way with Astros baseball. Just tell
your smart device Alex play sports Stock seven ninety on
iHeartRadio Now a new signature seven called What's up with that?
What's up with that?

Speaker 14 (01:47:17):
What I say?

Speaker 2 (01:47:20):
What's do that? All right? Signature segment time? What's up
with that? Will make it pretty simple today? Because today
is day one of festivities the NFL's Flag and Skills
Pro Bowl Games. Texans will be participating. They have a

(01:47:43):
host of players involved. This is so embarrassing. They have
announced who's participating in what events they've got passing the
test event that's today, Satisfying Catches event, also today the
Big Spike. Obviously Pat Mahomes not participating in that. That
is to day Relay race. Also today Helmet Harmony, Dodgeball,

(01:48:07):
and then they've got a few other events they're holding
over till Sunday, like Punt Perfect, Yes, the punter participates
in that event. Have got a Madden event, two players
from the AFC against two players from the NFC. They've
got the Great Football Race. We'll get to that on Sunday.

(01:48:27):
They got Tug of War and they got Flag Football,
both of which will take place Sunday. Joe Mixon, Nicocollins,
Derek Stingley Junior, and Daniel Hunter are the participating Houston,
Texas Laramie Tunsel also a Pro Bowl Games selection, but
not selected to participate in any of the events. There

(01:48:50):
are not very many offensive linemen participating in any of
the events. A quick reminder of which quarterbacks were elected
and then accepted their opportunity to go play at the
Pro Bowl Games. The three AFC quarterbacks, we've talked about
them all. Did you do you want to kind of

(01:49:11):
run through your mind and who they guess who they are?
Drake May, Drake May's one. Russell Wilson. That's two. I
can't remember the other one, but I know it shouldn't be.
He should be. He was awesome this year. Just they
couldn't win any games. Joe Burrow and then and it's
not enough to be among the top seven NFC quarterbacks.

Speaker 4 (01:49:35):
Oh geez.

Speaker 2 (01:49:38):
All three made the playoffs. None made the Super Bowl.
Well it's not Jalen Hurts, that's correct. I can't remember.
I can't. I hate it when you do this to me,
Jef Sam, Darnold, Baker Mayfield. But my actual questions were
going to be if I told you. During the five
on five demonstration of teamwork, strength and strategy, and positioned

(01:50:01):
above a foam pit, players are challenged to pull backwards
on the rope, attempting to move the opposing team in
their direction, and the competition will be a best of three.
For those of you that have kids and field days,
I just described tug of warm hm. That's the official
definition of what will taking place. One of the aforementioned

(01:50:21):
Texans that is participating has been selected to participate on
one of the two AFC five man teams who is
it Joe Mixon? That is incorrect. Well, he was an
afroremationed in Texan. You have a small group to pick from,
Joe Sting, Nico or Daniel.

Speaker 4 (01:50:41):
Well.

Speaker 2 (01:50:41):
I hope it's Daniel.

Speaker 3 (01:50:42):
It is Daniel, okay, because that's actually a good selection
to try and win a tug a war.

Speaker 2 (01:50:47):
A two round tournament of classic dodgeball featuring four teams
of seven players. We'll mix offensive defensive special teams player
AFC versus NFC. Each match is worth three points. I
gave you the word so you don't have to guess
what it is. That's dodgeball. Which one of the four
aforementioned participating Texans was selected for one of those two

(01:51:09):
AFC dodgeball teams.

Speaker 3 (01:51:10):
I hope it's Sting. It is not Well, I hope
it's not Nico. It is not I forgot the other.
I forgot the force.

Speaker 2 (01:51:17):
Your favorite Texans running back that wears twenty eight Joseph R. Mixon.
Joseph Mixon Dodgeball presented by bud Light. He will be
participating there. They're all participating in the flag football game,
all but Laramie. So need not ask you which one
you think that might be a simultaneous relay style event
where four players from each conference complete a forty yard

(01:51:40):
dash before handing a football to the next athlete on
their team, continuing until the fourth and final leg crosses
the finish line. I've just described a relay race that
is one of the activities at the Pro Bowl Games.
There are several four man outfits three AFC four man teams.
Which of the one of the four aforementioned Texans was

(01:52:03):
selected to participate among the twelve AFC participants, Nico Collins,
that's incorrect. You're gonna crush this. You're gonna miss it
every time. Every so far, I've gotten you on all
of them. Sting, that's incorrect, Daniil, There you go. You
got Daniel Hunter. He is participating in the relay race.
Can I just say something, since this segment is entitled
What's up with that? I'm glad you're going through all

(01:52:23):
these ridiculous lists. I know it seems like an awful
lot of effort to not play a game. Smart. It's
not smart, it's stupid. Don't play a game, don't get
watch either. One wide receiver, tight end, and defensive back
from each conference will compete in a challenge obstacle course
including catches from a jugs machine at three different distances

(01:52:45):
to test every aspect of catching in the football. There
is a one AFC team of three participants. Which of
the aforementioned Texans has been selected to participate? First guest,
he was the last. I hadn't got it right first,
Nico one wide receiver, ONEIDB. Now you have to pick

(01:53:05):
the winner. Is the team of Jamar Chase Brock Bauers
and Derek Stingley Junior going to beat the team of
Justin Jefferson, Tray McBride, Jalen Johnson. Yes, I agree, I
think they will. I mean, heck, they got the event.
If you didn't listen closely enough, there's only six participants,
three of them LSU guys. Oh well good, they're very

(01:53:25):
good at football. We know who half of our company
is rooting for. Quarterbacks try to hit targets at various
distances around the field, worth different Okay, moving on each
about how much I'll watch of it too each, But
this is this is actually to me the best event. Okay.
So they quarterbacks try to hit targets at various distances

(01:53:47):
around the field worth different point values than they do
that in forty seconds. It's called passing the test, though, which.

Speaker 4 (01:53:53):
Has a.

Speaker 2 (01:53:55):
Academic educational test like connotation, and it actually has an
element they have Scantron's quarterbacks try to hit targets and
various distances around the field worth different point values in
forty seconds. Before the challenge, each quarterback will select a
Pro Bowl game's teammate to answer five trivia questions against

(01:54:15):
current Pro Bowl players? What are we doing? For every
correct answer, the QB gets an additional ten seconds.

Speaker 3 (01:54:21):
Do you think the guys that played in the Pro
Bowls over the years, even recent guys like Tom Brady
or Peyton Manning, are like, this is stupid?

Speaker 2 (01:54:29):
Which of the aforementioned for Texans participating was selected to
be the person to answer five trivia questions? That's incorrect. Extently,
that's also incorrect. That's good because he doesn't like to talk.
Nico Collinson. There you go, all right? So two quarterbacks
will throw for each side, and then two people will
answer trivia questions for each side, and Nico has been selected.

(01:54:52):
Do you think Nico will know much about his Pro
Bowl teammates?

Speaker 1 (01:54:57):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:54:57):
Yeah, okay, he's a smart guy. He's a smart guy.
But he is a first timer, he's four years into
the league. Yeah, but he he observes, we will see. Well,
I don't know what the questions will be. You'll see
I'm not watching this garbage. I'm not asking you. I'm
just mentioning that these are some of the things that
the Pro Bowl games will have. One story for Pro
Bowl games, like the alternative for playing a game. Yes,

(01:55:23):
I know, well these you could merely select your Pro
Bowl honourees and end it right there. No trip to wherever,
no televised events, no game. Wouldn't that be Okay? What
happened to just going to Hawaii and playing the game. Well,
I don't want people playing games. It's too dangerous, right,
But Eagle is not going to get hurt answering trivia questions.

(01:55:44):
I gon assure it's too.

Speaker 3 (01:55:45):
Dangerous to play this exhibition. But we will add another
game to your schedule sooner rather than later. Great job, NFL.
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 2 (01:55:58):
It's the eighty.

Speaker 1 (01:56:01):
I'm Clanton at Adam wex Swear on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:56:05):
Your rockets, your astros, your voice.

Speaker 3 (01:56:11):
Winding down the four o'clock HOURD is the eight team
here on Sports Talk seven ninety. You want some some
tickets because we have been giving away an inordinate amount
of tickets over the dude, are we still calling this
a summer of fun?

Speaker 14 (01:56:30):
I do?

Speaker 2 (01:56:30):
You don't have to in late January? Your call? All right,
you're doing the read. I'm trying to find the read.

Speaker 3 (01:56:38):
Actually, four pack of tickets to with pit passes to
Monster Jam this Sunday, h February second at NRG Stadium
are on the line coming up towards the end of
the show. Tickets to all three Monster Jam events are
on sale now at ticketmaster dot com. Also, Brad Paisley
tickets are involved. So you're gonna want to keep it

(01:56:58):
right here over the core or so the next hour
d change on Sports Talk seven to ninety. Get yourself
or get your hands on some of these freebies if
you will. We mentioned this, like for a split second
earlier in the show, the fact that the Athletic came
out with the rankings of the farm systems and that

(01:57:20):
the Astros was absolutely terrible.

Speaker 2 (01:57:23):
I believe you said it was twenty ninth. They're thirty
teams in the league. They were twenty ninth.

Speaker 3 (01:57:27):
And this is with the stud prospect they got back
in the Kyle Tucker trade. Correctly get factors in. So
if they were twenty, if they're twenty ninth, Now were
they dead last before? I mean every year things changed
with much different reasons. I don't think he indicated they
were dead last before. I mean maybe the day before,
but last year's rankings. No, do you feel like though

(01:57:48):
over the past few seasons, because the tech, the Astros
farm system has been consistently ranked or at least thought
of as poor in comparison to a lot of other teams.
You just mentioned the Seattle Mariners are loaded. Once upon
a time that was the Astros, and they all came
up and produced.

Speaker 2 (01:58:08):
For the most part, it's not impossible to be both
awesome at the major league level and have a good
farm system. The Astros, in an effort to be beyond awesome,
decided in twenty seventeen and in most of the years
that followed, we're just going to try to take the
next step. We are the best team in baseball, and
we're going to make sure we're even better. When three

(01:58:28):
consecutive seasons they send out talent that they had in
the system to be better, and it paid off in
the form of two championships, a twenty seventeenth title a
twenty twenty two title. They were asked, very very politely,
if you would mind being skipped over in the first
and second round of consecutive drafts because you were doing
what everybody else was doing just better. So if we

(01:58:49):
could go ahead and not have you take players that
have a much higher likelihood of making a difference in
your prospect rankings by just not taking anyone at all,
we'll just take those picks away from you before you
even get to the draft. And then clearly some of
the prospects have also become really really good players, and
they up until last season, that was the first year

(01:59:11):
in the last six the Astros didn't have somebody finish
in the top five for Rookie of the Year voting,
let alone win it. Okay, so it sounds like they're
headed in the other direction. That's why they're ranked twenty ninth.

Speaker 4 (01:59:23):
But I.

Speaker 2 (01:59:25):
Do not have a blue check mark. So every once
in a while I run into a character issue and
just I just give up. So I was one hundred
and ninety characters over the limit. I didn't think I
could parse one hundred and ninety characters to send this.
So this is a draft that I did not send
this morning when I saw the rankings. Ranks Astros twenty
ninth of thirtieth. Here's an excerpt, a lot of years

(01:59:48):
of frankly not very good drafts. In the very next
sentence following excerpt, they've traded some good say they've traded
some solid prospects, including Jake Bloss, Joel Perfito, Jase McDermott,
and Drew Gilbert, further depleting the system. Previous line, a
lot of years of frankly not very good drafts. Next line,

(02:00:11):
I'm going to list four players they have drafted in
these frankly not very good drafts that they have traded,
although you wouldn't know it based on the way I
wrote it, and he did obviously acknowledge in the next
I didn't include sentence, they have traded away some solid players.
That's what I just read you. They've traded some solid prospects.
He actually by name Bloss, Low, Perfido, McDermott, and Gilbert.

(02:00:35):
I wrote. All listed players above drafted by Astros are
top five prospects for their current teams, except for Low
Perfito because he is a major leaguer doesn't even list
Ryan Clifford, another drafted by Astros player that's now a
top five prospect for his current team. You can't say

(02:00:56):
they haven't had very good drafts if the players they've
used in those drafts taken in those drafts were used
to get other players from other teams to make them
better at the major league level. And then not all
of these teams you traded to traded them to have
crappy farm systems. You could probably argue the Blue Jays do,
but you couldn't argue about any of the others. They're
at least middle of the pack or better. And they're

(02:01:17):
all top five prospects. So you can tell me they
have the twenty ninth ranked prospect system. That's fine. I mean,
I'll take your word for it if that's how you
see it.

Speaker 11 (02:01:26):
This is what you do.

Speaker 2 (02:01:28):
Before this came out. Remember before this came out this week,
I mentioned Keith Law by name in saying I don't
pay any attention to it because I know major league
gms are smarter than this, and that's why the Astras
have been able to stay where they are and will
continue to stay where they are even as They've gone
through three gms and three different ideas on how to
build your farm system. They all believe in it, they've

(02:01:49):
just done it a little bit differently.

Speaker 3 (02:01:51):
And this is considered Dana Brown's forte of all the
things you would say he's good at reputationally at least.

Speaker 2 (02:02:00):
I mean, we bring that up on the show all
the time, and I think I don't even understand the
comment he's a Major League Baseball GM.

Speaker 3 (02:02:07):
Well, of course he's good at this. I mean, I guess,
and no, his background though from where he came, let's
just take a brave.

Speaker 2 (02:02:14):
He was never a GM making the decisions before he
handled the farm system. That's what they all do. That's
what being an assistant GM working your way up is.
You're you're a scout or you're figuring out how to
make the team better. You're obviously helping the GM at
the major league level.

Speaker 3 (02:02:28):
Also, Okay, well, however you want to phrase it, he
had a good reputation at doing exact part of the
job how you get hired. But I don't know that
every GM that's ever been hired came in and it's like, well,
I mean, I know you just got in saying that's
what they do.

Speaker 2 (02:02:42):
But I think that's a blanket statement. It is too easy, like, well,
he worked for a team that produced really good players
and he had a heavy hand in that, so that's
why he should be lauded for being good at that.
I get that part of it, but it it gets
talked about the reason why Bristol at it. You can
hear me bristling. It's like he was hired here to
be the minor league development coordinator and that's it. He

(02:03:06):
knows about the minor so that's why he's here. That's
all he's here for. He's gonna build up the system
and then they'll cast him aside when it's set. He
wasn't hired to do that. He was hired to do
what the GM does. He was hired to win at
the major league level. He has a keen eye, it
appears based on his history for prospects, scouting and minor
league talent. But I don't really care if he's unbelievable

(02:03:26):
at that. If he can't general manage at the major
league level and put the major league team together, I
wouldn't hire him. And I'm not even saying this as
an affront to him. Personally. I'm just saying generically, that's
what my GM has to be able to do, and
then you hire the right people to make sure if
that's your shortcoming, you do that. He's not hiring other
people to help him put them the team together, having

(02:03:47):
people help him put the minor league. That's okay.

Speaker 3 (02:03:49):
Yeah, you just mentioned though, three different guys, three different
philosophies with each passing guy. I mean, Jeff Luno to
Dana Brown is almost a complete one just from the
standpoint of how involved the owner is. Like Jeff Luno
had Carte blanche, James Klick. It was clear James Jim

(02:04:10):
Crane was was meddling in things, or however you want to.

Speaker 2 (02:04:13):
Phrase it, he was. He was helping make big decisions.
To me, the biggest difference is Jeff Luna went to
Crane because he needed a plan and Jeff had a
good one and it worked. James Click didn't need to
go to Jim Crane with a plan because Jim had
a plan for him. Same with Dana. We're already winning.
Make sure it doesn't stop.

Speaker 3 (02:04:32):
But you would you would also admit that they are
the three guys with relationships or in relation to how
much final say they have in things are very different.

Speaker 2 (02:04:43):
I think that's probably fair to me. It's mainly because
where the team is, where we are is football at
five here on the eighteen.

Speaker 5 (02:04:51):
The A team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (02:04:56):
Actually WEX lied to you though, because before we get
to football at five, we got to talk to you
about paying And if you are trying to get out
of bed every day and you can't without pain, In
other words, if it's not a pain free situation, what
are you waiting on? Call seven one three nine one
three fifty two eighty five and get QC Kinetics on
the phone, because I can guarantee you this. They're the
only ones that are going to tell you, hey, you

(02:05:16):
probably shouldn't go the surgery route if you have joint
pain and if you want lasting relief and you don't
want to go under the knife, There's only one number
to call, and it's the one I just gave you.

Speaker 2 (02:05:24):
WEX is gonna give it to you again. Yeah, it's
ten numbers, very specific and in sequence, dial them on
your handheld cellular phone device and QC Kinetics will be
on the other end. Seven one three nine to one
three fifty two eighty five. They want to help you
deal with your joint pain. They don't want to send
you the surgical route. You don't need steroids, no drugs.
But rather than the future of medicine and those who

(02:05:44):
are the best at cutting edge technology, Nation's leader. That's
what's attached to QC Kinetics. Call them out, get set
up with your free consultation seven one three, nine one
three fifty two eighty.

Speaker 1 (02:05:54):
Five two lifelong Houston Sports Sky he named Adam Talking
Your Teams series.

Speaker 5 (02:06:05):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team A Team.

Speaker 2 (02:06:13):
It's time to get you into football at five here
on Sports Talk seven ninety the A Team. Another reminder,
listen throughout the hour and you will have some very
important information. Should you want to win tickets to either
see Brad Paisley perform at Rodeo Houston or pit passes
along with tickets to Monster Jam coming up this weekend,
give those away at the final segment of the show,

(02:06:35):
and something that we divulge to you during our conversations
in the segment here or those two that follow, well,
you'll need that information. Answer question we'll have for you
then could revolve around the Texans ongoing search for an
offensive coordinator. The Texans, Tampa Bay Bucks, the Jets, the
no head coach Saints, the Jaguars, and do all the

(02:07:01):
Dallas Cowboys among the teams still without an offensive coordinator,
and in most of those cases but not all, they'll
be the play caller. We'll see if Kellen mor gets
hired as head coach in New Orleans, and if that's
the case, pretty good chance he will be the play caller.
The Jets will need a play caller pretty sure. Aaron Glenn,
who already said he won't be calling plays for the defense,

(02:07:23):
also won't be calling plays for the offense. Todd Bowles,
needing to replace Duval, will need an offensive coordinator to
call plays, and like Aaron Glenn, Debiko Ryans is a
former Texan turned defensive coordinator turned head coach who will
not be calling offensive plays, thus he needs someone else
to do that. A couple of reports had the Texans
interviewing two people today, one outside the organization, Nick Cayley,

(02:07:48):
who we talked about quite a bit yesterday. His familiarity
with Nick Cassario from the Patriots and his familiarity with
what's going on in a Sean McVeagh led offense. If
he comes to the Texans would be coming directly from
the Rams, where he was the tight end coach and
past game coordinator. Also expected to complete an interview if
they have not already internally with their second internal candidate,

(02:08:11):
Bill Laser. I wondered if this would happen, knowing that
it made sense, but wondering if they felt like it
was a true option. Bill Laser's been an offensive coordinator
at the NFL level multiple times. Probably some debate about
the success He's had, little debate about the quarterbacks he's
worked with a very young justin fields, Mitch Trubisky, Andy Dalton,

(02:08:32):
and Ryan Tannehill the quarterbacks who have helped run his offense.
Oh and also for a brief time with Chiff Kelly
and Philadelphia when he had Nick Foles and he threw
twenty seven touchdowns and only had two interceptions. Also part
of Bill Laser's resume. But he's been here in Houston
from the time Demiko god here. He's been their senior
offensive assistant for two seasons. He has helped everybody Bobby

(02:08:54):
Sloweck Gerrod Johnson, c J. Stroud involved in the Texans
offense and trying to make it as comfortable as it
can be for CJ. That's the idea. So in that
they smartly we said this back in two thousand and three,
it made perfect sense. They actually did a really really
nice job of trying to hire people, multiple people. Specifically,

(02:09:17):
because we just drafted our new quarterback, we might not
have experience as his coaches on the field with him,
Gerard Johnson quarterback coach, and Bobby Slow becuzoc of both
of them were elevated to those spots and it was
a first time play college situation for Bobby Slock. So
they hired Shane Day, who had lots of NFL offensive experience,

(02:09:37):
and Bill Laser as offensive assistants in year one. Now,
Shane Day was thought of highly enough that he only
lasted one year. Last year he spent with John Harbaugh's
brother in Chargerville working with Justin Herbert, and this year
Bill Laser obviously stayed still in house. Knows what they've
been doing that's worked, probably has some ideas of what

(02:09:59):
they've been do that hasn't worked. And in his case,
unlike Gerad Johnson, he has familiarity calling plays and running
an offense, so it is to his advantage that he
has it. This is a matter of how do you
view the success that they had. And I gave you
some of the reasons why it might not have been
very good, there's other reasons why you might have liked it.
He had spent time in Cincinnati, where his running back

(02:10:20):
was Joe Mixon, so there's a lot of familiarity with
what he has done. And then you can kind of
debate on the success of it and then see how
the Texans feel about it. And then within the last hour,
Tompelli Sero of the NFL Network reported that Brian Johnson
is expected to be brought in for an interview tomorrow.
That would make five candidates interviewed for the Texans. The

(02:10:41):
only one I haven't already mentioned today was Jeff Nixon,
the Syracuse offensive coordinator, and I think he's a very
viable candidate. Brian Johnson should be a very familiar name
to everybody here. He's from the area, went to Baytown Lee,
played quarterback there, spent a couple of years playing quarterback
at Utah, then started his coaching career very soon after
coaching at Utaw. Several different stops on the college football front,

(02:11:04):
including a stop here in Houston, where he was the
quarterback coach in OC when Major apple White was here
for one of those seasons you're one for Major, and
then a couple of NFL stops along with a stop
at Florida. Most recently, his last stop was as part
of the offensive staff assistant head coach pass game coordinator
with the Jaden Daniels Washington Commanders, working with Cliff Kingsbury

(02:11:28):
running that particular offense before that was an interesting time.
He was with the Eagles from twenty one through twenty three.
Twenty one and twenty two he was part of the
offensive staff obviously worked with Shane Steiken on their offense,
and then he became the play calling offensive coordinator. When
he left in twenty twenty three, they did not have

(02:11:49):
a tremendous amount of offensive success and he did not
get asked back after his one season as their offensive coordinator.

Speaker 3 (02:11:57):
I know they're doing their due diligence and trying to
find the guy that makes CJ the most comfortable. I'm
saying that because of the article we mentioned yesterday.

Speaker 2 (02:12:06):
That's why I use the word as well. You'll hear
it a lot from us because we're like that, but
give me a reason talk me out of chip Kelly
because he said no. The Cowboys, the Texans, the Jaguars,
the Saints, the Jets, the Bucks, and a couple other
teams that have just hired somebody. NonStop reports that chip

(02:12:30):
Kelly is at or near the top of multiple teams lists.
Zero reports of chip Kelly taking an interview. It's not
a Texans thing. How about chip Kelly says no, I
don't want to be your oc NFL team. That has
a very simple and blunt answer, but I don't seemingly
a very believable one, and that he hasn't taken us. Reportedly,

(02:12:54):
he might have had one and nobody found out and
no team announced it, which is extremely unlikely. But I'll
leave that as a possible See vacation. Why would you
go on vacation if you want to be an NFLOC
I don't know. I just don't. I'm not home right now.
Just leave a message and I'll get back to you
after your job is filled. That's a very odd answering

(02:13:16):
machine message. By the way, Hey chip here, I just
won the National championship and I know you have an opening.
Whoever you might be, just leave a message, and I'm
getting back to you shortly. Hire someone if you'd like,
I'm vacationingan but okay.

Speaker 3 (02:13:30):
If he's not vacationing, then he's just staying at Ohio
State because he's very, very happy there.

Speaker 2 (02:13:34):
Or he wants to stay at Ohio State until a
college head coaching job that he wants becomes available, or
he wants to interview for an NFL head coaching job,
which did not happen this offseason. His season might have
helped to hurt that, and that he was playing so
long and coaching so long.

Speaker 3 (02:13:51):
Do you think you're gonna get more or less interviews
for an NFL head coaching job if you take an
offensive coordinator position in the NFL are successful.

Speaker 2 (02:14:02):
I tend to agree with that thought. Your answer need
not be given. I know what you're saying. Yeah, I
know where you're taking this. The other part of it
is he might say I'd love to take an OC job,
but I don't think it's gonna get me a head
coaching job for the third time. He's a two time
NFL head coaching firing three years in Philly, fired during

(02:14:22):
the final season, one year in San Francisco, and that
was it there and it was in a just a
four year period. It was eight years ago. This will
be the ninth season removed. Should you be automatically out
of the running for the other thirty teams that didn't
hire you just because of those two stints? And maybe
the answer is yes, and maybe he kind of knows that.
I don't know. There's a lot of different reasons for it.

Speaker 3 (02:14:42):
If you're wanting to get stay in college, then that
makes all the sense in the world, head coach or otherwise.
But you know, every season you're not coaching at either
level is a season that you're not as familiar or
you could say the game not passed you by, but
it's just the female maturity.

Speaker 2 (02:15:00):
Window might have closed. Looks like it could change when
other hirings get made that will have I think two
former NFL head coaches, three former NF four. I'm continuing
to browse the list. I think four former NFL head
coaches that will be the offensive coordinator somewhere in the NFL.

(02:15:20):
CHIP would be a fifth. It's not that common. Arthur
Smith immediately went from the Falcons to be the OC
with Pittsburgh. Cliff Kingsbury the OC with the commanders, and
by the way he has told the NFL teams that
would have otherwise maybe interviewed him for a head coaching job,
he wasn't interested. There weren't many left by the time
he was available.

Speaker 3 (02:15:38):
He didn't want the headaches because he's had such a
good time doing it before.

Speaker 2 (02:15:41):
Matt Naggi, who is in Kansas City now and he's
obviously been a head coach before. It's a fairly short list.
Is the money, Josh.

Speaker 3 (02:15:49):
McDaniels, when you're talking about these positions though, coordinators, is
the money that much different than head coach?

Speaker 2 (02:15:57):
No coordinator in the college game, which is what he
is now. Depends on where you are. I think there's
a few places, and one of them is where he
is where he can make exceptional money at the same
title oc as he could in the NFL. Interesting. I
just head coaching money in the NFL is beyond stupid
right in this point.

Speaker 3 (02:16:16):
And that's kind of why I ask, though. I mean,
if I would assume that the next level would pay
well even at the coordinator position, he.

Speaker 2 (02:16:23):
Got paid very well at UCLA. I'm sure for the
time he got paid very well at Oregon, and he's
getting paid very well at Ohio's day. I don't think
it's a lack of money. I don't think money is
a factor anyways.

Speaker 3 (02:16:32):
But I just find it very hard to believe that
he wouldn't look twice at the text and specifically.

Speaker 2 (02:16:37):
Okay, exactly, not been interviewed, not been reported to be interviewed.
It can't possibly be that the Texans and the other
six teams I keep mentioning have all not called his agent.
Oh there's no chance. So pick up the phone, like
ship due diligence, do your work, you know, get a
real pool of can he has to You would think
he would fit into a legitimate pool of candidates. I mean,

(02:16:58):
they've already interviewed one current college OC. Of the guys
they have interviewed, yes, does any stand out to you
above the others for any reason whatsoever. Each of the
four that stand out the most haven't been a play
calling OC before, and that's what would push me maybe
against any of them. I think Jeff Nixon runs an

(02:17:19):
exceptional offense and has NFL experience. I like what Nick
Cayley's done throughout his career, and I love who he's
worked for, and I think the same could be said
about Gerard Johnson. I think the same could be said
about you know, any of these youngsters. But you're putting
him into a situation where you're asking for greatness on
day one.

Speaker 3 (02:17:37):
Yeah, we've talked about a lot of pressure in that
position and then to have a first time or again
get that position might be not the way to go.
We will continue discussing this and Troy Aikman he hasn't
let it go.

Speaker 2 (02:17:51):
We'll explain next.

Speaker 5 (02:17:53):
The ag on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (02:17:58):
We now return to Adam Klint and Adam Wexworth on
Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 2 (02:18:07):
Just a real quick aside before we get into the booth.
Analysts derision directed towards the NFL. Are you a fan
of a large extinct elephant of the Pleistocene epic, typically
Harry with a sloping back and long curved tusks, the

(02:18:29):
wooly mammoth or mammoth? If you yes, are you? Are
you a fan indifferent?

Speaker 14 (02:18:35):
Do you like?

Speaker 2 (02:18:37):
Do you like renegade cowboy types that are always running
a foul from the law, Well, if they're on the
show called renegade? Do you like extremely boring soccer inspired
team names?

Speaker 8 (02:18:52):
No?

Speaker 2 (02:18:53):
Okay? The final three in the search for a name
for next year's version of the Utah Hockey Club have
been determined now that apparently Wassatch is no longer under consideration.
Be supporting to reporter Chris in Utah Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws,

(02:19:14):
or they just keep what they have Utah Hockey. All
three of those designs choices suck. You don't want to
see a human or two humans dressed up as a mammoth.
No running up and down the seats at the Inside Center,
Utah's hockey arena, the Delta Center.

Speaker 8 (02:19:32):
No.

Speaker 3 (02:19:33):
Because as stupid as it is that your basketball name
is Jazz, this is even Donner. I'm all for places
getting hockey teams. I think we should get one here
in Houston. Shout out to Tillman. But you don't have
to screw it up right before they've even played.

Speaker 2 (02:19:50):
Well, maybe one of the finalists for Houston's new outfit
on the ice will be the Houston Hockey Club, the HC.

Speaker 3 (02:19:57):
Nobody's gonna call it that. They tried that with soccer team.
They called it the eighteen thirty six, and it was
Houston Dynamite. It was so bad and poorly received they
had to like change it the next week and Dynamo
is not bad. It's whatever onto Troy. Well, Troy is

(02:20:18):
not going to let it go by it. I mean
the thing you have said to let go several times
this week.

Speaker 2 (02:20:23):
His season ended well with the ESPN's no longer having games,
that's true, and Amazon technically today for Amazon, I thought
they I thought he and Joe Buck were on Amazon. No,
Kirk kirk Street, that's Albert Michael. I get see.

Speaker 3 (02:20:41):
There's so many now they're not They're not. That's how
much it stood out to me this year. Kirk k
is college.

Speaker 2 (02:20:50):
What was what was Troy's last game or one of
his most recent games. Well, he did the Texans game,
and he was not happy about the officiating. But he understands,
as he visited a podcast earlier. I believe this was
earlier today, It could have been last night. He understands
that the referering is the job itself is difficult.

Speaker 19 (02:21:15):
I know, the officials have a they have a tough job,
you know, I mean the scrutiny that they're under. As
we've as we've gotten more advanced with inchin replay, those guys,
it seems have become more and more scrutinized, and the
game has not become less controversial. The game has become
more controversial. But then I just think that we are

(02:21:37):
at a point and this.

Speaker 9 (02:21:39):
This has tipped a little bit because the league is
in partners with a number of these gambling services.

Speaker 3 (02:21:46):
All right, there it is now, I should say he
was on Jimmy Trena's Sports Illustrated podcast. I neglected to
mention that beforehand he has opened up Pandora's box, even
though he's not the one that opened it. It's the
NFL getting in bed with gambling sites and all that
kind of stuff. It's going to lend itself and we've

(02:22:08):
already seen players get in trouble for this very thing.

Speaker 2 (02:22:12):
I know there's more. Oh yeah, there's more, but I'll
let him, Troy go ahead. I'll just take us back
seat here.

Speaker 3 (02:22:20):
The NFL's best interest to fix what he's talking about,
Accordny to Troy.

Speaker 9 (02:22:25):
So here you are promoting gambling. People are gambling more
than they.

Speaker 19 (02:22:29):
Ever had before, and those types of calls are there's
a lot at stake regardless, but especially when you're considering there's.

Speaker 9 (02:22:37):
A lot of money that's changing hands with these calls.
As well, so I think that we owe it to the.

Speaker 19 (02:22:42):
Fans that we get it right, and I think we're
at a point in time where we can we can
get it more right. So that's that was really my position,
and just trying to lean on the NFL and say, hey,
you know, we've got to fix this. We've got to
address it in the off season.

Speaker 2 (02:23:00):
To say, and his last game was the Texans game.
Obviously fair to say that the team that's generated all
this conversation from some smart people and other people that
aren't as smart is the Chiefs, right, So there's a
perception or narrative that they're getting a lot of calls.
If they're getting a lot of calls, is it helping
him win and score points? So why aren't people just

(02:23:25):
taking advantage of the information we already have. What do
you mean, Well, I'll take Ben's word for it. Ben
Fox is a former sports betting analyst for a couple
of the most popular outfits, and he notes Pat mahomes
career record in the NFL playoffs as a favorite of
under a field goal or an underdog eight and no

(02:23:46):
against the number also eight and no straight up. They
were two and a half point favorites a week ago.
That's under a field goal they covered and won. Obviously,
you can't do one without the others the favorite. Okay,
so they're one and a half point favorites against the
Eagles in the Super Bowl. I mean it might not
play forever, but they're getting all the calls. I think,

(02:24:08):
I believe, I perceive Troy does too. And they're winning
all these games. Okay, well, why don't you just bet
on them? And no, I've heard that. I've heard that.
I heard that on this station earlier this week. But
you know what Troy is saying.

Speaker 3 (02:24:22):
Troy could have made these points and made this He
could have said these same things without bringing in the
gambling aspect and still made the same point. He knows
better than anybody. First of all, he was very demonstrative
about how the officiating was going poorly on the broadcast,
and I'm actually very curious to see if he got
called to the principal's office about that, because it was

(02:24:43):
like not subtle at all. And then secondly, he knows
probably better than anybody that if he brings in this
very real, very big part of the NFL now into
this conversation, that's going to get even more attention. So
it kind of tends to make me think he was
called to the principal's office yet, but he definitely will
be after this. And then on top of that, he

(02:25:05):
takes it a step further by saying the quarterbacks are
abusing the current rules as written to their benefit.

Speaker 2 (02:25:11):
And he's talking about one quarterback especially, And.

Speaker 19 (02:25:14):
If the quarterback has the ball, pat and you're going
to protect him and give him protections when he gives
himself up, he can't then weaponize that rule Pat and
then dance around and wait.

Speaker 9 (02:25:27):
Till the last possible second.

Speaker 19 (02:25:30):
Because we've also seen it from quarterbacks who get on
the sidelines and they'll tiptoe and a defender.

Speaker 2 (02:25:35):
I didn't really know what to do. He's talking about
Pat Mahomes and others, but he's talking about Pat Mahomes right,
because he's still on TV every single year this deep
end of the season doing it and everybody sees it.
And they're on national TV all the time, so also
everybody sees him doing that. I mean, Aaron Rodgers could
do it every week and nobody would ever see it
because he plays for the Jets. But this particular quarterback

(02:25:56):
does it and plays for the Chiefs. The other part
of it is, okay, you can't let them weaponize it.
I'd love to hear the solution you're gonna tell me
the league is going to rewrite the rules and start
enforcing them. When Henry toto and fully thought Acasi jump
over top of Mahomes and graize his helmet, he's getting
a fifteen yard penalty. That one I have a hard

(02:26:17):
time believing. When Henry totoa shoves him out of bounds
before he's gone out of bounds and he flops. Yes,
you can absolutely assess the Chiefs a loss of down
and ten to fifteen yard penalty. That is one way
to help it reviewable well, replay assists is I'm sure
going to continue to be more and more involved. Maybe

(02:26:39):
it's challengeable, maybe it's I don't know that coaches want
to use it on that, But in a situation where
it's a third down and you know they're forcing him
in a soon to be punt situation, yeah, I think
it absolutely would be. I'm not sure about the hit,
like the Trevor Lawrence hit, Like let's say it was
deemed that well, we don't want him sliding so late
you're gonna penalize Trevor Lawrence while he's laying there on

(02:26:59):
the ground. I don't think they're going to do that.
I don't understand the reasoning behind it.

Speaker 3 (02:27:03):
And we talked about so what the funny thing is
is when that happened, as d'z al Shaier gets the suspension,
it just so happens to be in a stretch that's
going to include games or a game against the Chiefs, and.

Speaker 2 (02:27:15):
Yeah, fooled people into thinking the Texans wouldn't bring it
to the postseason that they did.

Speaker 3 (02:27:19):
And I remember talking about this because it's like, Okay,
there's two aspects at play here because and as ziz
al Shaier was caught up in two different incidents that
pertained to both of them. One is a quarterback giving
himself up as a runner. The other is a quarterback
doing shenanigans on the sideline trying to get more yards.
And that's where Pat Mahomes came into play. Now Here

(02:27:40):
we are weeks over a month later, a month and
a half later, and we're still talking about it because
one of the most visible voices in the game, and
one of the more visible quarterbacks when he played, is
screaming from the rooftops.

Speaker 2 (02:27:51):
You gotta change this, he says, saying it on a podcast.

Speaker 3 (02:27:54):
Yes, yeah, but he knows that this is going to
get eyeballs and that people like us are going to
talk about it, and the ultimately Roger Goodell.

Speaker 2 (02:28:00):
Is going to jump in and do something, say something. Yeah,
And when I described you're not gonna see the NFL
call penalties when quarterbacks are down, but what you should
see and what Troy should help them push towards if
he has a large enough voice, We got to send
the message to the quarterbacks as we rewrite the rules,
do not put yourselves in that position. You have to
stop doing that. You cannot slide so late. You can't

(02:28:21):
put the defensive players in that position. Your protections are offered,
but only up until a certain point. It's very difficult
to officiate, but I think the quarterbacks would begin to
recognize this is not my best interest anymore to do
this because I run a very serious risk, a health
risk if I continue to go that route. In case
you missed it is next.

Speaker 1 (02:28:44):
The A ten on Sports Talk seven ninety. You like
free stuff. We all like free stuff. Guess what our
iHeartRadio app is free and free never sounded so good.

Speaker 2 (02:29:00):
That music means and the time on your pocket watch
tells you that it's time for In case you missed it,
this is nineteen twenty third segment of the five o'clock
out right around five thirty each and every weekday afternoon.
Some of items we might not have had a chance
to get to need an update or need to be
introduced entirely. I will start with a very recent update
from the Memphis Grizzlies John Morant. His shoulder soreness had

(02:29:24):
a list him questionable throughout the day. He has been
downgraded to out full for tonight's game. It's not out,
but he has been changed to doubtful for tonight's game
against the Houston Rockets eight thirty tip off. I tever
share three hours before tip he's out. Sounds like he's
trending in that direction. Our coverage officially begins at seven

(02:29:47):
thirty with Rockets launch pad. Eight o'clock will begin coverage
of the game. You and MT have that at eight
thirty they will tip it off or shortly thereafter. I'll
be at Tom's watch bar for another Rockets watch. If
you like the Rockets and you like watching the Rockets
in person, and you'd like to get there thanks to
me giving you this opportunity Saturday night. As a matter

(02:30:08):
of fact, I'll be selecting a couple of winners who
joined me over at Tom's watch part who enjoy Rockets
basketball in person on Saturday night. So come on out
and see me and enjoy everything Tom's has to offer,
and we'll watch the game. What else do we have?

Speaker 20 (02:30:21):
All Right, it seems like a good place to start,
given the last segments about how the game's officiated, players, safety,
all that different types of stuff. The NFL announcing today
one hundred and eighty two concussions this season. Now, on
the surface, that sounds like, wow, that's a lot down
seventeen percent from last year.

Speaker 2 (02:30:39):
I guess they're going to tell themselves that the.

Speaker 3 (02:30:43):
Rules they have implemented in the safety first priority they
so clearly have is I.

Speaker 2 (02:30:49):
Mean, you got to you got to reseeparate certain things.
You can take their report and get that information you
gave us. And they sent out a pretty detailed release
on some things regarding it. Much of it yesterday and
today they've sent out stems from the actual significant change
they made to one rule the kickoff rule. Kickoff rule
produced teams starting with better field position, more drive, starting

(02:31:10):
at or better than the forty yard line, produced more points,
produced more touchdowns, and produced fewer concussions, significantly fewer concussions,
which is a lot of where the game was changed
and a lot of where those numbers have been shifted
in a much more friendly, fewer concussion direction. From the
rest of the game standpoint, there weren't even that many

(02:31:31):
rules that were altered in any way this year. We
still have how you can hit receivers, defenseless receivers, and
there were more players Tamar Hamlin in the Bills final
game of the season wearing the guardian helmets when they're
not required to do so, which that I mean, all
the stuff that you bring up with a player safety,
they don't care. How can you do the research issue

(02:31:54):
teams guardian helmets, mandate that certain players wear them throughout
camp and then mandated during the season, all while you
apparently have the data that says they help, Like that's
the whole reason you've put them on their heads to
begin with during camp. If they help, why aren't they mandated?
I don't get it makes no sense. Is there something

(02:32:16):
wrong with them? Is there too much extra weight on
a player's head for three hours rather than an hour
and a half practice. They do look ridiculous, So that's
the reason.

Speaker 3 (02:32:24):
But no, they just they're still to me, they it's
not been long enough to where we're in a game
and we're watching and I see them and I'm like,
it's it's still alarming when it on the screen. But
the threason I brought up the safety being a huge
priority of the league is what happens when they go
ahead and add that eighteenth game on the schedule, Because

(02:32:45):
it's gonna happen. This number that Dan just gave us
is immediately probably, if not negated.

Speaker 2 (02:32:51):
It's definitely interesting if it's if they're what they're clearly
they're talking about concussions almost exclusively here. We just saw
one this last week, right, But are we seeing an
increase on a per game basis and concussions or are
we merely just putting all these hundreds of players through
an additional week of well, you could blow your knee out,
you're gonna have a shoulder injury, you're gonna have a
pack injury, You're gonna it's gonna cost you part of

(02:33:12):
next season versus concussions, which is I think what they
actually want to produce better numbers because they're not facing
lawsuits for as CTE and other things. That's what they're
that's what they're trying to fight. Again, they're not trying
to fight against Yeah, limping players because they blew their
kne out and had nine surgeries.

Speaker 3 (02:33:29):
But again it stands the reason that the the numbers
will go up and so you'll have more the more
of a likelihood of those types of incidents that lead
to those types of lawsuits you're talking about, because.

Speaker 2 (02:33:41):
This will just pay the players more money. Oh, they'll
definitely do that, So hope it's worth it. Waivers have
to come, all right.

Speaker 20 (02:33:48):
So this is from yesterday. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was
on the Dan Patrick Show. And we've got a huge
game tonight right here on our airwaves, Rockets Grizzlies starting
at seven thirty Rockets launch Pad. You're truly bringing that
to you, MTAC. They're gonna be on the call of
the game tonight. So you guys know that regulation basketball
is forty eight minutes, right. Well, Adam Silver on the

(02:34:09):
DP Show bringing up the idea of what if games
were shorter.

Speaker 7 (02:34:13):
The NBA is the only league that plays forty eight minutes,
and I would be I am a fan of four
ten minute quarters. I'm not sure that many others are.
I mean putting inside what it means for records and
things like that. Yeah, I think that a two hour
format for a game is more consistent sort of modern

(02:34:34):
television habits. I don't think people in arenas aren't asking
us to shorten the game, but I think as a
television program being two hours, that's Olympic basketball as being
two is two hours, you know, college basketball, of courses.

Speaker 2 (02:34:47):
Sorry to cut you off there, Adam. Do you have
anything to add Adam to what Adam had to say
here on the eighteen I do okay Olympic basketball, which
he referenced the US Olympic team just laid in, did
really well. They want a lot of games. They've got medals,
some of which have already been tarnished according to recent reports.
Didn't put it. The process wasn't followed properly, not creating

(02:35:09):
that metal. But anyway, I recall a controversial storyline from
this past Olympic Games involving Steve Kerr and one of
his players that did not even see the court. Okay,
so now we're gonna take eight minutes away from these
fifteen man rosters or however many. You now want active
everything depth anymore. You're and you let's take the part.

(02:35:33):
I'm not even saying he's wrong or right, but what
he's definitely saying is we want to shorten the games.
Here are gonna do it. We're literally gonna shorten the game,
not the game broadcast. We're gonna shorten the game. We're
still gonna need our timeouts. We're still gonna be jamming
in commercials during gameplay, which I'm sure you've noticed this
year even more so than usual. We need our timeouts.
We need to get our ad revenue there. Of course,

(02:35:54):
well I don't even doubt it. Of course they need it.
But in return, you're gonna see thirty fewer minutes of
basketball games and ten minute quarters.

Speaker 3 (02:36:03):
Every time something like this comes out, doesn't matter what
the league is, I always feel like they're trying to
put some sort of band aid on the way the
game actually is a big, big example of this is
what they did with Major League Baseball. Now there's times
there's clocks involved, Now there's gift runners on second base.
Now there's all this stuff to shorten your game or

(02:36:25):
make it more. All you're doing is saying, all right,
attention deficit disorder is a thing. Basically, yes, people's attention
span is that? Yeah, well what so radically doesn't matter
and do nothing. I think that's very foolish.

Speaker 12 (02:36:42):
No.

Speaker 3 (02:36:42):
But but I'm like, at some point, okay, you did
that for this generation of people who have no attention span?
Are you just gonna keep shortening the game because people can't?
Are we gonna have thirty second quarters eventually?

Speaker 2 (02:36:54):
Because that's what. Don't worry about that yet I have
to worry about that cause I'm the commissioner generation. Worry
about that. I honestly on the baseball, of course, they're
putting band aids on it because they recognize they have problems.
So they're trying to fix them. They're trying to find
a solution. They don't have the problems. The people have
the problems, but they can They can't sit there and watch.
They can't change the people. They can change the product.

(02:37:14):
I guess, well, there is no they literally, this is
all they can do.

Speaker 3 (02:37:18):
People just aren't gonna watch baseball if it's knocks amount
of that time.

Speaker 2 (02:37:22):
That's your solution. Oh, I guess we'll just keep watching
our ratings go away. Well, but I just think there's
some things that should be left alone.

Speaker 3 (02:37:27):
And I definitely don't think you should put a stupid
runner that was not earned on second base just because
of COVID that happened.

Speaker 2 (02:37:33):
Then you just keep it in the game. Because well,
attention spans are bad.

Speaker 5 (02:37:39):
The at on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (02:37:42):
If your attention span is well not what it should be,
you probably have low testosterone.

Speaker 2 (02:37:47):
I'm not even kidding.

Speaker 3 (02:37:48):
If you have low testosterone, it can affect so many
things other than just your sexual wellness. In fact, if
you want total wellness optimization, the only place to go
to is Men's t Clinic dot com. That's the web
site to go to to find out about the specifics
on their five Houston area locations in the Heights, Cypress, Paarlam, Pasadena,
and Spring. I went to the Heights location right there

(02:38:09):
at Itin and Durham earlier today and they took care
of me like they do each and every week, usually
on Thursdays, usually right around a little before one o'clock.

Speaker 2 (02:38:19):
I go in there and I get that total wellness optimization.

Speaker 3 (02:38:21):
I get the testosterone therapy, but also the B twelve,
the G shot, the LiPo Amino. These are performance injections
that they can hook you up with as well. It's
all about getting your total wellness optimization in check and
where it needs to be at Men's Tclinic dot com.

Speaker 1 (02:38:40):
Adam Clinton, I'm wexler Ower A team returns on Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (02:38:46):
Hexachus your Rockets play here.

Speaker 2 (02:38:54):
Pretty interesting conversation last segment about some potential changes to
the NBA and what Major Baseball is done. Definitely want
to continue that conversation, just not necessarily here to close
out today's show. We want much more time for it.
We got a ways to go before spring training is
even underway, and you can hear some of those games
right here on Sports Talk seven ninety. We do have

(02:39:14):
an opportunity to get you guys tickets to go see
either Monster Jam coming up February second over at n
r G Stadium. We have Monster Jam tickets and pit passes.
We also have the opportunity, if you so choose to
go see Brad Paisley. He's performing at Rodeo Houston. That
show is March tenth, Tickets to that event could be

(02:39:36):
found at Rodeohuston dot com should you not win them.
Tickets to Monster Jam can be found at ticketmaster dot
com should you not win them. And you know the
drill here, those are you loyal listeners to the A team.
We like to help you out by you helping us out.
You guys listened to the show, you devote your time
and effort and to lock it into the program, participating
in the program some of the time as well.

Speaker 4 (02:39:57):
Well.

Speaker 2 (02:39:57):
If you were listening to us earlier on the show,
we were talking about one very prominent NFL voice voicing
his displeasure with the NFL's officiating and how it might
be impacting gambling whom they as a league are in
bed with. Played a couple of sounds sound bites from
this very well known NFL voice. We just want you

(02:40:19):
to tell us who it was from earlier in the show,
earlier this hour, not very long ago even seven one
three two one two five, seven nine. If you know
the answer to which NFL voice that is, well you
can just tell Dan and he'll joked up with those
tickets that you so desire. Seven one three two one
two five seven ninety to go see Monster Jam or
Brad Paisley if you are a winner and you know

(02:40:41):
the answer that very simple question, but also wanted to
pass along this bit of news. Knew that the NBA
would be announcing their reserves for the All Star Game
this evening. Five starters already announced to be a voting
for both sides, the Eastern Conference reserves and Clu Jalen Brown,
K Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyler Hero, Damian Lillard, Evan Mobley,

(02:41:04):
and Pascal Siakam. They have not yet announced the West.

Speaker 3 (02:41:09):
I saw an article today by the Four Letter Network
where they were going through and talking about all of
the spots they thought would be the West's also, well,
they did for both conferences, but all we care about
is the Rockets, and they reside in the West. And
of course it got down to the paragraph after they
went ahead and didn't include any Rockets on the All

(02:41:31):
Star team because you knew they wouldn't, even though they've
been the two seeds for pretty much the entire year.
But it was it was basically the starters were Shay
Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic, wimb And Yama and Jaren Jackson
Junior with the reserves being Kyrie Who's most chunks of

(02:41:53):
the season, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams, Anthony Davis, Dematasa Bonis,
Kevin Durant, Lebron James.

Speaker 2 (02:42:00):
When it got to the time where.

Speaker 3 (02:42:02):
They needed to explain themselves for not only some of
those picks, but this paragraph was great. The most glaring
omission from this team is any representation from the second
place Houston Rockets.

Speaker 2 (02:42:14):
This is where it gets awesome.

Speaker 3 (02:42:15):
Aman Thompson would be on this team if the resumes
were contained to just this month's play accurate, though, center
Alphera and Shingoon has the best argument. Over the course
of the season, Houston's offense is seven points per one
hundred possessions better with him on the court, but his
stats lag a bit behind Sabonus and aren't strong enough

(02:42:35):
to lift him over James or Durant. You know, players
on teams with worse records than the guy who you
just got done talking about why his team is so
good offensively when he's on the floor.

Speaker 2 (02:42:45):
But I digress. I mean, you're really gonna make a
case for Alphera and Shangoon over Kevin Durant. No, I'm
gonna make a case for Alprien Shingoon to be on
a team that both of whom were voted in. So
he can't get in it right then, But I'm gonna
make an argument for him being on the team. Period. Well,
you got to take some off the team, so you
are advocating for somebody to come off the team, and
it can't be them, but that's who you brought up, Like,

(02:43:06):
I'd love to see them there. I just think it's
going to be virtually impossible.

Speaker 3 (02:43:10):
Because DeMoss Bonus has to be on the team, because
Kyrie Irving, who has missed significant time, has to be
on the team. Because I mean, I keep going. I
know you're gonna say about Lebron James and Kevin Durant,
but okay, they put up a bunch of stats on
teams that are losing.

Speaker 2 (02:43:27):
Kyrie Irvings missed ten or twelve games. Kevin Durant's team
is inside the playoff picture seventh Tech Rockets are second.
They got six more wins seven maybe, Okay, at the
end of the day, you're talking about an individual player award,
which you probably get the benefit of the doubt if
you play for a really good team. But you better

(02:43:48):
be awfully close. And he's really not in competition the
way that two guards, three forwards or three front court
players and then two whatever you want, that's what will
make up the seven reserves. Those are the stipulations. So
he's not I mean with somebody after the first two
picks he'd be in competition with, Like Victor was not
voted in. He's making the All Star team. He's had

(02:44:09):
a better season individually on a worst team. Demonasabonis did
not make the All Star Team. He's had a better
individual season for a worst team. Those are your two
of your three front core players to be your absolute locks.
Lucas missed so much time he may get selected because
it doesn't matter because he's not going to play. I
think Kyrie's missed a lot less time. Darreon Fox, Devin Booker,

(02:44:33):
Anthony Davis. There's a lot of players that can make
very good cases to make the All Star Team, and
it would cost your one of your best players a
spot on a much better.

Speaker 3 (02:44:42):
Teams missed some time too. He hasn't missed as much
as even Kyrie in that case that we're going to
start using that argument. But I just find it funny
that we have talked about on this show. Who's the
next face of the NBA.

Speaker 2 (02:45:00):
Alpern Shangoon is an All Star just announced? Oh good, well,
I have a problem. Who did he bump off the
list that had to be on there?

Speaker 5 (02:45:07):
Well?

Speaker 2 (02:45:07):
Of the names you mentioned, Kyrie Irving did not make
the All Star team, and everybody else we talked about
was already voted. In the Western Conference All Stars are
former Houston Rocket James Harden, Jalen Williams of the best
team in the West, Victor, Jaren Jackson Junior should be
on the court tonight against the Rockets, Anthony Edwards and
Anthony Davis. Those are the seven reserves Davis, Edwards, Harden,

(02:45:31):
Jackson Junior, Alprin, Shangoon, Victor and Jaln Williams. I love
it when a plan comes together on the fly. I
didn't have to get upset, as you heard, very surprised.
You're shocked and very happy for Alpern and the Rocketts. No, listen,
it's not an anti Alpern argument per se. It's just
you thought others were more deserving if you were to guess,

(02:45:51):
and then you didn't have to guess anymore because the
list came out in the middle of our conversation. That's awesome.
I figured it would time that out really really nicely.

Speaker 3 (02:46:00):
Yeah, and I don't even think that, Like James Harden's
another one of those guys where it's like.

Speaker 2 (02:46:06):
They rewarded him in the very same fashion they were
rewarded Alpron. He plays for a team that's doing better
than expected, very well as a matter of fact, and
they made him an All Star basically because of it.
Are you surprised that?

Speaker 3 (02:46:24):
Are you surprised that we're getting to the point where
Lebron wasn't voted in as a starter?

Speaker 20 (02:46:29):
Uh?

Speaker 14 (02:46:29):
He was?

Speaker 2 (02:46:30):
I thought he wasn't. Nope, he was. Well, then I
have a wrong list in front of me. Well, when
you were running through the list, I'm like, that didn't
make any sense because he's already gonna be there.

Speaker 3 (02:46:40):
That's why so they put I guess, I guess this
is a list of what they should be. But I
thought when they put the starters down, which I knew
were announced because we had the votes, that that was
a nonsense. Okay, it's a weird article, then, correct. All right, Well,
I'm glad for Alpi. I mean it, it's deserved. I

(02:47:01):
would like to get to the part where the point
where we can start talking about, you know, more than
one rocket. But I do think, because I've heard this
a number of times, while they're not the Detroit Pistons
in two thousand and four that won at all, they
do have that similar makeup roster wise, where there's not
we talk about this all the time, there's not that
one star. Yet it works and it works for their

(02:47:23):
team a lot better than all but one in the
Western Conference. All Right, you'll hear from the Rockets. You
will literally hear from them coming up in a few hours.
As a matter of fact, eight thirty tip. We'll have
a coverage for you in a few here on your
home for Rockets Basketball Sports Talk seven ninety, but until
tomorrow at two for Dan for wex I, ma AYC.

Speaker 5 (02:47:41):
It is the A team, the A team on Sports
Talk seven ninety

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Crime Junkie

24/7 News: The Latest

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Rockets Try To Keep Rolling, Waiting On Bregman and Billy D. Washington In-Studio

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Crime Junkie

24/7 News: The Latest

Stuff You Should Know

All Episodes

Rockets Try To Keep Rolling, Waiting On Bregman and Billy D. Washington In-Studio

Crime Junkie