STOP PITCHING TO JOSE RAMIREZ! Cartaini Crushes, A Minor Setback Before A MAJOR Break

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Your two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Raised.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
My earl.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Nolan Multipi. The magnificent roller coaster ride that is Houston
Sports chill Lage down for the only homegrown afternoon team
is Talking Your Teams.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Teams A.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
It's a Tuesday edition of the A Team.

Speaker 5 (00:54):
It's Sports Talk seven ninety Adam Clinton with you.

Speaker 4 (00:57):
Adam Wexler continues to be out.

Speaker 5 (01:00):
You know, I'm sitting here in this studio and I'm
realizing every day I come in here and you know,
you don't know what's going on outside at all. It's
kind of like a prison in that way. There's no window.

Speaker 4 (01:13):
It's like, actually, you know what, I'm not going to
use that. I'm going to say.

Speaker 5 (01:16):
It's more like a casino. There's no windows or readily
available exits. It's just this little small room that you're
trapped in to do this and try to entertain people. Right,
And I'm realizing you have no idea at any given
time what's going on outside. Was this I was looking
at that while we were on vacation coal and I
was like, it's pouring back in Houston.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
Like every other day.

Speaker 5 (01:39):
And it's just it's just taking some getting used to
because we used to have a window in the old place.

Speaker 6 (01:44):
And what I love right now about it is you
can't tell when it's raining. But also it's only raining
in one spot for five minutes.

Speaker 5 (01:50):
Right Well, that's Houston. That's basically I say, walking to Houston. Yeah,
and so that doesn't surprise me at all. But anyway,
enough about what's going on outside. Hope you're staying dry.
I hope you're dry.

Speaker 4 (02:00):
I mean carefully if you're doing that kind of thing.

Speaker 5 (02:02):
Right now, what we would like to do is get
the Astros back on track. I Uh, there's no such
thing as a trap game in baseball. I just don't
think that's possible because there's there's too many variables that
factor in.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
There's too many you know, there's a new pitcher every day.

Speaker 5 (02:19):
There's just an inordinate amount of position players that factor in.
Obviously the injuries, which we all knew too well right
right now in Houston. So a game like last night
is not you know, that's gonna happen. That's gonna happen
from time to time.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
It's still sucked.

Speaker 5 (02:37):
It still sucked because you had a ten game losing
streak that the Cleveland Guardians come in and snap at
the hands of an Astros team that was riding high
off the sweep over the Los Angeles Dodgers. So from
that standpoint, yeah, that wasn't a lot of fun to see,
but again, it's one out of one sixty two and
those things are gonna happen at times. What you love

(02:58):
is that a couple of things. You love the fact
that Hunter Brown's going tonight. That's almost as automatic as
it can be, as I completely jinx him in the
opening segment of our show. I hope not, but he's
just been pitching out standing and we'll touch on that
in a little bit. But you know, there are it's
you're back on the horse again. But you just wanted

(03:20):
things to keep going. The other thing, though, that was
that was cool about last night was the young kids,
the kids that keep contributing to this situation here in
Houston where you didn't expect not only for the Astros
to be now nineteen games over five hundred because of
the last night's loss, but you know, it's just the

(03:41):
fact that they're they've still got the six and a
half game lead Seattle Idol last night. So you did
lose a half game because of the loss, but you know,
you just the young kids contributing and continuing to contribute
to a team that's doing what it's doing right now,
even after a seven to five loss like last night.
You love seeing things like what you saw in last

(04:04):
night's game, a Kennedy Corona making his debut and you know,
you heard Todd Kallis talk about it on the broadcast
on the television side, the stirring ovation for a kid
like that. You know, this happens, you know, a few
times a year for a lot of teams in the
majors where a guy comes up and makes his major
league debut for whatever reason. And we're not just talking

(04:26):
about September call ups, even though it's kind of a
thing of the past. You know, we're talking about just
you know, through the course of a season, people are hurt,
several people's could be hurt, like this is the case
right now, and you have a situation where a Kennedy
Corona makes his debut and you know it gets a
nice little hand right for whatever reason. The crowd minute

(04:46):
made last night was super into this and continued to
be super into it, and unfortunately the Astros couldn't inevitably
give them the finale that they wanted. But it was
an entertaining game from the standpoint of both teams had
some big hits, both teams had some big home runs,
and Victor Karantini continues to be fantastic, as does East

(05:10):
Soak Perettis. Those are two guys that figured to be
mainstays in the lineup, particularly Perettis after basically replacing Alex
Bregman at third base. But to see a guy like
a Kennedy Corona last night, come up to see a
guy like you know, Zach Short and what he did,
and then obviously Taylor Tremmel his first hit as a
major leaguer is a three run blast to get the

(05:33):
Astros to within one, and then shortly thereafter East Soak
Peretis ties it up. So very entertaining last night, albeit
without the final result that we would have liked. I
really really last night, you know, every every once in
a while this happens. I really did not like David
Fry's home the home run last night, because that is

(05:54):
a an out if it's like five feet to the
right and it's a home run two of the to
run variety if he hits it where he did. But
that is the way the cookie crumbles, with the Crawford
boxes and the little idiosyncrasies out in the left field
and really the mainly the entire stadium outfield at dyke
In Park. So we will talk a lot about the Astros, obviously,

(06:17):
don't know if you happen to catch Cooper Hammel's interview
with Matt Thomas show in the last half hour or so.
That was a lot of fun, particularly when Matt asked
him who his favorite or greatest all time Portland Trailblazer was,
because he's from the Portland area, and of course he
gave an answer that made Matt fall out of his
chair because you know, Matt is a long time NBA

(06:38):
fan and obviously Cooper Hammel is a little bit younger.
I'm just being very nice right now. So yeah, it
was interesting to hear that, but yeah, he had some
good thoughts on just being a part of this sort
of youth movement, so to speak, for your Houston Astros
that continues as they've They've just been a fantastic story
this season, albeit where they usually are at the top

(07:01):
of their division. But the way they've gone about it,
and particularly the way they're going about it of late
with all these injuries, has been a lot of fun
to see.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
I'll tell you what else is a lot of fun
to see.

Speaker 5 (07:09):
And we talked about this yesterday and it's something else
we might get into a little bit. So shortly before
the show ended yesterday, the rockets on their social media
channels dropped this. Like the best way I could put
it is like photoshop on steroids. It was an Instagram

(07:31):
power of AI. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like you know, we've
heard about CGI and movies, you know, computer generated images,
things of that nature, but AI has taken it to
the next level, you know, with voices and things like that.
But man, the reveal, if you will, that Kevin Durant
would indeed wear and I'm gonna say this, Cam Whitmore's

(07:54):
old number.

Speaker 4 (07:55):
Okay, maybe that's a.

Speaker 5 (07:55):
Little bit too much, but a lot of people were like,
all right, what's he gonna wear because he's worn thirty
five as his jersey number for most of his stops
in the NBA, but in Brooklyn he wore number seven,
and he's gonna wear number seven here in Houston. But
the way they revealed it, having KD in a very
slow mow video in his Phoenix jersey and then all

(08:16):
of a sudden, just a huge flame engulfs him and
it turns into him wearing a rocket's red jersey with
the number seven. That'll get the goosebumps going.

Speaker 6 (08:26):
That'll be a nerd for a second, and reminded me
of like when Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. You put
on the helmet and then just raise him on up.

Speaker 4 (08:34):
That's it.

Speaker 5 (08:35):
I wonder sometimes if I should have gotten more into
Star Wars when I was younger.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
It just never did it for me.

Speaker 6 (08:41):
Were you okay, so, were you in any sci fi
things or just not Star Wars?

Speaker 5 (08:44):
So when you say sci fi, it's a very limited
it's kind of like country music for me.

Speaker 4 (08:49):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (08:50):
I like George Sure, I like Garth okay, and I'll
take a little bit of some other things, but that's
about it. Like you know, Toby Key, I appreciate some artists,
but I'm not. I like the Terminator, yeah, and I
like RoboCop. So that's it for sci fi for you.
And I don't really branch out after that.

Speaker 4 (09:09):
I don't.

Speaker 5 (09:10):
I've never actually even sat down and watched Total Recall,
got things like I Robot or what was the one
with Tom Cruise.

Speaker 4 (09:19):
Where he goes back.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
It feels like he's he's either a time travel or
some sort any sort of sci fi.

Speaker 4 (09:25):
I'm just it's not gonna be my.

Speaker 5 (09:27):
First, second, or third choice of genre when I sit
down and I want to watch a movie.

Speaker 4 (09:31):
Movies, It's not my top two.

Speaker 6 (09:33):
But I could sit down and enjoy a good old
classic version of because okay, do you consider it back
to the future comedy or sci fi?

Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yes? See, exactly, that's one. Because of you. It has
two elements in either way. Happy Birthday to Huey Lewis
while I was on vacation. Here we go, Happy birthday
to him, and get it.

Speaker 6 (09:49):
Back to the future there we go. Speaking of which,
what I saw in the run. Now that we're talking
about Denzel today, so just wait, just wait, I said,
you thros den Zel in a movie and you have
my money already Zact of all Time.

Speaker 4 (10:00):
I like, I hated Glady Eat or two.

Speaker 5 (10:02):
I thought it was awful, but don't watch it. I
just still watch it if you know it's gonna be bad.
But it stars one of your favorite actors. Then just
don't watch it. That's what I do.

Speaker 4 (10:12):
Oh, I still watch it.

Speaker 6 (10:13):
That's my thing is like you got me all right here,
just take my fifteen dollars and disappoint me.

Speaker 5 (10:17):
That's what That's where I'm at. That's like the that's
like the modern version of the dollar cinema. Where are
you finding movies for only fifteen dollars? That's what I
want to know.

Speaker 6 (10:24):
I don't buy expensive I don't buy popcorn, I don't
buy drinks.

Speaker 4 (10:27):
I don't do anything. I just go to the movies.
That's what I do. At this point.

Speaker 5 (10:31):
The only time I take my kid to the movies is,
or the only time I go to the movies likely
is if I'm taking my kid and we're doing the
eat in the theater thing and it's a it's one
of his movies, because otherwise it's you can get You
can get movies that are actually still in the theater
right now.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
You can.

Speaker 5 (10:49):
You're gonna pay dearly, and but you will be able
to watch them at home and stream them out. Whatever
situation you've got, if you've got just a regular old
run of the mill smart TV, or if you've got
like a blow it out theater. Whatever you've got, you
can do it at home. And that's where we are
in today's society. How we got to that. The Kevin Durant,
Kevin Durant back to being a sci fi thing.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (11:11):
So the other thing is there's billboards. There's billboards out there.
And I remember this last offseason, like, oh, the Rockets,
you know, they got to five hundred, they just missed
out on the playoffs. This could be a potentially pretty
neat little season coming up. Never thought they were gonna
win fifty two games, never thought they were gonna be
the two seed in the West. Never thought at the

(11:32):
end of it that wasn't gonna be good enough to
the point where you were shipping out one of your
younger pieces to go get Kevin Durant.

Speaker 4 (11:40):
But here we are.

Speaker 5 (11:41):
And so it just reminds me of last offseason when
I saw those billboards and the promise and the hope
that they kind of deliver to NBA fans in this city,
to Rockets fans in this city, to seek Kevin Durant
on a billboard on the side of the freeway in Houston, Texas,
even at his age of thirty seven, even after all
the things that you know coming gone with him. It's

(12:02):
pretty exciting and he gets me ready and once again
for the second day in a row, I'll say it
gets me ready for the upcoming NBA season months from now.
As we are here on July eighth, all right, we
have got a lot to get to today. I've got
a depressing, feel good NBA tidbit you're not gonna want
to miss. I'm going to obviously revisit some of the

(12:23):
things that rafel Stone said and then earlier what he
had to say on today's visit to Sports Talk seven,
ninety year home for Rockets basketball. We are going to
jump into what Joe Aspota had to say.

Speaker 4 (12:35):
As he joined the station.

Speaker 5 (12:36):
And there's a lot of other nick knacks going in
here on a Tuesday edition of the program, a lot
of baseball, some basketball, and yes you heard cole mention
it right there, not one, but two classic movie references.
As we are smack dab in the middle of this
kind of content. It is July, so bear with me,
but I promise you you're going to enjoy it. All of

(12:59):
that so much more. Here on a Tuesday edition of
the program, The.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
Ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (13:24):
Spoil game called where in the world is Adam Wexler
spying on us?

Speaker 6 (13:31):
Watching every single one of our moves? Because he has
somebody in here. There's a crony that's around the office
that is telling him what's going on.

Speaker 4 (13:39):
He's got a mole, has a mole.

Speaker 6 (13:42):
Do you think he's gonna trust us to run his
show without him here?

Speaker 4 (13:45):
Well? Do you think he?

Speaker 5 (13:46):
Do you think when he is in Pleasant Company he
talks about this show is his show?

Speaker 4 (13:53):
Do you think? Do you think that's how he refers
to it?

Speaker 6 (13:55):
I actually a wanted to bring that up to you.
Do you believe he calls it his show?

Speaker 5 (14:00):
Do you think he would call it the Adam Wexler
Show if he could, instead of the A Team.

Speaker 6 (14:03):
No, but I think you would call it. I think
he would call it the watch show feature in ac.

Speaker 4 (14:08):
Yeah, well I got news for that, all right.

Speaker 5 (14:12):
So, speaking of which, we do have Best of X
coming up at the bottom of the hour. Joe Aspata
coming up at the bottom of next hour at four
point fifteen, you will hear what rafel Stone had to say,
and at four thirty our signature segment of the day
is say what Also, I just I'm trying to do

(14:33):
this without throwing anybody under the bus, but I will
just say this, no, go ahead to do it.

Speaker 4 (14:40):
Well, I can't. It's it's sensitive.

Speaker 5 (14:44):
The text messages I get from some of my coworkers
during this show are just abhorrent in the most awesomely
funny and irreverent way possible.

Speaker 4 (14:56):
And I'll just leave it at that.

Speaker 6 (14:57):
Oh enough for the FCC to get involveder, Oh yeah, no, Hey,
I just making sure.

Speaker 5 (15:01):
I couldn't even begin to clean up some of the
messages I get from some of the people we work
with here, and that's that's all I can say.

Speaker 4 (15:10):
But I needed to.

Speaker 5 (15:10):
I needed to share that so that you guys know
what I deal with on a day to day basis.
And it's not just when I'm hosting solo because WEX
is out and I'm not even really hosting solo because
that's not fair to Cole. He's absolutely hanging in there
with me as we take you up until six o'clock tonight.
Astros and Cleveland Guardians. By the way, can we just
say it was the dumbest nickname change ever.

Speaker 6 (15:32):
They had the spiders right there, and they should have
gone back to it. If they were going to change
the name.

Speaker 5 (15:36):
I don't like the fact that some of these teams
have changed their names. I get it. I get some
of it. Let's let me just let me retract. I
get some of it. Others I I just like, I
get why the Washington football team changed their name.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
Sure, even though there are.

Speaker 5 (15:59):
Native Americans that disagreed and wish they would go back.
There's like a group that's signing a petition. Actually, yeah,
there is the Cleveland Indians. Now, if you want to
say their logo was offensive, I will kind of maybe
meet you halfway there.

Speaker 4 (16:16):
Just go with the scene.

Speaker 5 (16:17):
But yeah, like, why did you change your I don't know.
I just Guardians is just lame.

Speaker 6 (16:22):
Well, okay, I was all for the Spiders because that
was the old team of the past. So you had
the logo, you had the brand. It's unique in its
own way. You still get to honor the pass of
baseball and the city. There's nothing that speaks Guardians. They
try to sell me on the bridge having like a
face embedded into it and they're guarding the city. Shut up, Like,

(16:42):
just just can you sit down and say you had
nothing else better to do when your marketing team said
this would look really cool on a hat, and that's
what we went with. But like, I agree with you
because if here's the other thing, Like Florida State has
the Seminoles and Chicago has the Blackhawks, and those are
two tribes that have openly said I dare you to
mess around and force them to change their logo. Yeah,

(17:04):
watch how quickly we will band together and shut this
crap down instantaneously. And then like, I'm a huge Blackhawks
fan because my dad's from Chicago and we're gonna have
hockey down here, and I wear the jersey and someone
came up to me and was like, that's offensive.

Speaker 4 (17:17):
I'm like, can you shut up? To the trote.

Speaker 5 (17:20):
Somebody came up to you here in Houston and said
you your hockey sweater was offensive?

Speaker 6 (17:25):
Yes, And now I'll say I was like, well, for starters,
thank you for understanding that this is a hockey sweater.

Speaker 4 (17:29):
But number two, can you shut up?

Speaker 5 (17:31):
Well, I just I think it's one of the coolest
logos in sports. It's far and away one of the
best logos in sports. Like, I've never been to an
NHL game, Chicago is one of the venues I would
consider for my first if it wasn't going to be
here in Houston.

Speaker 4 (17:44):
It's elite.

Speaker 5 (17:44):
It's United Center's elite. I will be in to United Center,
not for a game. I went like kind of basically
for a tour. We went to Chicago in twenty seventeen
and I managed to knock out a lot for a weekend.
We were only there. I think we came back on Sunday.
So I think we went up Friday morning. The Astros
were playing the White Sox. They went to Cellular or

(18:05):
whatever the heppened to. It was US Cellular time, okay,
and then we went to So that was Friday night.
I believe Astros led and then they they they basically
bleeped the bed.

Speaker 4 (18:17):
Was this thirteen fourteen, This is seventeen when they won,
when they won it all okay?

Speaker 5 (18:22):
I yeah, I managed to go to there, and I
managed to go to actually La in seventeen summer seventeen.
We went to Disney that summer, but she and I
that was July. It was during All Star break. I
remember that because the Astros had the best record and
all that kind of stuff, and they had just played Anaheim.
Actually we drove by that. But no, we went to

(18:43):
Chicago to go see Billy Jola Wrigley Field.

Speaker 6 (18:46):
I remember that tour. One of my family friends went
to that tour into twenty seventeen.

Speaker 5 (18:49):
So I went to both venues in Chicago, and only
one of them I went for a baseball game. Yeah,
we were third row though, on the field, which was
really cool. I never thought though that the first time
I went to Wrigley Field would be to go see
Billy Joel.

Speaker 4 (19:01):
But that was a cool setting.

Speaker 5 (19:03):
And then we went to the United Center and what
I hadn't realized is that they moved the Chicago The
Michael Jordan's statue was moved indoors several years ago.

Speaker 4 (19:11):
It used to be out on the street. Why did
they do that.

Speaker 6 (19:13):
I have no idea. Probably vandalism. I can imagine that
playing a big.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
Role in Chicago.

Speaker 5 (19:18):
Chicago should be, and still is in many ways, one
of the great US cities that has just been absolutely
decimated by the leadership. Heyes, that sound familiar. It just
it should not be what it is. I just leave
it at that. It's a great city. There's a lot
of cool things to do there. Just down on the
North side.

Speaker 4 (19:35):
You'll be fine. Did That's what's crazy? We get to
us cellul or whatever it's called.

Speaker 5 (19:40):
And I had bought secondhand tickets to that game, and
they didn't take anything but paper tickets. Like even if
it was the print out, which is what I needed.
I was like, I can't do this on my phone. Now,
that wouldn't be the case today. This was back in
twenty seventeen. Virtually everyone is electric entry at this point. Well,

(20:02):
you know what I had to do. It's it's on
the south side of Chicago. You know where the closest
place was to print something like.

Speaker 4 (20:08):
Out that out?

Speaker 6 (20:09):
Probably a Kinkos across the bridge. Was it in Indiana
or was it so in Chicago?

Speaker 5 (20:14):
No, Like you know how the freeway runs right by
the stadium. Yeah, and then there's a train station right
below it. I had to go across that bridge, walk
across the freeway into I mean, this is legit south
side of Chicago.

Speaker 4 (20:25):
I'm like, well, I'm gonna die just to go to
a baseball game.

Speaker 5 (20:28):
And uh, and there's a lot of people in that
Kinkos or whatever it was, doing the same exact thing.

Speaker 4 (20:33):
I was. I'm like, get it together. Last White Sox.

Speaker 6 (20:36):
Last time I went to a White Sox fam with
my grandfather Rip Buddy was two thousand and eighteen. We
were living in he was living in Chicago, and I
remember at that point if it was a night game.
We got told by many people, including in eighty eight.
Then now he died in ninety four. We got to
lead by the eighth I thing that they're not leading
because if we don't, there is a sixty percent shot

(20:58):
something is gonna happen. I don't know what, but I'm
not going to take that risk at eighty eight years old.
All right, Yeah, it was. It was an adventure, Let's
put it that way. Speaking of which, there's another adventure
coming up in the very next segment. It is the
best of X.

Speaker 5 (21:13):
We peruse these streets, the mean streets of social media.
We find some of the best things to pass along
to you. I have something, Cole might have something. We'll
figure something out, but we have that coming up. It's
an NBA flavor, if you will. And then we'll get
back to why Rob Manfred sucks and why the Astros
did something that really really stupid teams do a lot

(21:35):
of them still do it.

Speaker 4 (21:35):
We'll get to all that more before the end of
the first hour.

Speaker 5 (21:38):
Here on a Tuesday edition of the program.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
The ag on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (21:48):
Did you all see this?

Speaker 3 (21:49):
We should be putting out between five and fifteen.

Speaker 7 (21:52):
Posts a day.

Speaker 8 (21:53):
Four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media.

Speaker 9 (21:56):
History repeats itself type, Ben, You'll succeed. Never doubt that
you're the one who ples go one building.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
You're the best X. Nothing's gonna ever top you know,
you're the.

Speaker 9 (22:11):
Best post an ever single day. You're the best of
X breaking the entire Internet.

Speaker 5 (22:25):
It's that time of day here on the A team
where we peruse the main streets of social media and
we find out, all right, what can we bring to
you guys that's the best of X?

Speaker 4 (22:38):
This is actually it made me kind of do a
double take.

Speaker 5 (22:43):
In this cynical world that we live in where everything
is wake up and complain on social media where everything
is let's make fun of that.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
This was actually just nice for a change.

Speaker 5 (22:57):
So we all know what happened with the Jason Tatum
tours Achilles one of three Achilles tears in like the
span of a month for either superstars or once superstars,
prominent players in the NBA. During the playoffs, Jason Tatum
goes down. Celtic season is over for all intents and purposes.

(23:18):
They had a nice emotional win the next time out,
and then they eventually lost. We all know what happened
with Damian Lillard after the blood clot situation. Then he
tears his achilles, and then he got bought out, which
was kind of something crazy that I didn't get a
chance to talk about last week that happened. They're stretching,
They're stretching his contract out for the next five years.

Speaker 4 (23:42):
Insane.

Speaker 5 (23:42):
I actually saw somebody say, hey, the Rockets should take
a flyer on him. Well, he's not playing next year
and he probably won't be himself the year after. So anyway,
and then we all saw what happened in the NBA
Finals with Tyrese Haliburt. One of the saddest displays. It's
Game seven, it's the first quarter. He's already hit a
couple of threes. He's looking like he's gonna make this
an epic finale to the NBA season, and he had

(24:06):
been missing time with tightness in his calf. Sure enough,
he becomes the latest to tear his achilles.

Speaker 4 (24:13):
So the Celtics see.

Speaker 5 (24:14):
That having lost Jason Tatum obviously just a couple weeks prior,
and they apparently, according to the Athletic, they reached out
just to kind of say, hey, how can we help you.
Brad Stevens, according to Jay King, said the Celtic's front

(24:35):
office spoke to the Pacers after Tyrese Halliburton's injury asked
if there is anything they could do to help after
going through a similar situation with Jason Tatum weeks earlier.

Speaker 4 (24:45):
Now, that's all I know.

Speaker 5 (24:47):
It's there's really nothing they can do other than to
kind of offer moral support, if you will. From a
physical standpoint, both of these guys are not going to
play next season, and there's a good chance that neither
of them will look exactly like they did prior to
that injury in the year after when they are back
on the floor. It's not to say they can't get

(25:08):
back to where they were. It has happened. Kevin Durant's
living proof, right, But it's just it's such a devastating injury,
and I just thought it was cool that one NBA
team that suffered this to their star reached out to
another one to say, hey, is there anything we can do.
It's just there's again, there's nothing that they actually can do.

(25:30):
Call but it's it looks it's just nice.

Speaker 4 (25:35):
It's nice. It's nice.

Speaker 6 (25:37):
It's nice that people aren't being cynical today. Yeah, I mean,
especially in today's society. It just is very nice that
we have people actually trying to care enough.

Speaker 4 (25:48):
I'm just enough.

Speaker 5 (25:50):
It's it's not what you expect, which is kind of
a sad commentary on today's society.

Speaker 4 (25:55):
But I just thought, Wow, what.

Speaker 5 (25:57):
An interesting and pleasant isn't surprise to wake up to
and see that?

Speaker 4 (26:02):
And again, neither of these seas.

Speaker 5 (26:04):
This is what we were talking about yesterday when we
were talking about Paolo ban Caro signing that big deal
with the Magic, Like the East is wide open.

Speaker 4 (26:13):
I know you mentioned Cleveland.

Speaker 5 (26:14):
And who's the other team you mentioned new You're gonna
try to the next two?

Speaker 4 (26:18):
Yeah, New York, Gontroy.

Speaker 5 (26:19):
And I think that because the Detroit Pistons have a
Thompson on their squad, Like I'm gonna look at them
at least more than once. I Caate Cunningham is he's
been a nice player, but I don't he doesn't strike
fear in me.

Speaker 4 (26:33):
Like if I'm another team in the Eastern Conference.

Speaker 6 (26:35):
I'll tell you healthy. Jalen Duran, I think it's gonna
be a lot better this year. Yeah, I think he
can be a very very nice, uh download guy.

Speaker 5 (26:43):
Yeah, it's an interesting it's an interesting conference to look
at going in. But the only reason it's so interesting
is because of these two players we're talking about. I
really felt like all season long it was the Celtics
conference to lose. But once Jason Tatum went down, you're done.
You're absolutely done. And then Tyrese Haliburton became that dude

(27:06):
all through the playoffs, right up until the time, you know,
he got the calf tightness which turned into an achilles tear.
And what's crazy is both of these teams will look
dramatically different the next time these two players suit up
and actually play for them because of things that have
happened that I mean, they it seems like it has

(27:27):
nothing to do with them, but in a way it
kind of does. Neither of these teams wanted to pay
what it was going to take to keep things the
way they were without these two guys out next year,
So the Celtics wheeling and dealing, you know, christavs porzingis
what the the Pacers I guess allowed to happen with

(27:47):
Miles Turner and the fact that he went to a
division rival. It's just a it's going to be a
very interesting Eastern Conference.

Speaker 4 (27:56):
But it just to me, it just goes to.

Speaker 6 (27:59):
Show favorite right now in the East. Yeah, because I mean,
just say yes and then there's a right answer. That's
what I say. Oh yeah, it's Cleveland.

Speaker 5 (28:07):
Okay, well on paper it should be Cleveland, but I
mean Donovan Mitchell fair or not. Like everybody remembers when
Tracy McGrady was in Houston and he was the first
round virgin, like it was the because the foury year
old virgin came out while he was playing for the
Rockets in his prime, that became a thing.

Speaker 4 (28:25):
He was the first round virgin.

Speaker 5 (28:26):
He could not get out of the first round, and
because of that, the Rockets couldn't get out of the
first round for so so long, and then they finally
did while he was hurt. He didn't contribute to the
team because he was already out when it happened. They
beat Portland in two thousand and nine, and they played
the Lakers in that epic seven game series that a
lot of people thought maybe the Rockets would have won
had Yao, Ming not broken his foot for the first time.

(28:48):
So Donovan Mitchell fair or not, is becoming that guy
that just can't get his team. So you're the best
player on your team, you're one of the best teams.
You're gonna take a lot of grief until you push through.
And you know, everybody thinks that, like Michael Jordan rolled
out of the rack and just started winning titles, it
didn't work that way for a long time.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
He takes that guy in years nine years before he
won his first time. Believe first title? Did he? He
didn't win his for sure, did he?

Speaker 6 (29:16):
That's what I thought, Like he only went his in
nine years for the first time, and then came after
year twelve and thirteen, they were like, all right, now
we got to go ahead and build around this guy
before we let him walk to another team.

Speaker 4 (29:26):
Yeah, it was it's I don't know.

Speaker 5 (29:30):
I couldn't tell you right now who's going to come
out of the East next year because of these two injuries,
because of what you know, Cleveland I think is going
to keep try and keep the band together and just
try to double down and run it back and all
those cliches you can use, and maybe maybe they will be.
Maybe they're the most complete team and they see both
the Celtics and the Pacers are clearly not going to
be in their way. Maybe it is the Cleveland Cavaliers

(29:51):
in the New York Knicks fighting it out for Eastern
Conference supremacy.

Speaker 4 (29:56):
I don't disagree.

Speaker 6 (29:57):
I think that you will see Detroit make a trade
at the deadline to where they'll up the Annie and
B in that running. But it's a three man race.
I got something fun for Best of X only because
of you know me, college football. Always back college football.
We got big twelve million days going on right now
down in Frisco. Actually, one of our dear friends is
out there, Chancellor Johnson and UCF coach Scott Frost is

(30:20):
back in Orlando for Part two after taking a five
year hiatus when he went to his alma mater, the
University of Nebraska now AC I'm not sure if you
know this, but Scott Frost's tenure to not go well.

Speaker 4 (30:32):
Nebraska, Yeah, it went terrible.

Speaker 6 (30:34):
It was single handedly one of the worst overall head
coaching hires in probably the last twenty years.

Speaker 4 (30:40):
And this is his alma mater.

Speaker 6 (30:42):
This is the pride of Lincoln coming home and representing
what is Nebraska culture a pillar of college football and athletics.

Speaker 4 (30:51):
Well, he was asked today about his tenure when he.

Speaker 6 (30:54):
Was at the University Nebraska and what was the biggest
lesson that he learned? Take the wrong job? Was the
response to his alma mater. Wow, And of course Twitter
had to have.

Speaker 4 (31:07):
Fun with it. First. One up.

Speaker 6 (31:09):
It takes a lot to make the person who discontinued
the McRib year round public enemy number two on my list.
But congratulations Scott Frost.

Speaker 4 (31:18):
Was that Matt Thomas?

Speaker 6 (31:18):
Nope, that was Leslie mimoc okay uh connor ogara. What's
the correct answer here, ladies and gentlemen, on why things
didn't go right for Scott Frost? Is it A went
zero to thirteen against Todd twenty five teams, B was
five and twenty two in one score games. C gets
year five. Just bite a five and twenty nine start.

(31:39):
D never beat Iowa in the email's historic rivalry in
the Big ten outside of Michigan and i in Ohio state. E,
all the above, it's E. It's always E. But sure, man,
it was the jobs fault that you collapse under pressure.
Next one, maybe don't punt when you're up by eleven
inside your own red zone.

Speaker 4 (32:00):
And better yet, how about not.

Speaker 6 (32:01):
Doubling down going for an onside kick in the fourth
quarter when playing in Ireland against a team that didn't
win on American soil the entire year.

Speaker 4 (32:08):
Remember they lost to Northwestern that year and that was
Northwestern's only win.

Speaker 6 (32:12):
Honestly, it's more embarrassing for the administration than that the
university hired this a wipe to begin with, Jennifer Lawrence mean,
m okay, sure, Tim Robinson mean dressed up in the
hot dog?

Speaker 4 (32:25):
Who could have seen this? Who is that fault here?

Speaker 6 (32:28):
And of course my favorite the Eric Andre memo shooting
somebody in the chair and looking back. Don't take the
wrong job. Seriously, man read the room? Did read the
room on how bad of a coach you were for
your alma mater?

Speaker 4 (32:41):
Before you go ahead and start throwing sounds.

Speaker 5 (32:42):
Reading the room is something that is a lost art
form in a lot of walks of life, and I
would say sports is no different. Speaking of which, Rob
Manfred a guy who's never read the room?

Speaker 4 (32:55):
Why he still sucks? The latest reason?

Speaker 5 (32:57):
Plus why did baseball teams included keep doing this one
stupid thing?

Speaker 4 (33:03):
They did it again last night. I'll tell you what
it is next.

Speaker 1 (33:13):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (33:24):
It is the A team Sports Talk seven ninety Space
City Home Network. At the top of the hour will
begin the simulcast. So if you want to stare at me,
you can do that too. Over on the Astros and
Rockets flagship television station.

Speaker 4 (33:39):
We are your home for Astros and Rockets.

Speaker 5 (33:42):
Here on Sports Talks seven ninety, I mentioned that we
were going to talk about the latest reason.

Speaker 4 (33:48):
That Rob Manford sucks.

Speaker 5 (33:51):
But before we get to that, why and this is
something that I think bridges the gap between different generations
of base different eras of baseball.

Speaker 4 (34:03):
There's nothing about this that I don't think could.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
Apply to basically any time that baseball has existed.

Speaker 6 (34:11):
So it's the one thing that brings all generations together
in bab Yeah, I did.

Speaker 5 (34:14):
And look, maybe you disagree with this sentiment or how
you go about, you know, playing your games as a fan,
how you would like your team to do it, but
here's here it is. It's it might seem simplistic. I
don't care argue with the wall as they say. I
felt this way about Barry Bonds. I felt this way

(34:37):
about Albert Pooholz. I'm sure that people in the thirties
felt this way about the babe. Why if you can
avoid it, if there's an empty base, and especially if
you have two outs, why do you pitch to guys
that are gonna hurt you?

Speaker 4 (34:54):
Why do you do it? Because all that can happen
is they hurt you.

Speaker 5 (35:01):
I can I'm sure that you can envision and actually
see scenarios where you get an out, but why risk it?
And that's what happened with Jose Ramirez last night, and
the Astros may or may not have won that game
if he doesn't hit that three run bomb, but he did,
and it was It was legitimately the worst possible scenario

(35:22):
that could have happened, because the only worst scenario was
if the guy after him, who by the way flight
out on the very next pitch, hits a Grand Slam,
and he wasn't gonna do that.

Speaker 4 (35:34):
I think it was Santana's next to the lineup for them. Yeah,
last night, put him.

Speaker 5 (35:39):
On first base. It was available. Put him on first base.
I don't care who you are as a pitcher, I
don't care how dominant things are going. And this goes
for Hunter Brown tonight, who's about as dominant as pitcher
as there is right now not named Trek Scooble. I
don't pitch to Jose Ramirez.

Speaker 6 (35:56):
I'm musa say something that shouldn't be controversial, but it
somehow is. Jose Arimir is the most underappreciated player of
this generation.

Speaker 4 (36:03):
He well that.

Speaker 5 (36:05):
You can debate about that. I see where you're coming from.
But here's the thing he is. It's not a debate.
He's the only guy in that lineup that's legitimately gonna
hurt you. He's the only guy in the Cleveland Guardians lineup.

Speaker 4 (36:17):
I'll push back.

Speaker 6 (36:18):
He's not the only guy that can't hurt you, he's
the only guy that will guarantee hurt you.

Speaker 4 (36:23):
That's what I'm saying. That's what I guess. That's a
better way to put it, because.

Speaker 5 (36:26):
Everyone there's a real He's in that lineup, and they
had lost ten straight games. They lose eleven straight in
all likelihood if you don't pitch to him last night.

Speaker 4 (36:35):
At least in that snare.

Speaker 5 (36:37):
Now, if the bases are loaded, I get that, but
you had a place to put him, and more importantly,
you had two outs, and look, the Astros promptly tied
the game in the very next half inning.

Speaker 4 (36:49):
I know all of that. I'm very aware. I watched
the game last night.

Speaker 5 (36:54):
But the guy, and he's not even like for his standards,
he's not even having like an insane year. He's batting
two ninety eight, his ops is eight fifty six, and
he has fifteen homers.

Speaker 4 (37:05):
It was down for his stand That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (37:08):
They're good numbers, but for him, that's downright pedestrian.

Speaker 4 (37:12):
That's how good he is.

Speaker 5 (37:13):
The guy is absolutely amazing, and he showed why again
last night. So I know that the Diesels going tonight.
I know that the Astros are the better baseball team,
even with all of the injuries. I just don't understand
why this always happens. I didn't understand why they pitched
the Bonds. I watched every bit of that. I didn't

(37:33):
care that it was fueled by steroids. You still had
to hit the ball, and he did. You still had
to hit the ball, and he absolutely did pretty much
every time. That was the crazy thing about Bonds. It
was like, well, there's no way he can do it
every time?

Speaker 4 (37:46):
Yeah there is. He did.

Speaker 5 (37:47):
If you pitched to him, he hit it out. It
was just it was incredible. And I'm not saying that
that's who Jose Ramirez is. But what I am saying
is there are a lot of guys in Major League
Baseball that more often than not are gonna be more bonds.

Speaker 4 (37:59):
Then they're gonna be the other end of the spectrum.
You know, he's a.

Speaker 6 (38:02):
Clutch hitter and you're getting an opportunity to love to
that example, it's a problem.

Speaker 4 (38:05):
He's the only reason they could win.

Speaker 5 (38:07):
From an offensive standpoint, that is going to probably hurt
you more often than not.

Speaker 4 (38:13):
And he showed why again last night.

Speaker 6 (38:14):
Bo do you remember the big Christmas home run in
the ALCS last year? Like that was a once in
a thing to where Yeah, he's got the power. He
can absolutely hit a piss missile four hundred and eighty
five feet bat flipp it like crazy. But you're not
expecting that from him. You are expecting that from a
Jose Ramirez. If given the opportunity to light lead a
scene to victory, Yeah that's where you're at.

Speaker 5 (38:36):
Yeah, that's and again if the if, the opportunity or
the situation, I guess I should say presents itself tonight,
you're on notice.

Speaker 4 (38:45):
Astros told you what to do. It's hunder Brown. You're fine.
I know, I feel I do feel good.

Speaker 5 (38:50):
I feel good cold that they're gonna snap this one
game skid the Astros.

Speaker 4 (38:54):
I feel good about it. I love that we're complaining
about a one game skin.

Speaker 6 (38:58):
I think just separating ourselves from everyone else in the nationale.

Speaker 5 (39:01):
It's the fact that they had ten losses in a
row coming in and you just swept the Dodgers in LA.

Speaker 4 (39:07):
That's what you did.

Speaker 5 (39:08):
Yeah, I wanted more at twenty six to nine or
whatever it.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
Was, ye, twenty six to Yeah, twenty six to nine.
I think that was the collective score.

Speaker 5 (39:16):
So yeah, I uh Now we will get to what
Rob Manfred did. It's trivial, it's probably nitpicking, and it's
probably picking on a guy who is one of my
favorite targets. But I'm still gonna do it because he
just gave us another reason why he's just he's so

(39:36):
Rob Manfred, and I'll explain that when we start the
three o'clock hour next.

Speaker 2 (39:42):
The A team on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (39:44):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named at him talking
your team's.

Speaker 3 (39:53):
So Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are.

Speaker 10 (39:59):
The a.

Speaker 5 (40:03):
What's Up Houston Hour number two here on Sports Talk
seven ninety and the first hour simulcast over on Space
City Home Network.

Speaker 4 (40:11):
It is the A team, straight up three o'clock.

Speaker 5 (40:14):
On a Tuesday edition of the program, wex continues vacationing.

Speaker 4 (40:18):
I think he was in Seattle today.

Speaker 5 (40:21):
I think no, I know he was in Seattle today,
Cole Thompson, because he sent me a picture I should
probably this is where I'm kind of throwing him under
the bus, but I'm actually naming the coworker this time,
unlike the one that I didn't name an Hour number one.
There was someone with a Julio Rodriguez jersey on in

(40:42):
the vicinity of Adam Wexler. So he did one of
those sneak attack pictures where the person doesn't know about it,
but he's sending it to me, and he's got that
like bleep eating grin on his face. So, yeah, that's
that's exactly what Wex is up to in the Great Northwest.
And I said, Hey, since I'm planning your vacation all
of a sudden, don't forget that you need to go

(41:03):
take a picture in front of Key Arena where the
what was the site of many many disappointing rockets playoff
losses when the Sonics used to play there, And of course,
of course Cole, he needs to go take a picture
outside of Kurt Cobain's house.

Speaker 4 (41:17):
I was about to say, wait, are we talking about
the house? The house? The house?

Speaker 5 (41:21):
Just making sure we're talking about the house the house, okay.

Speaker 4 (41:24):
Cause you know me, I'm very morbid. Listen, I'm not
complaining about it. I would love to.

Speaker 6 (41:28):
Go visit where what's her nameless? On her final moments?
Who Nicole?

Speaker 5 (41:33):
Oh, you mean like I did already you've been to
the building. I thought you were here that day.

Speaker 4 (41:37):
No, I wanted to hear that day. You weren't here.

Speaker 5 (41:40):
You must not been paying attention because this was like
a couple of weeks ago.

Speaker 6 (41:43):
Wait, you were talking about what happened with ok then
we started talking about the but.

Speaker 4 (41:47):
The owner pulled up while I was taking pictures. I
didn't know that. You're right, you didn't bring this up,
but I wasn't paying attention. So there's an.

Speaker 5 (41:53):
Alley behind all of the condos, like they're all in
a row on you know, this is in Brentwood, I
think appropriately enough. I think she lived on Bundy. That
was the name of the street she lived on.

Speaker 4 (42:06):
Why are you not picking the signals, Nicole, I.

Speaker 6 (42:09):
Mean, come on, man, so and then Ron goes on
over and doesn't realize it either.

Speaker 4 (42:15):
Ron was just trying to do a good deed.

Speaker 5 (42:17):
So yeah, there's an alley way that a lot of
people think. The people who believed, you know, the people
who have brains that OJ did this, They think you
parked the bronco out back, did the deeds plural double
murderer walked back because obviously the footprints were in blood,

(42:38):
and went through that back gate, got in and left.
That's where I was taking pictures. When the owner got home,
I had already been in the front. They remodeled the
front because there used to be the gate where she
was found and all that. They redid that years ago,
But in the back looks pretty much the same as
it did. The gates solid versus like a metal grated
gate which was there the night of the murders. But like,

(43:00):
that's all the same. So I'm like out there taking
pictures because I'm a degenerate and a freak. And the
guy gets home and he was none too pleased with me.
He really shot me a go you know what death stare.

Speaker 6 (43:13):
Well, you maybe don't need to buy a house that
was once a crime scene. I mean we can just
go and throw the same look Barrett back at him.

Speaker 5 (43:19):
And since we're on the topic, h yeah, that was
it laid dormant for like I think two and a
half years.

Speaker 4 (43:25):
Who was just sitting there. Nobody wanted to live there.
Why I would want to live there now? Can't imagine why.
It's a nice little spot.

Speaker 5 (43:33):
I mean, if you've ever driven through Brentwood, it's like
the most mundane Americana neighborhood possible in the Los Angeles area.
That's not basically maybe in Pasadena where they film all
the movies where they want to.

Speaker 4 (43:45):
Look like, hey, these people live in the Midwest.

Speaker 5 (43:48):
You can't tell that they're filming it like in a
suburb of Los Angeles.

Speaker 4 (43:51):
But yeah, Brentwood's super nice.

Speaker 6 (43:53):
So Wax going to go see the wonderful final resting
place of kirk Oba next.

Speaker 5 (43:58):
Well, I don't think it's the final resting place.

Speaker 6 (44:00):
He was the last place that we ever saw him,
where anybody ever saw him anyway. In multiple pieces, Hunter
Brown goes tonight for the Astros. We won't be a
multiple pieces no no, but he might. He's he's looking
to put their lineup.

Speaker 5 (44:11):
The Guardians in multiple pieces especially wanted to give the
Astros a bounce back. They lost the opener last night
seven to five. They had their winning streak snap, but
they also helped to snap the ten game losing streak
of the Cleveland Guardians. That sucks because you did get
a home run in his first major league hit. I
might add a three run bomb from Taylor Tremmel and

(44:34):
then Victor Carrattini just keeps on being that guy. He
has been just an invaluable signing for the Astros since
arriving a couple of seasons ago, and he's been hot
as of late. But the Astros not enough on a
night where he also gave up two home runs, one
of which was to Jose Ramirez, the one guy you
should not pitch to. But you know what, Hunter Brown again,

(44:59):
anytime he pitched gives you a very very good chance
to win. Astros get any sort of semblance of offense tonight.
I'm gonna feel good about them taking Game two of
this series, and then you look forward to the Rubber
Game in the finale tomorrow, But I mentioned that Rob
Manfred did something else that just frankly, is the most

(45:19):
Rob Manford thing. Now, it's not the first time he's
done it, but it did not bother me any less.
And again, it's not because of who this guy plays
for or even who he is, and that all tying
into the Houston Astros, but this whole Legends pick commissioner

(45:41):
legend pick to go to the All Star Game is.

Speaker 4 (45:48):
I don't know how I feel about it.

Speaker 5 (45:49):
I guess I get what they're trying to accomplish, but
I just Clayton Kershaw, who I didn't I don't even
think he started pitching until like May this year. Yeah,
May seventeenth was his debut, so I mean basically two
months of the year he wasn't even pitching. And now

(46:10):
he is four and oh with a three four three ERA,
thirty two strikeouts and forty four and two thirds innings.

Speaker 4 (46:16):
He's fine.

Speaker 5 (46:17):
Did make him straight at this past week, Yeah, and
it's that that's fine is three thousands, three thousandth strikeout
and he's in his eighteenth season.

Speaker 4 (46:28):
And it's not the first time.

Speaker 5 (46:29):
That that Rob Manford has done this.

Speaker 4 (46:33):
He did this with.

Speaker 5 (46:36):
Albert Pooholz and Miguel Cabrera back in twenty twenty two.
But I would have said the same thing back then, like,
you know, what year are we hat with Jose al Tuove?
Uh year?

Speaker 4 (46:50):
I think we're thirteen fourteen at this point. Means it's getting.

Speaker 5 (46:53):
Up there is is Jose Altuve going to get this?
And when he does, is it gonna feel like it
was kind of forced? I mean, look, Kershaw is one thing,
he's actually pitching well. The the minute resume that he
has here in twenty twenty five, because again he didn't

(47:15):
start till May seventeenth. But when Miguel Cabrera and Albert
Pooholes were legend picks, sure they weren't playing well. Can
I push back on this just a little bit? Pooles
definitely wasn't let me push back. Yeah, when the Pools
get it twenty two, they both got it in twenty
twenty two.

Speaker 4 (47:30):
Pooles retired in twenty twenty two.

Speaker 11 (47:33):
Clayt.

Speaker 4 (47:33):
Kershaw's gonna retire at the end of this year. That's
what this is, ye.

Speaker 5 (47:36):
I mean, he was supposed to retire at end of
last year, but he wanted.

Speaker 6 (47:38):
To get to three thousand strikeouts and he missed it
last year. That's the thing he did. If he would
have had three thousand strikeouts last season, he would have
hung it up.

Speaker 5 (47:44):
And I do because what else is there to prove,
like literally, for a Hall of Fame resume. The thing
that makes you a surefire lock is the three thousand hits,
for the three thousand strikeouts or the saves or some
other accolade five hundred home runs.

Speaker 4 (48:00):
So like Pulosa had nothing left to prove.

Speaker 6 (48:03):
He just wanted to finish out his contract and want
to go back to Saint Louis and end the career
where it started. And Clayton Kershaw just want three thousand
strikeouts that guarantees a spot in Cooperstown. So it's a
thank you for what you have done to the game
of baseball. Pick and I don't think many people would
be shocked.

Speaker 4 (48:19):
That they did this for like Justin Berlander.

Speaker 6 (48:21):
If Verlander made it clear that this is his last season,
because he hasn't yet and I don't know there's size
that he will. That's why you would see both of
them make the roster. And Miguel's weird because if he
retired a year later, and so maybe they thought he
was going to retire at that point.

Speaker 5 (48:35):
You know what's funny is he gave a quote Kershaw
about that very thing. I don't know what's going to
happen in the future. I really have no idea when
it comes to the years beyond this one. So I'm
just trying to enjoy it, trying to be a part
of a really good team this year. We've still got
a lot to accomplish, and we still have October. It's
really hard to look at stuff individually when you're trying
to accomplish something as a team.

Speaker 4 (48:58):
I'll never pass up the opportunity.

Speaker 5 (49:00):
It's a tremendous honor super thankful to get to go,
regardless of the situation or how I may be snuck
into the All Star Game.

Speaker 4 (49:07):
It's pretty cool to be able to go.

Speaker 5 (49:08):
And I'm burying the lead because his initial quote about
this when he was asked about it, I didn't really
actually know that was a thing. At the end of
the day, it's weird, but it's cool. So I'm just
going to enjoy it. Like even he knows this is
kind of forced, right, it.

Speaker 6 (49:28):
Is forced, forced, but also they're honoring players who we know,
have changed the game of baseball, That's all it is.

Speaker 5 (49:36):
Yeah, But here's the thing, and again it's convenient for
somebody like me who's not a Rob Manford fan, and
I'm hardly alone in this. Forced is the key operative
word when you look back on the legacy of Rob Manfred.

Speaker 4 (49:50):
That's what it's going to be. And let me let
me explain.

Speaker 5 (49:53):
This is a very very small blip on the radar
of the overall uh forced narrative that I'm gonna put
out here here. The pitch clock forced the base runner
on second and extra innings. It's just forced everything about
its force. Not to mention how he handled the Astros situation,
Like I'm just I'm going to ignore this smoke over here,

(50:17):
these large flames over here with this team, this team,
this team, and this team. We're just gonna force through
that the Astros were the only team that was really
egregiously cheating in twenty seventeen. Again, I'm gonna ignore all
of the other signs that that's completely not the case.
And I'm also going to in so doing keep large

(50:37):
lumps of burning hot coal on the fan base of
the Astros because they're the ones that are really gonna
pay for this at the end of the day, because
the players have immunity and if you don't like that,
well that's what they collectively bargain for. So you can
argue with the wall about that, which mini fan bases
still don't understand that all these years later. But yeah,
we're just gonna force things my way. That's that's gonna

(50:58):
be Rob Manford's legacy really is. And for better or
for worse, whether it's a big thing or a small thing,
which I've I think I've given you examples of both
in some points in between.

Speaker 4 (51:08):
I think that's what it's gonna be.

Speaker 5 (51:09):
He's the worst commissioner in sports and it's not particularly close.
And I will die on that hill, I don't know,
and it will be very interesting to see who he's
replaced with eventually.

Speaker 4 (51:23):
But this is just the latest reason. And again I'm picking.

Speaker 5 (51:26):
Knits in the middle of July, all right, Speaking of which,
we've talked a little bit of movies already. I'm gonna
explain to you when we come back how any given
Sunday remains not just an entertaining action film about sports,
but it's actually a documentary.

Speaker 4 (51:44):
Don't worry, I'll explain next.

Speaker 1 (51:48):
The ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (51:57):
And just rolling along on a Tuesday of the A
team at Sportsox seven ninety ac with you. Wex is
on vac up in the Great Northwest. He's paling around
Seattle today. You know, I was texting him earlier and
he was talking about He was like, he gave me
a synopsis. I go, where is this? Because if you

(52:19):
look on Twitter, the show tweet today at around two
o'clock has a picture of Wex and he's just he's
in this picturesque setting in the Great Northwest and I go, dude,
where is that? I said, that's gorgeous and he said
Crater Lake. That was days ago. We've been like twenty
places since then. And he goes me, are we staying

(52:42):
in any hotel more than two nights? And then he
said R said no, So they've got day. Being the
rest of his family, you know, the normal part of
the Wexler clan, they are all like, let's go, let's
go to other places, let's keep it hopping. And of
course he's probably just counting down the day until he
can get back here in the studio and talk about

(53:03):
the monotonous things of Houston Sports and beyond. So that's
what's up with Wex. He's on vacation. He'll be back
again on Monday. We'll be in together and the whole
crew will be back in hole as the a team
you know and love. All right, mention that the movie
Any Given Sunday, which by the way, is like I

(53:25):
think that came out in the late nineties. If I recall,
it might have been two thousand. It's al Pacino, It's
it's Jamie Fox. I mean, there's a lot of Cameron
Diez is like the owner in that movie. And I
think they were called the Sharks. James Woods is the
trainer and he's you know, he's what he is in
all of his movies. Just an absolute jerk and an

(53:48):
absolute scumbag, you know, like what James Woods always plays
in all of his movies.

Speaker 4 (53:53):
So let me play James Woods. He plays James Woods,
and he's very good at it.

Speaker 5 (53:58):
This is a law long winded, roundabout way of presenting
to you what we got from Kirk Cousins today. This is,
first of all, he is Wex's favorite, perhaps whipping boy
when it comes to quarterbacks in the NFL. Wex will
tell you puts up a lot of good numbers at

(54:20):
times will not help you win. And so therefore Wex
doesn't like him. But that is the latest installment of
the latest chapter of his career. Came about today when
he finally just decided he was going to open up
about how things went down with the Minnesota Vikings. He

(54:41):
said he would have he well, he said he felt
a little bit misled.

Speaker 4 (54:46):
That was the quote.

Speaker 5 (54:48):
He said, basically that if he knew the Falcons were
gonna draft Michael Pennix, he never would have signed there.
He would have actually re signed with the Minnesota Vikings,
which again, and if you think about that, here we
are in July eighth, twenty twenty five. The twenty twenty
fourth season is long since over. Eagles are the defending

(55:08):
Super Bowl champions, and a lot of things happened in
the NFC for that to happen. One of the things
that happened last year, and the Texans know this better
than anybody, is that the Vikings were really freaking good
with Sam Donald as their quarterback. But what if that
were Kirk Cousins, What does that game look like with
the Texans? Probably still not very good because they got

(55:29):
after CJ. Stroud. But what does the season look like
for a Vikings team that frankly just kind of looked
like it ran out of steam at the end of
the campaign, which that happens, especially when you feel like
you're playing above your head, especially at the quarterback position.
And we're about to find out what Sam Donald's really
made of because now he's in Seattle, He's in his
third home in his many seasons. But back to Cousins,

(55:53):
this is like the typical situation that I don't want
to call him old, but he's not young. And he
signs there for a lot of money, by the way,
like he got a lot of money from the Falcons,
and then the Falcons were like, yeah, but we're gonna
draft Michael Pennix. And again this is after he leaves

(56:16):
a Viking situation where they drafted JJ McCarthy.

Speaker 4 (56:20):
He ended up not playing.

Speaker 5 (56:21):
Sam Donald, you know, does what he does and the
rest is history and Sam Donald got himself a nice
contract out of it. But so this the reason this
is any given Sunday is because this is what you know,
Aaron Rodgers, this is what Brett Farr before him, This
is what a lot of veteran quarterbacks go through every
single year in the NFL. You know you're at the

(56:43):
end of the line. You know that you're closer to
retirement than you are the draft, and you know that
it's it's almost over. And now, just in case you
didn't know that, here's this violent reminder as a young
upstart has been drafted to let you know we're gonna
shove you out the or sooner rather than later. We
being this league, this NFL, it's the most intoxicating thing

(57:04):
on the planet.

Speaker 4 (57:05):
It's the most important position in sports.

Speaker 5 (57:08):
But because of that, a big reason because of that
is it's the most intoxicating thing on the planet.

Speaker 4 (57:14):
I heard Matt and Ross talking about this earlier.

Speaker 5 (57:16):
Matt was giving Ross like different scenarios if you could
be an athlete for a day, and what would be
the most thrilling, Like hitting a big three point shot,
hitting a Grand Slam, shutting down an offense as a pitcher,
things like that. I would argue that being the quarterback,
the starting quarterback, the man, the guy that everybody turns
to of an NFL franchise is probably the most intoxicating thing.

Speaker 4 (57:41):
In all of sports.

Speaker 5 (57:42):
And that's why it's so hard to walk away from,
especially if you have an addictive personality. And I'm not
even saying that on a playoff words like Brett Favre
that I haven't seen it yet. Have you watched the
Netflix documentary The Fall of farv Not yet, don't?

Speaker 4 (57:56):
I don't know that.

Speaker 5 (57:56):
I want to, not because I hold him in some
high esteem or think that he's something better than he was.

Speaker 4 (58:01):
He's a scumbag too. Speaking of James Woods, at least
the characters he played.

Speaker 5 (58:06):
James Woods for all intents and purposes, sounds like he's
actually a pretty good dude away from the films, But
like these guys. That's that's the essence of it, right,
this addictive personality, the old gunslinger and the guy that
can't hang it up because the young up starts behind him.
That is the premise, That's the crux if you've never
seen it of any given Sunday.

Speaker 4 (58:27):
And then in the middle of it, you have this.

Speaker 5 (58:29):
Like epic speech from al Pacino of all people, who's
the head coach of the Sharks and he's dealing with
you know in this movie it was, uh, I'm drawing
a blank on who the quarterback was. Jamie Fox Jamie No,
but Jamie Fox was the quarterback, but it was Dennis Quaid.

Speaker 4 (58:48):
It was the vet.

Speaker 5 (58:49):
So Dennis Quaid is the guy that's like taking a
spike in the locker room before the game to try
and get out there, and he gets hurt and his
wife is like giving him grief because she knows her
meal tickets about up.

Speaker 4 (58:58):
She was terrible too.

Speaker 5 (59:00):
Can't remember who his wife was in that movie. It's
just it's very very cheesy in that way. It's very
very over the top, but the premise is actually there,
and that's Kirk Cousins right now. Kirk Cousins is Dennis Quaid,
and you know, Michael Pennix is Willy Beaman, Willy Beman,

(59:22):
you know, the guy that was in the rap video.

Speaker 4 (59:25):
And there's just so much to love about it.

Speaker 5 (59:27):
And of course the speech from al Pacino, because I
know you guys probably haven't seen this in a long time.

Speaker 4 (59:33):
It's good stuff right here.

Speaker 5 (59:34):
Now it's a little long, so I'm not playing the
whole thing, but al Pacino in the locker room. By
the way, it was shot at Texas Stadium, which no
longer exists. You know, the Cowboys old home before Jerry world.
That's where they shot the finale of this game. And
he's in the locker room. It's the actual locker room
inside Texas Stadium. Is al Pacino, one of the great
actors of our time, gives a speech. Not a good cast.

(59:56):
I don't think he's not love the cast. He's not
his as the head coach in that movie. I didn't
think was good because he's al Pacino. He's too good.
He's too good of an actor to be playing now.
This is why Billy Bob Thornton was such a good
in Friday Night Lights like al Pacino's two. He's too
big for for this, for this. Yeah, like it was.

(01:00:18):
It was an overcast, I think. But you still got
this speech out of.

Speaker 12 (01:00:22):
It, really, and you don't quite make it one half second,
too slow, too fast, you don't quite catch it. The
inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every
break of the game, every minute, every second.

Speaker 4 (01:00:42):
On this team, we fight for that inch.

Speaker 12 (01:00:46):
On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around
us to pieces for that inch.

Speaker 10 (01:00:54):
With fema ales because we know when we add up
all those inches, that's gonna make the man where.

Speaker 4 (01:01:10):
Living and dying.

Speaker 2 (01:01:13):
I'll tell you this. In any fight, it's.

Speaker 12 (01:01:16):
The guy who's willing to die who's gonna win that inch.

Speaker 4 (01:01:21):
And I know if I'm gonna.

Speaker 12 (01:01:22):
Have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to.

Speaker 13 (01:01:26):
Fight and die for that itch, because that's what living is.
The six inches in front of your face. Now, I
can't make you do it. You gotta look at the
guy next to you.

Speaker 4 (01:01:42):
Look into his eyes.

Speaker 12 (01:01:43):
Now, I think you're gonna see a guy who will
go that inch with you.

Speaker 5 (01:01:49):
It's so like it's al Pacino. So it's just almost
too good. The ages are everywhere. It's cheesy, but it's
great cheesy.

Speaker 4 (01:01:57):
Yeah. I mean, like you know, when you saw Remember
the Titans with Denzel doing the speech, I thought.

Speaker 5 (01:02:03):
Denzel was better because even though he's over the top,
it's in a different way and it's more convincing.

Speaker 4 (01:02:10):
I feel like I could play football for Denzel Washington.
I could play football for Billy belt Thornton. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:02:15):
I don't feel like I could play football for al Pacino.
I feel like al Pacino is a mob boss to me.
I need him to say who at least once.

Speaker 4 (01:02:21):
Yeah, it's just.

Speaker 5 (01:02:22):
Oh, by the way, underrated. Lawrence Taylor, Lawrence Taylor in
Any Given Sunday. Jim Brown's in that movie too, remember that. Yeah,
But Lawrence Taylor is like giving his own speech in
Like the Sauna, And I don't think it was a script.

Speaker 4 (01:02:34):
I think he was just talking about himself just a little.

Speaker 5 (01:02:37):
If you've never seen Any Given Sunday, great guilty pleasure
movie to watch, especially this time of the year. All right,
Speaking of which, speaking of leaders that are convincing, Joe
Espada stop by for his weekly visit. We will hear
what he had to say next.

Speaker 1 (01:02:54):
The aed on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:03:03):
It is the A Team Sports Talk seven ninety Space
City Home Network Tuesday edition of the programs We take
you up until six o'clock tonight AC with you. Wex
still vacationing Cole Thompson along for the ride as well.
Astro's taking one on the chin last night seven to
five Final in the opener of that three game set
between the Astros and Cleveland Guardians. They will be back

(01:03:26):
at it again tonight. You'll hear it right here on
Sports Talk seven ninety. You'll see it on Space City
Home Network. Hunter Brown goes to the Mound. Hunter Brown
very very good this season. I like their chances, especially
if they get any sort of semblance of offense, and honestly,
they're having to do that with a ragtag operation, particularly

(01:03:46):
at the bottom of their lineup, but also in their
in their rotation. Colton Gordon last night taking one off
the face is the best way I could describe it.

Speaker 11 (01:03:58):
He was.

Speaker 5 (01:04:00):
I looked at there, it's like concussion things of that nature,
and well, let's just put it this way. It was
a scary moment there that appeared to I guess they
escaped the worst of it. But Joe has spotted joining
the station for his weekly visit earlier today. That was
one of the things they talked about, and that was
actually the first thing that you're gonna hear about right

(01:04:22):
here as he you know, wanted an update on that
Gordon hit from last night.

Speaker 4 (01:04:27):
He's doing He's doing okay.

Speaker 14 (01:04:29):
You know, we kept an eye on him last night.
He went through some concussion testing and everything checked out. Well,
we'll see him. I'll see him here in a few
once once he gets through the ballpark.

Speaker 15 (01:04:43):
Was that how much of a conversation did you have
to go through a kind of a test and to say,
do you know who you are?

Speaker 4 (01:04:49):
Do you know where you are. That kind of stuff
that has to be scary for at least a short
period of time.

Speaker 14 (01:04:53):
He went out there and he conducts that that test,
and then he asked him to throw two more warm up,
one more pitchers, and then he went through another sequence
of questions and to make sure that he was able
to get back in the game and finish that ending.

Speaker 15 (01:05:09):
Yes, if he says who's your favorite manager of all
time he doesn't say your name, you definitely have to
pull him out at that point.

Speaker 14 (01:05:14):
Correct, No, we asked him where he was, you know,
ask him who hit the ball? Questions like that.

Speaker 4 (01:05:22):
Yeah, just to make sure that he was aware of
player he was standing.

Speaker 14 (01:05:27):
At the time.

Speaker 4 (01:05:28):
Look, I don't like, I don't care about yesterday.

Speaker 15 (01:05:30):
You want to get all those victories, but this baseball
is a crazy sport and it's going to happen. Hopefully
you'll get back on the winning track with Hunter tonight.
But just a road trip and all get take us through.
First of all, you beat the Dodgers to a pulp
on Friday, and that's the greatest loss I've ever suffered.
And then just to get consistency, great defense, you got
some hot hitters, Christian Walker played well, your starting pitching

(01:05:51):
did good, and your bullpen was lights out. It couldn't
have gone any better for you guys in Los Angeles
during those three games.

Speaker 14 (01:05:57):
Yeah, And I think that's that's been the story for last,
for last, for the last month. I think we have
found consistency on both sides of the ball. You know,
everything starts with with our starting rotation. They've been doing
a remarkable job keeping us in the game, us getting
big hits, you know, doing the game and be able
to hand the ball to our back end of our
bullpend too close to the deal. Consistency, you know throughout,

(01:06:21):
you know, a whole entire lineup. We got some different
guys stepping up every single day. We just were got
into a groop here what we all believe in one another.
We understand that they could be a hero and new
hero every single day, and that's contagious. And we find
ourselves playing really good baseball. And I'm super proud of
our effort. You know, going through LA it's a hostile

(01:06:42):
environment and you know, the way we play with the
the energy and the passion and be able to you know,
sweep them there at home, it was it was a great,
great feel and.

Speaker 7 (01:06:52):
Now two Va of course had a great weekend there.
What is it like for you as a manager. You've
been around him for so long and he's given us
so many wow moments, But at the same time, he
just continues to do stuff. Are there moments where you're like,
you almost feel more like a fan, You like, I
can't believe what I'm saying one percent.

Speaker 14 (01:07:08):
I'm his biggest fan, especially when we go to stadiums
where he receives, you know, that kind of treatment. I'm
there looking at fans on the top step, you know,
behind the on deck circle, saying things that I would
never even imagine saying, especially in front of kids, and
he just goes out there and hits homers. He walks

(01:07:30):
by them, doesn't even acknowledge them. He's professionalism, he's toughness,
he's mindset. You know. I don't, honestly, I don't I
know how he does it, But I could not imagine
anyone else being that tough.

Speaker 15 (01:07:43):
I want to ask about the intelligence you get about
your own players. Look, Joe, you have seen these guys
through the system, you saw them in spring training, but
when you leave for West Palm Beach, you're worried about
the twenty six in front of you. You have had
to go to the bult to the minor league's a bunch.
I mean your line up yesterday was especially back half
of guys that weren't with the team to begin with.
What is it like when you get a new player,

(01:08:05):
who do you trust? Who is the guy on your
staff that says, all right, here's what I've seen, here's
the intelligent reports tells me, here's we can use this
new guy to do our best advantage.

Speaker 14 (01:08:15):
Well, it starts with me building a relationship with those
guys when they're in West Palm. I've seen a lot
of these, you know, the players who came through the system.
For example, Kenny Corona, he's someone that i've He's been
around for the last couple of years. So I have
a relationship with Kennedy. I don't want that relationship. I
don't want the first time he gets you know, the manager,

(01:08:35):
is when he gets to the big league. No, I
he's in big league camp. I go down to the
monor leagues and watch him play when we play a
night game, and you know, the leagues at playing during
the day. So we have reports from our player development
where I get them before a player. Once the player
gets gets to the big leagues, we have a full
report what the player's been working on, drills that the

(01:08:56):
players is doing both offensively defensively, so we can hand
that information to our coaches so we can continue their
their development process at the major league level, and we
have a pretty good idea of what the you know,
the areas they're they're they're you know, they're can controlling offensively,
they're doing well offensively, things that you know, I need

(01:09:16):
to be aware of not to expose in certain things.
And I get all those reports once those players get here,
so I have a pretty good idea on how to
use those players in different different times during the game.

Speaker 5 (01:09:30):
So I was perusing what the Astros sent out, and uh,
it's just mind boggling. Like, I know, we heard about,
you know, all the injuries that the Dodgers are dealing
with right now, and everybody's dealing with injuries.

Speaker 4 (01:09:45):
It's July.

Speaker 5 (01:09:46):
I mean, there's there are people on the shelf for
pretty much every team. If you're a completely healthy major
League Baseball team, congratulations, it's probably right around the corner, Uh,
it being another or an injury for for you. But
and I don't wish that upon anyone obviously, but it's
insane what the Astros have been dealing with just going

(01:10:09):
into this season. They had their fair share like before
they ever played a game. Then you add to it,
but Spencer Arrighetti, JP Franz, Luis Garcia, Christian Hoveer, Jordan Alvarez,
Chas McCormick, Zach Decenzo, Brendan Rodgers, Jacob melt and Sean
Dube and Jeremy Paina, Luis Kiermi pedro Leone, They're all like.

Speaker 4 (01:10:30):
It's insane.

Speaker 5 (01:10:31):
You could you could field an entire team with basically
that that entire stretch that I just mentioned, and the
Astros are still somehow, some way getting it done. And
the guy that's in charge of it, you heard it
right there, Joe Espada, is keeping it together somehow, and
they have all stars, and they have the best record

(01:10:52):
in the American League West, and they have one of
the best records in the American League.

Speaker 4 (01:10:57):
It's crazy.

Speaker 5 (01:10:58):
So if anything, you know, you look at what could
be a wild or maybe not so wild trade deadline,
and for what seems like the unteenth year, you're gonna
look at maybe getting healthy as a trade deadline acquisition.
I know the Astros are probably internally thinking that, if
not coming right out and saying it, it's gonna be

(01:11:19):
interesting to see just how much better this team gets
just by being healthy. Forget, nobody was expecting Jeremy Payney
to do what he's doing this year and then he
gets a cracked ribs. So that's just one example of several.
We will continue here on the A Team wrap up
to three o'clock hour next, speaking of that trade deadline
and just the twenty twenty five MLB campaign overall here

(01:11:41):
at the halfway mark, some interesting tidbits about that.

Speaker 4 (01:11:45):
When we come back.

Speaker 2 (01:11:47):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety, it is.

Speaker 5 (01:11:58):
The eight team Sports Sox seven ninety jayshontep But congrats.

Speaker 4 (01:12:01):
On your deal, brockets Anna be good. I've never been
this excited. I said this yesterday.

Speaker 5 (01:12:06):
I've never been this excited about an upcoming NBA season
in July since probably the Chris Paul trade was made
back in twenty seventeen. Are you more excited for this
season of the Chris Paul season?

Speaker 4 (01:12:21):
Well, I kind of said this yesterday.

Speaker 5 (01:12:25):
You knew what you had in James Harden right, You
had like a top five NBA player already, so you
were adding one of the all time great point guards
who you had to beat in the postseason in two
years prior to advance. You were adding him. But you
also didn't know how that was gonna mesh. But I

(01:12:50):
don't know, Like, here's the thing when it comes to
the NBA, I'm very old school in this way. I
still even in today's where just I mean, we are
looking at like we're looking at ABA scores a lot
of nights sure, where it's like one hundred and thirty
and it's common, and the Rockets are even doing that.

(01:13:11):
Defense and the ability as a team to play solid
top five type defense and rebound are still, in my opinion,
so important to actually winning a championship because for all
that the Oklahoma City Thunder can do offensively and shay
Gil just Alexander being the free throw merchant he is,
but also just a really good offensive player, they play

(01:13:33):
exceptional defense. And the Rockets already do that. That was
not something that you, even if it was maybe not
not true, you didn't associate that Rockets team with defense
back then. It was a Mike d'antni isolation you've got
one of the best offensive weapons in the entire league.

(01:13:57):
Clear out and let him go to work, type of
we're just gonna hang our hat on that.

Speaker 4 (01:14:01):
For better or for worse.

Speaker 5 (01:14:03):
This team it's like, well, if you get offense sometimes
that's kind of nice, but it's gonna be an absolute
you know what to play the Rockets because of what
they do defensively. Now you're gonna add Kevin Durant to that.
And I'm sorry, like, even at thirty seven, even after
everything has happened.

Speaker 6 (01:14:24):
So a top twenty offensive player, I'd say top ten.

Speaker 5 (01:14:27):
Yeah, he averaged twelve bet almost twenty seven last year.
That's not like leading league scoring, but it's still almost
thirty per game on a team that's they didn't lose.
I mean, Dylan Brooks played fantastic defense last season, I think,
better than people were trying to give him credit for.
But they went and got Dorian Finney Smith and they've

(01:14:50):
got him in Thompson, and they've got guys that you're
not playing unless you played defense.

Speaker 4 (01:14:55):
I'll tell you why.

Speaker 6 (01:14:56):
I'm more excited for this iteration of the Rockets than
the Chris Paul one. We may have not seen the
entire offensive peak of Aman Thompson just yet. No, we
know what you can't have, right, but we know what
we're getting. In the addition of Kevin Durant. We know
that he still adds value defensively in a similar way
that Dylan Brooks had a value defensively. Maybe not at

(01:15:17):
the same level, maybe even better. But you are getting
a three and D in Dorian Phinney Smith, and you're
getting a better three point shooter who's more consistent in Katie.
Both Dorian Phinney Smith and kat shot over thirty nine
percent from downtown last year, and especially when you look
at DFS numbers in the corner, he was at forty
four percent. So you add all that together, you're getting

(01:15:40):
better in certain levels that you were missing last season
that probably would have catapulted you over Golden State.

Speaker 4 (01:15:48):
And I've had this theory for a while, and stay
with me.

Speaker 6 (01:15:51):
Much like why I don't believe the Yankees were gonna
win the World Series last year, you have to conquer
your biggest obstacle before you can reach.

Speaker 4 (01:16:00):
The mountain top.

Speaker 5 (01:16:01):
You gotta beat Golden State to Actually, I think when
an NBA files, because you haven't been able to get
past them. You would to be Golden State last year
if you had Kevin Duran on your team. Oh yeah,
I mean that's that goes without saying that that would
have been like the five I think, yeah, that would
have been the floor, not the ceiling. Now, are you
better or can you be over the course of a
seven game series better than Oklahoma City?

Speaker 4 (01:16:24):
That's gonna be what remains to be seen. Denver is
another one right now, I think at this point.

Speaker 5 (01:16:28):
But okay, but Denver and you know whatever, you think,
Dallas is gonna be the Laker all the but Vegas
is like that's it's.

Speaker 4 (01:16:39):
Houston after Oklahoma City. That's what they're saying right now.
For right now, I would agree with that.

Speaker 6 (01:16:43):
I think going into the year, not knowing anything else
about injuries or not knowing anything else about roster construction,
how draftics are gonna continue to perform. Read Shepherd's roll.
Houston is the number two team in the Western Conference.

Speaker 5 (01:16:56):
So now, look of all the people on that roster
that we're talking about, and that this includes Dorian Phineismith Reed.
Shephard might have to take the biggest step because if
he doesn't, then I still think your rotation was effectively shortened.
There is no Cam Whitmore right, there is no that

(01:17:19):
you know, number nine, ish Tennish guy two. And again
this is not just for this is for like, injuries
are gonna happen, right, Kevin Durant's gonna be one of them.
I mean, we're just assuming it's baked in, right.

Speaker 6 (01:17:31):
He's gonna miss fifteen to twenty games sext year, just
AutoMac to fifteen. I don't say you take the fifteen,
but again, you know it's probably gonna be closer to eighteen.

Speaker 5 (01:17:40):
There's still a lot of games. And Chris Paul was
the same way. Chris Paul the first year. People forget this.
He missed eleven games in like the first two months
of the season, right, and when he got back, they
were already like in a good spot and then they
just like vaulted into the strategy.

Speaker 6 (01:17:56):
But he was slow coming out the gate, too, wasn't
he He was averaging twenty one eighteen.

Speaker 5 (01:18:01):
He had a uh yeah, and he had a I
think it was a hamstringer an ankle, one of those
two things. It was like hampering type injury that you
could not rush. Sure and so and so James Harden
was like, all right, I got this, and then when
he got back it was just like because he had
that mid range.

Speaker 8 (01:18:16):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:18:16):
But you're right, I think I think I agree.

Speaker 5 (01:18:18):
With you in that what they could accomplish that's unknown
versus you kind of had known quantities as your two
principal pieces. You just had to know if they were
gonna they were gonna mesh the great unknown here, Like
I know Kevin Durant' in known quantity, but everything else
on that team, with the exception of like Dorian Phinney

(01:18:40):
Smith and Steven Adams. But I'm just talking to the
young core. Sure, it's all contingent upon them taking their
next step almost as much, if not more as it
is his contingent upon Kevin Durant blending in with them
and with what em wants to do seamlessly.

Speaker 6 (01:18:57):
I would say more because of you get to see
what the foundation is after the Kadi experience. That's the
thing that I really look at jabari Am and all
of that. Uh, you know what the best part is
about Wex not being here. He's not throwing a wet
blanket on us agreeing on something just to give us
stats and numbers and everything else.

Speaker 4 (01:19:14):
Do what would he say. He would find something to
say about.

Speaker 6 (01:19:17):
What Kevin Durant would offer versus Hey, this is the
addition of the defense that we would see from Jabari
Smith playing in certain minutes. You know, he would he'd
have like some stat pulled up to where he's like,
I don't entirely agree with your statement. Let me push
back just for five seconds. Yeah, he would, he would.

Speaker 4 (01:19:33):
He would. That's what I'm saying. That's the beauty list show.

Speaker 5 (01:19:35):
You know, this is too happy. I have got to
come in here. I mean, I hate to disagree. That's
what he would say. And then he would go on
to disagree.

Speaker 6 (01:19:42):
I don't mean to be this person, but I'm gonna
be this person because of this is who I am.
Wet blanket incoming in three two and there we go.

Speaker 5 (01:19:52):
What was his uh? What was his initial reaction to
Dorian Finney Smith?

Speaker 6 (01:19:56):
He loved it, I think, okay, he was very high
on it. Now I was too. We did the rankings
of we did the rankings of the three players who
were linked to the Rockets, and who was the number
one answer? And we won't the gree Dorian Phinney Smith
gives you, I think the most value first of what
you're going to get in Walker and Knard coming on in.

Speaker 4 (01:20:13):
All right, we'll leave it at that.

Speaker 5 (01:20:15):
What are some of the most interesting takeaways from the
twenty twenty five MLB campaign so far? Plus who's going
to have the better post All Star Break finish the
Astros or the Blue Jays?

Speaker 4 (01:20:27):
Next, the A.

Speaker 1 (01:20:29):
Team on Sports Talk seven ninety two lifelong Houston sports
guys named Adam Talking Your Team's.

Speaker 3 (01:20:42):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eight team.

Speaker 5 (01:20:51):
Tuesday edition of the program four o'clock hour underway here
on Sports Talk seven ninety Space City Home Network.

Speaker 4 (01:20:57):
It is the A Team.

Speaker 5 (01:20:58):
Adam Clanton with you, Adam Lexler vacationing, he'll be back
on Monday. Cole Thompson along for the rides as we
take you up until six o'clock tonight. Astros and Guardians
getting underway once again at that point will get you
to the Astros on deck show at that time they'll
be get in the first pitch underway just after seven
o'clock as the Astros losing.

Speaker 4 (01:21:20):
The opener last night seven to five, looking.

Speaker 5 (01:21:22):
To get back some of that steam they had coming
out of LA in no better way than the Diesel
to get that done. As Hunter Brown will be taking
the mound tonight for his latest start. He has been
absolutely spectacular this season. A first time Major League Baseball
All Star along with Jeremy Pinia, they both have that distinction.
Josh Hater getting named to his sixth Midsummer Classic as

(01:21:47):
I was gone on vacation last week, that news kind
of coming down in the middle of that Dodgers series,
which was incredibly entertaining for a number of reasons. Now
you got the Guardians in town. Jose ramire Is hit
in the three run home run last night. Astros were
able to tie things up at four a piece in
the bottom half of that same inning, but then it
kind of unraveled from there and Cleveland getting some timey

(01:22:08):
hit timely hits. You know, there is a member of
the Cleveland Guardians that is kind of an enigma to me.
Because I was looking at Jason Stark's article today earlier
in The Athletic.

Speaker 4 (01:22:22):
About, you know, just some of the.

Speaker 5 (01:22:24):
Comings and goings basically of over the first half plus
of this twenty twenty five Major League Baseball campaign, and
one of the things he touched on was how this
upcoming trade deadline is gonna be like, is it gonna
be crazy busy? Is it gonna be kind of busy?
Is it gonna be completely lackluster or underwhelming from a

(01:22:47):
from a busy standpoint? And the reason he was saying
that is because there are so many teams that realistically
think that they're still in it except for like this
handful of teams that includes like the White Sox and
the Rockies of the world. There's so many teams, like
twenty five teams think that they can realistically make a run,
and so that then determines whether or not a team

(01:23:09):
is a buyer or a seller at the trade deadline.
And one of those teams he mentioned was Cleveland, and
I'm like, well, yeah, like you look at what they
They just got done with a ten game losing streak
by winning that game against the Astros last night. They
clearly have some talent, but nobody's confusing them with any
of the I guess better teams in the AL Central.

(01:23:32):
And you know, Cleveland has been right there. They've been
in the postseason, and so you start saying, all right, well,
if they were sellers, who would possibly be out the door.
And one of the players mentioned I'm trying to scroll
to the so it said the Guardians have gone nine
to twenty two since the start of June and still

(01:23:54):
haven't quite tumbled out of the wildcard race. This is
what the wildcard does. It's good and bad, has good
things and bad things about it. There's seven games back
of that which can be done. I mean, the Astros
did it last year to get to the Division. But
even if the next few weeks are just as rough,
the league is dubious that a full sell off is

(01:24:14):
coming from one of the youngest teams in the sport.
Talking about the Guardians, and NL execs said the following,
I think Cleveland always just plays the Tampa Bay type
long game so they can flip some pieces. Stephen Kwan
would be a potential piece, even though there's a couple

(01:24:36):
of years of control there.

Speaker 4 (01:24:37):
But I don't see a big cell coming.

Speaker 14 (01:24:39):
Now.

Speaker 5 (01:24:39):
Just bear with me for a second. I don't like
the guy because he always kills the Astros. I love
Stephen Kwan just as a player. He kills the Astros
time he plays it. He gets a hit every time up, but.

Speaker 6 (01:24:53):
He never strikes out and he wore and again. The
other thing is he doesn't work, walks in his favor,
but he never strikes out, like if you added him
to your team offensively.

Speaker 5 (01:25:00):
Okay, listen now again, I'm not saying he's this guy.
I'm saying that that feature you just mentioned is very
similar to this guy who was a left fielder for
the Astros that never striked out, struck out.

Speaker 4 (01:25:14):
Oh it wasn't Carlos Lay. I know that now recently.

Speaker 5 (01:25:19):
Championship team my mind, blanken, Michael Brant Brandley never struck out.

Speaker 4 (01:25:24):
Michael Brandley would never strike out.

Speaker 5 (01:25:26):
Now he'd be he'd, he'd he'd make it out, but
he wouldn't strike out a lot, right. I mean this
whole And I was reading this earlier about the Astros
in this same article. They're like the Jose Altuve left
field experiment. And I can't wait to ask Channel Rome
about this. He's going to be in studio on Thursday
for the show. You know, do you keep him there

(01:25:50):
or do you put him back? Because if you went
out and got an outfielder, like everybody thinks, if the
Astros are going to do something, they're going to get
like a viable outfielder of.

Speaker 6 (01:26:00):
Positro fask you're talking about the rest of this season, right, Okay,
just making sure if.

Speaker 5 (01:26:06):
The Astros just for the sake of I'm not saying
this is what I want them to do. I'm not
even saying that it's a good thing. I'm just throwing
this out there as a scenario because this was mentioned
because of the position he plays and all that. If
the Astros went out and got Stephen Kwan at the
trade deadline to play left field, don't you think it
makes the Astros better? Yes, Astro because at the end

(01:26:28):
of the day, and this isn't that what this is about?

Speaker 4 (01:26:31):
Yes, But okay, counter offer here. You have to give
up Bryce Matthews. Oh, I'm not giving up Bryce Mattis.
That's okay. Here's the problem.

Speaker 5 (01:26:41):
Do you think that because he has the years of
fears control and also but that's a lot's of steep
price to pay.

Speaker 6 (01:26:47):
But also think about it this way, where are you
playing Bryce Matthews if you have Stephen Kwan on your
roster with years of control, Because if you're not moving
him to right field, that's taken over by camp Smith.
Centerfield right now feels like it's gonna be Jake until
it's not. Third base is Ezach Parades for the next
several seasons. Jeremy Panga unless you trade him this offseason,
which would be dumb, You're not moving him. First base

(01:27:09):
is locked up by Christian Walker. Where's all two v playing.
You just paid him a five year extension. That's your
second basement at this point. And you have to move
Bryce Matthews because if you have steven quantum left.

Speaker 4 (01:27:19):
Field, Yeah, you make a solid argument against it.

Speaker 6 (01:27:24):
That's the problem is that, like you have to you
have to think of what does second.

Speaker 4 (01:27:29):
Base look like next year?

Speaker 6 (01:27:30):
Because we were talking about Low for the offer for Tampa,
because Tampa is one of these teams that they have
no idea what they're doing, yet still find a way
to do it because they trade away good players and
just land the next big time eighteen year old for
the Dominican Republic to come on up and be a
stud of twenty one.

Speaker 4 (01:27:48):
They could move Low, but.

Speaker 6 (01:27:50):
Low would have to play second base in Altuba, would
have to move to left field. Low has another year
of roster control, So that means that you're blocking Bryce
Matthews way to the majors next season.

Speaker 4 (01:28:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:28:02):
Yeah, And honestly, if like there's a gun in my head,
what do you think the Astros are actually gonna do
if they make a deal at all the trade deadline.

Speaker 4 (01:28:10):
I would say it would be more pitching related.

Speaker 6 (01:28:12):
I would say number five starter, Yep, a number five
starter because of Eric Getty's gonna come back and.

Speaker 4 (01:28:16):
He'll be your number three. A Kokuchi type deal.

Speaker 6 (01:28:19):
Yeah, you would maybe get back at Christian Haavier and
a Luis Garcia to pair off as a number four
where one guy goes four innings, the other guy goes
two innings, and then you have to get that number
five guy.

Speaker 4 (01:28:28):
That is what they do.

Speaker 5 (01:28:29):
If you'd think that one or both of those guys,
and I mean in the case of Christian Javier, I
see no reason to not think this. Luis Garcia has
kind of been I haven't been happy with his progress
sure that way, because there's been too many hiccups.

Speaker 4 (01:28:43):
That kind of thing. Well, it's almost two years now,
it's too much.

Speaker 5 (01:28:45):
Yeah, it's two Lance mccolors versus you know, justin Verlander,
when you're talking about the type of injury we're talking
about here.

Speaker 4 (01:28:51):
Yeah, don't you feel like.

Speaker 5 (01:28:56):
That's that's that's a rental type situation then, like a
Kakuchi like, oh, it has to be a rental. You're
getting a picture of the YU, right, you don't want
a club control.

Speaker 6 (01:29:05):
Well, okay, Hayden Wiznski comes back at some point next year.
Renel Blanco either comes back in twenty twenty seven or
he comes back at some point next year.

Speaker 5 (01:29:11):
I don't look for Renel Blanco last year or next
year because I'm just being super conservative.

Speaker 6 (01:29:17):
Yeah, that's fine, but Javier is back. You don't know
when you're gonna You don't know what's gonna happen with Fromber.
We think we know what's gonna happen with Fromber, but
we don't know what's gonna happen with Fromber. Hunter Brown's here.
Christianavier is your number two, and you still have Lance
mc colors on the books.

Speaker 4 (01:29:29):
I think you have to look at Christian Javier as Fromber.
Christianavier is your number two next season.

Speaker 6 (01:29:34):
For me, like like, I understand that anything is possible
and you could still find a way to work out
a deal. I'm not saying it's gonna happen. I'm not
saying it's not gonna happen. But in my mind right now,
Hunter Brown is taken over as the Ace and Christianavier's
number two going into twenty twice.

Speaker 4 (01:29:47):
And that's fine, That's really fine.

Speaker 6 (01:29:50):
Can you imagine a three a trio of your one,
two and three in the American League being a healthy
Christian Javy Yer, the immergence of Hunter Brown and you
having good Fromber. I mean, that's our you believe the
best in Major League Baseball.

Speaker 5 (01:30:01):
What's funny is this just becomes the latest version of Okay, well,
which one do you want to keep? Because you can't
keep both, and then you wind up keeping neither. That's
the astro's way. Yeah, you know, well, we're not gonna
sign Fromber because down the line we think we're gonna
lock up one of Jeremy Paine or a Hunter Brown
and then all three are out the door in four
years from now.

Speaker 6 (01:30:19):
You have to sign one of the soft season in
my opinion, like I again, you get you can decide
if you want to to let Hunter Brown walk after
the next few years and just let him be an
astro and then go have his success in Boston or
in Philadelphia or whatever it is if you sign FROMBER.
But if you don't sign Fromber, then you have to
make a deal. You have to start negotiations with Hunter Brown.
If you don't want to do that, you have to

(01:30:40):
do it with Jeremy Paangye. But going into opening day
in twenty twenty six, one of these three has to
be locked up long term. What if none of them are,
I'm not expecting any of them to be back for
the long term then, And unfortunately that's.

Speaker 4 (01:30:51):
Just the Astros way. It's it's a negative feel.

Speaker 6 (01:30:55):
It doesn't mean it's not possible, but I've had too
many times of hearing this that this is what's going on,
and then they allow them to walk out the door.

Speaker 5 (01:31:04):
Like look at the way Dana Brown was talking about
Kyle Tucker this time last year, not the year prior,
this time last year, talking about like, oh, there's no
way we're not signing him, but they didn't.

Speaker 4 (01:31:18):
Then it's it's so that breaking bad GIF.

Speaker 5 (01:31:23):
They can't keep getting away with this, Like at some point,
you can't keep letting this talent walk out the door
and just expect to keep winning even though they keep
doing it.

Speaker 6 (01:31:33):
Yeah, they keep winning, but at some point the magic
has to run out. Because Jesse Peakman eventually got caught,
yes he did, and then he was thrown to a
jail cell and then he eventually murdered Todd, which was
one of the greatest moments in all of television history.

Speaker 4 (01:31:46):
Spoiler alert. I don't care.

Speaker 6 (01:31:48):
It's been ten year. You have a in my opinion,
you have a window. You have a ten year window
to watch the ending and then afterwards get over it.

Speaker 4 (01:31:58):
A ten year window. That's a lot.

Speaker 6 (01:32:00):
Again, I'm nice. I'm saying ten Some people say three weeks.
You have that long. I give you a ten year window.
I won't spoil it for you. I remember sitting inside
of Fratorney House and watching as the life left Jesse
Plummin's eyes. As you saw Aaron whatever, Aaron Paul looked
like a madman and Brian Cranston got shot. At that
point I knew, okay, I got ten years.

Speaker 4 (01:32:20):
Sorry. You know what happens at the end of Breaking Bad,
all right, and there you have it, all right.

Speaker 5 (01:32:24):
So you heard what rafel Stone had to say to
the media smattering yesterday. But what did he have to
say with his one on one with Matt Thomas. Well,
actually I guess it's probably one on two as Ross
and Matt got to chat with the Rockets GM.

Speaker 4 (01:32:38):
We'll give you a snippet of that when we come back.

Speaker 2 (01:32:42):
The age on.

Speaker 1 (01:32:44):
Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:33:07):
It is the a team Sports Talks seven to ninety
Space City Home Network on a Tuesday edition of the program.
All right, so the Kevin Durant trade is official. It's
officially official. It's been official for a while, but they
couldn't talk about it until Sunday, and then of course,
for the first time since the deal was made. Rafel
Stone the Rockets GM, talked about it yesterday with the media,

(01:33:31):
but of course he had to come on the flagship
Rockets radio right here.

Speaker 4 (01:33:35):
On Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:33:37):
You see a lot of the games over on Space
City Home Network obviously, but here on your home for
Rockets basketball. We had to chat it up with the
Rockets GM, who kind of went a little bit more
in depth on a number of things, but mainly the
process of landing KD is what was talked about, in

(01:33:58):
addition to a number of things between Matt Thomas Ross
for your Reale and rafel Stone, the Rockets GM, who
brought KD.

Speaker 4 (01:34:06):
To h Town.

Speaker 11 (01:34:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (01:34:07):
No, I mean, first, Phoenix was great to work with. Second,
I think we very early on we kind of decided
that the deal kind of had to look a certain way,
and so we articulated that and then I don't want
to say we were kind of done, but but to
a certain degree. That's that's kind of where we were.
And and if that ended up being something that they

(01:34:28):
wanted to pursue, great, and if not, then we understood.
And so there wasn't there wasn't a ton of back
and forth. I you know, I don't I don't know
what it was like on their end, but but from ours, yeah,
it was. It was just kind of you know, uh,
you know, making money work in the NBA is hard,
and so there are kind of very limited ways to
do it and and so kind of once once we

(01:34:50):
figured that piece of it out, I think we knew
from a value position that that we were giving what
we thought was a lot. We we thought that I
think they did great the trade. I mean, we we
give them a tre and just an other value. And
so that was kind of it from our perspective. And
then you know, like they had to canvas the mart,
they had to do whatever they did on their end
to get comfortable, and eventually they did and then and

(01:35:10):
then the kind of deal happened. But it wasn't. It
wasn't one of those like three weeks of negotiations or
anything like that. Yeah, it was not.

Speaker 4 (01:35:18):
From my perspective.

Speaker 15 (01:35:19):
At least you resign Stephen, you get a new contract
for a Jabbari, You bring into Dorian Phinney Smith, who
was a rocket killer. It felt like the last couple
of times you faced them, you bring back clin Cappella.
Were those easy fitting pieces because of the fact that
you had some money to spend. You weren't having to
give up a whole lot in terms of a little
bit of salary flexibility. Was that as easy as it

(01:35:42):
came across? Or was there a lot of puzzle fitting
together to make all those things work together at one time?

Speaker 16 (01:35:47):
There was a lot of puzzle fitting together. Yeah, And
just because you don't you have no idea going in
the free agency who's going to end up doing what,
And so we had a lot of irons in the fire,
you know. And then you've also got your priorities of like, Okay,
this is the thing we're most worried about. So maybe
that's the first meeting, you know. I don't know, whatever
time it was, three o'clock, five o'clock, I don't remember

(01:36:08):
what time the first meeting is, but you've got that,
and then you've got to wait for an answer. And
as much as you might tell somebody we need an
answer very quickly, they don't always give that to you.
In this case, we were lucky we got it, which
then allowed us to flip immediately to the next guy,
and it just kind of worked out that way. Yeah,

(01:36:31):
things fill in the place a little bit for us
for us this year, but obviously.

Speaker 2 (01:36:35):
You have to be you have to be ready.

Speaker 16 (01:36:37):
For thirty five different scenarios and anywhere Ross with you
as well here Roe Felstone rockets GM with us here
on Sports Talk seven ninety and you mentioned you gave
up a lot, and I agree.

Speaker 7 (01:36:45):
There are a lot of people saying, oh, it didn't
cost you anything, But what was it like for you
balancing what you did give up the value of eighty
two games of Jalen Green and seventy five games of
Dylan Brooks and getting back what you did but knowing,
you know, to succeed in the playoffs you need somebody
like Kevin Durant who can beat great NBA defenses.

Speaker 16 (01:37:06):
Yeah, I mean, you know, we were extremely fond of
Jalen and Dylan, and they weren't enormous. Yeah, you pointed out,
Jalen played eighty two this year, played eighty two last year.
Dylan plays every game that he possibly can, like set
foot on the court on. And we were coming off
two very good years. So you know, we we we
didn't give those you know, in a vacuum, we would

(01:37:28):
have never given those guys up. It was only the
opportunity to add somebody like Kevin with his super unique
skill set that you know, that made us even consider it,
and obviously we did it, so we wanted to do it.
But it's but it's always hard when when really quality
people and really good players are part of it. You
know that it's it's part of this business.

Speaker 4 (01:37:46):
And it's not even a.

Speaker 16 (01:37:47):
Bad part because hopefully they go on to great opportunities too.

Speaker 2 (01:37:50):
But but it's it's not easy. It's what I would say, what.

Speaker 7 (01:37:53):
Was the feeling for you when the deal was done
and you made it? Was it just were you relieved?
Were you excited?

Speaker 4 (01:37:59):
Anxious?

Speaker 7 (01:38:00):
A little bit? All of that and and you and
now that it's kind of been done for a little bit,
how are you feeling out?

Speaker 16 (01:38:04):
Yeah, a little bit of all of that, and but
then it's like, okay, well, yeah, we need to backfill,
like like, like you pointed out, Jalen plays every game,
Dylan plays virtually every game, and and we want Kevin
to play as much as he's able, but we also
want to make sure that we don't we don't run
him into the grun Plus it's just we we we
gave up two guys and we only got one back.
So you know, immediately after, it's like, you know, you're

(01:38:27):
excited about it, You're excited about the possibilities, but then
it's also like, okay, how are we going to back
you know, now all of a sudden, we've got these
other things we want to accomplish that are that that
are you know that that are brand new. So it's
you know, it's a little bit of it's a little
bit of all of it.

Speaker 15 (01:38:42):
Far let's you run. You're going headed to Vegas here
shortly for a camp. The most recognizable name obviously is
Reied Shepherd. Uh assess what your thought.

Speaker 4 (01:38:50):
Of year one?

Speaker 15 (01:38:51):
And not that anything's going to get accomplished in Vegas.
But more importantly, there's a lot of folks that are
that are very bullish on Reid.

Speaker 4 (01:38:57):
I'd be one of them. You certainly were.

Speaker 15 (01:38:59):
I know that his name was being bantered about in
potential trades and whatnot. Whether that's true or not, and
who knows, but point being is that he is being
given an opportunity to kind of say, hey, let's do
a re or not necessarily a redraft, but hey, we're
going to give you a spot here to get some
serious minutes.

Speaker 4 (01:39:13):
In twenty twenty five, twenty six.

Speaker 16 (01:39:14):
Yeah, No, I think I think Read. You know, he
came into a very fully formed team and a super
deep team last year and we were able to like
kind of carve out a little niche for him the
first two thirds of the season. No, I mean, I
just think Read's gonna have to be really good for us.
He's we've penciled him into a big role and and
everything we've seen kind of in practice and everything else

(01:39:34):
is he's going to be ready for it. But you know,
practice aren't you know, practices aren't games, and he's going
to have to transfer it. He's really working on his physicality,
which I love, and you know, and we'll see you.

Speaker 5 (01:39:46):
So everything you heard right there, Cole, Was there anything
that like blew you away, shocked you or is it
basically kind of how you thought it went? And you know,
he's obviously very comfortable having made the deal. It's at
least on the surface from sounding you know how he sounds.

(01:40:08):
But I I was looking for something that would make
me think, huh no, I mean, it's it sounds like
even though he and others in the organization sat up
there and said the youth movement on and on on,
we knew that if the deal presented itself, and it
was like he said, it needed to be certain parameters
needed to look a certain way in order for them

(01:40:29):
to say yes that if that situation presented itself, I
didn't think they were gonna I thought Kevin Durant was
going to be a rocket.

Speaker 4 (01:40:36):
Midway through last year, I'll tell you what.

Speaker 6 (01:40:37):
I think that Rafelstone realized some point between March and
April he was going to be training for Kevin Durant.

Speaker 4 (01:40:45):
That's how I felt with that interview he had, was
we're so much who it was going to be. It
was just that he was going to go get him.

Speaker 6 (01:40:51):
He was going to go with Kevin Duryant like the way,
and it was gonna happen to be a deal with Phoenix,
and they had a pretty good inclination that if Jalen
Green wasn't gonna continuing to produce, and if he wasn't
showing the signs of a breakout season, that'd be the target,
or they would go give up Jabari Smith, or they
would be giving up more draft compensation. But I think
that he knew the reason why this was such an

(01:41:12):
easy deal to get done, not a lot of pushback,
not a lot of conversations of well, let's do X,
Y and Z. No, we don't like that deal. Okay,
well let's flip to this. No we don't like that deal.
Is because if he knew he was getting Kevin Durant,
all right, we'll just figure out who we're going to
be the pieces that we send on over.

Speaker 4 (01:41:28):
I mean, I don't disagree with any of that.

Speaker 5 (01:41:31):
And what's funny is that even though he didn't really
he didn't come right out and say it there, Jabari
Smith Junior was never going to get traded, not in
this deal anyway.

Speaker 4 (01:41:43):
Okay.

Speaker 6 (01:41:43):
Now I pushed back because of what if Jalen Green
with that thirty eight point game that we saw in
Game two, that was in throughout the entire playoffs.

Speaker 5 (01:41:51):
Does it flip on over to Jabari Smith at that point?
But that's funny, you should bring that up. Who was
the most consistent rocket that whole series? I think it
was probably Jamari. It was Jabari's Now was Jabari your
leading scorer? Was he your leading rebounder? Was her leading assists?

Speaker 16 (01:42:06):
Man?

Speaker 5 (01:42:06):
No, none of those things, But go back and look
at the box scores, and then obviously go back and
watch the games.

Speaker 4 (01:42:13):
Jabbari was that dude. Yeah, he was a.

Speaker 5 (01:42:16):
Steadying, calming, consistent presence throughout those seven games.

Speaker 4 (01:42:24):
That different quote.

Speaker 5 (01:42:26):
Unquote more important pieces either weren't the whole time in
the case of Jalen Green, it was one game, or
in the case of like Alpri and Shingoon, you gotta
step up to the line and make those free throws.
I know there's this video rolling around right now of
Alpri and Shingoon and he's, Oh, look he's getting more
comfortable shooting three pointers. That's great, that's really great. I

(01:42:49):
hope that's the case. I want you to be an
apt You know what, shoot for seventy five percent. Start
for there, shoot seventy five percent from the foul line
in the Rockets go to the Western Conference Finals, and I'm
not even kidding, it's not even for effect.

Speaker 6 (01:43:04):
Well, I think that you and I both agree that
any deal that surrounded Jabari Smith, we were both out
on him.

Speaker 4 (01:43:09):
Let's it was pretty honest.

Speaker 5 (01:43:10):
Yeah, And I think that's proof when they immediately turned
around and signed him to that extension. Speaking of extensions, well,
Patrick Mahomes got a big one a few years back,
and now he's fat, at least according to a Kansas
City radio host.

Speaker 4 (01:43:27):
We will explain and you'll hear about it when we come.

Speaker 1 (01:43:30):
Back the eight on Sports Talk seven ninety. This is
Adam and Adams Weekly, charged through mind buckling moments that
make you.

Speaker 5 (01:43:43):
Go, okay, what what what?

Speaker 2 (01:43:50):
Tagre, what are you talking about?

Speaker 4 (01:43:53):
On a Tuesday? Very what? Odin im?

Speaker 13 (01:43:57):
Now?

Speaker 2 (01:43:58):
Say what?

Speaker 16 (01:44:03):
Well?

Speaker 5 (01:44:03):
Today's edition of our signature segment on Tuesdays, which is
always say what.

Speaker 4 (01:44:09):
Was frankly very easy.

Speaker 16 (01:44:11):
Now.

Speaker 5 (01:44:12):
I know this was actually from yesterday. I mean it
happened yesterday, and the fallout happened yesterday and since then,
the response to these comments has been posted and deleted.
But who cares about all that. Let's go back through
the gory details. So Ah, a radio host in Kansas City,

(01:44:39):
decided he would call probably the most famous and popular
athlete since George Brett, and maybe you could argue he
surpassed him. Is it too like this is like Jose
Altuve being the all time astro. There's a camp that
believes it might still be Jeff Bagwell or Craig Bigio,

(01:45:00):
and then there's everybody else has a brain who knows
he already is. Yeah, but I don't know if that's
the case in Kansas City. Is George Brett, it's Patri Mahms,
It's Patri Brohmmes.

Speaker 4 (01:45:09):
That's what I thought.

Speaker 6 (01:45:10):
He's the greatest player that has ever gone to Kansas City.
And I know that you can say that it is
George Brett because of the longevity and because of the
impact that he had in the eighties and the nineties.
It's the fact that this is somebody that people are
comparing to Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback. Nobody is
saying anything other than, hey, George Brett was probably the
best third basement of his generation.

Speaker 5 (01:45:32):
Well, and he's brought multiple titles, so he's like.

Speaker 6 (01:45:36):
And they're not slowing down either, they're still gonna have
potential war titles on the horizon.

Speaker 5 (01:45:41):
Like right now, this is a question that's going to
need to be asked, but it's going to I'm not
meaning the sidetrack sidetrack here, but this is actually very
interesting to me. It's already a conversation, believe it or not,
simply because they have the same amount of tips and

(01:46:01):
they've been to the same amount of championship rounds exact number.
If Jose Altuve wins one more World Series, he has
to be in the conversation for being the best Houston
athlete of all time. And I'm saying this as someone
who's the biggest Akim Olaijuan fan there is. Akim Olaijuan

(01:46:23):
went to the NBA finals. Actually he went to the
championship round fewer times than Jose al Tuovey has been there.
But the Rockets went to the NBA finals in like
Hakeem's second year. I think he was drafted in eighty four.
They were in the eighty six finals against the Celtics,

(01:46:45):
and then he went again in ninety four ninety five
and he won those two. So he's got two championships.
Al two Bay's got two Championships. Al two has been
to the World Series four times. He's been to the
ALCS seven consecutive times. If Jose Al two bay win
another World Series during this run, like if the Astros
win the World Series this year, even if he's not
the best player on the team, Jose Al Tuvey has

(01:47:08):
a very good argument for being the best Houston athlete
of all time.

Speaker 4 (01:47:12):
You know he's gonna be.

Speaker 6 (01:47:13):
It's gonna be for the city of Houston, MJ versus Lebron.
There'll be a generation that won't understand what the impact
if a Keem did, and then there'll be a generation
that says, no, what Jose Al Tuobay did is this.
And I'm not arguing against it because I personally think
it's a keem.

Speaker 5 (01:47:26):
But because NBA players they have more of a direct impact.

Speaker 4 (01:47:31):
But when I say that, you have to understand.

Speaker 5 (01:47:34):
And you heard Cooper Hummel talk about it earlier today,
it's as much about how he carries himself in the
clubhouse as a leader as anything he does from a
performance standpoint. But this guy is still in the conversation
to get three thousand hits, is still a two time champion?
Is still you know, a former MVP all of He's

(01:47:55):
got all the credentials and the longevity is almost there too.
You know, Hakeem we got traded in two thousand and one. Yes,
he was drafted in eighty four, so the eighty forty
five season was his first. Like, Altuve is going to
play in an Astros uniform longer than Hakeem was a
Rocket by the time all said and done.

Speaker 6 (01:48:16):
But he also probably is going to be a one
and done player, which is also an extremely rarity in
these in today. Say in ancient sports, you don't see
many pill players go be be a one and done
with their organization.

Speaker 4 (01:48:28):
Yeah no, I mean, and I don't.

Speaker 5 (01:48:31):
I honestly don't think you know, unlike Hakeem, which again
just makes me sick because while the Rockets got James
Harden's prime over five million dollars, literally the same amount
of money, the Rockets had to watch Hakim Elijuan play
in Canada with a purple dinosaur on his jersey.

Speaker 4 (01:48:52):
Great jersey, over five million dollars. It's not a great jersey.

Speaker 6 (01:48:55):
I love that jersey. I think it's a great I
think it's one of the best jerseys in this year.

Speaker 5 (01:48:58):
While everybody has flaws. Nobody needed to see that. It's
like Patrick Ewing in a magic jersey.

Speaker 4 (01:49:04):
It's weird.

Speaker 5 (01:49:05):
That's like I saw this this meme where it was
like all these legends and all these weird jerseys they
wore at the end of their care like Alan Iverson'
is the top example.

Speaker 4 (01:49:14):
I think Ed Reid, but the Houston Texans is another
top example. That never happened. In your brain, it didn't.
It never happened. This is Likeckey five and your brain,
it didn't. It just didn't happen. I saw it in person.
It was horrifying because he sucked. Yeah, that's the reason.

Speaker 5 (01:49:28):
And he looked like a bomb under the freeway. Who
had stolen Bob McNair's money. Jerry Seattle Seahawk's uniform. Remember that, No, exactly,
it didn't happen.

Speaker 6 (01:49:38):
Those are things that just don't happen, like the end
of How I'm At Your Mother, in my opinion, didn't
Jerry Rice in his career with the Raiders, he was
on the Denver Broncos and he walked off the field.
He didn't make it through camp. I wouldn't have either, exactly.
Randy Mawson, his career at the Testy Titans, which is
again another weird one. Adrian Peterson under his career at

(01:49:59):
Seattle see.

Speaker 5 (01:50:00):
Andre Johnson wore a Titans and Colts jersey.

Speaker 6 (01:50:03):
Right, but those at the time he still hadn't fallen
off entirely.

Speaker 4 (01:50:06):
It's weird to see him in that.

Speaker 6 (01:50:07):
But I'm talking like when Randy last played with the Titans.

Speaker 4 (01:50:11):
He was done.

Speaker 6 (01:50:12):
Like it was literally just like a like when Dion
came back and he played for the Baltimore Ravens that
one year, Like it just was a I'm doing this
because of I don't want to quit the game, but
the game has quit?

Speaker 4 (01:50:22):
Quit me?

Speaker 6 (01:50:22):
Was it?

Speaker 5 (01:50:23):
Didn't Dion have some pretty good moments though, Am I crazy?
I'm probably thinking of Steve McNair.

Speaker 6 (01:50:28):
I think you're thinking of it because I remember he
had a terrible time in Washington.

Speaker 4 (01:50:32):
Washington is terrible. That's what he gets.

Speaker 5 (01:50:35):
I mean, you can't play, you can't play for the
Cowboys and then play for the for at the time,
the Red Skin.

Speaker 4 (01:50:40):
And they paid him a bucket load of money. That
was the other thing.

Speaker 6 (01:50:43):
They're like, here, let's see what we can do to
be one of those that.

Speaker 5 (01:50:46):
Dan Snyder, Yeah, Snyder. Yeah, of course it was Dan.
What was the best decision Dan Snyder made.

Speaker 4 (01:50:52):
Leaving the team?

Speaker 5 (01:50:54):
That's that's exactly right, the team. Yeah, that is the
absolute correct answer. So anyways, all of this is to
say that a Kansas City radio host called Patrick Mahomes fat,
and we're going to play you both what he said,
and we'll tell you who in Mahomes' camp responded when

(01:51:16):
we come back, Because I mean, let's face it, it's July eighth,
and because this is a signature segment, a lot of
things could have come here. But I think that you
know Patrick Mahomes and it's not He didn't just call
him fat. He went full de Yeah, he went on
a diatribe. He absolutely went off on again the probably
the most popular and successful now athlete in the history

(01:51:40):
of that city. It's a two team town, Okay, believe me,
nobody knows it better than me with the mother in
law that I have, and it's all about the chiefs
and the royals there and they've both had success over
the last decade. But calling Patrick Mahomes fat, that's certainly decision.
So you'll hear what that sounded like. And the fall
out when we come back here on the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (01:52:03):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (01:52:11):
Shout out to the legend Bill Warrel. Right there. Bill
and I would exchange.

Speaker 5 (01:52:21):
Very timely and hilarious text messages as the season would
unfold this last year. And we I mean I Bill
and I don't text a lot, but when we do,
it's always good exchange.

Speaker 4 (01:52:30):
Like Bill Orell, I love Bill Roll.

Speaker 5 (01:52:32):
He's that is Bill Warrell and Calvin Murphy as a duo.
That's that's the voice of a lot of our childhoods
sitting here my age forty four. Just and the fact
that you know, Calvin's still around. I can see him
every single home game at the Rockets at Toyota Center.

Speaker 4 (01:52:51):
I love that.

Speaker 5 (01:52:52):
So good stuff right there, And good stuff continues he
all right, Look, we didn't get to what I had
planned on talking about last segment, because this is what
I do, Cole, I have a d D. And when
we all here, yeah, when WEX isn't here to keep
us all on task, you know, and slap our hands
with the rulers, Well that's what happens.

Speaker 6 (01:53:13):
So is he ever sloughts my hand with the ruler,
watch what happens to him?

Speaker 4 (01:53:17):
What do you How is he gonna do that when
you're in there exactly, That's what I'm wondering.

Speaker 6 (01:53:21):
Guess he gonna crun on over here, and then Bret's
gonna Brett's gonna flash the camera on over to us,
and then he's just gonna.

Speaker 4 (01:53:26):
See him beat me at the back corner. Jeez.

Speaker 5 (01:53:30):
All right, let's talk about Kevin Keatsman. I think I'm
pronouncing his last name. You are correctly. He is a
radio host in Kansas City. And there's no uh, there's
no need to really set this up. Let's just it's
it's pretty self explanatory. Let's hear what this guy had
to say about the city's most famous and successful athlete.

Speaker 11 (01:53:50):
Vacation photos are popping up with Patrick Mahomes, and he's fat.
He's an embarrassment. You're a five hundred million dollar quarterback.
You've made all these comments in the off season that
we're gonna do our talking on the field. Wet our
butts kicked in the Super Bowl, We're coming back with
a vengeance.

Speaker 4 (01:54:03):
Dude, you're fat.

Speaker 11 (01:54:04):
Your belly would be fat at my pool hanging out
with us sixty year olds. Okay, but there's no training
to this man, I don't understand it.

Speaker 4 (01:54:12):
He's not a kid anymore.

Speaker 11 (01:54:14):
You can't just run through your NFL career eating Taco
Bell all the time and door dashing Fried Chicken.

Speaker 4 (01:54:20):
It's time, dude, It's time.

Speaker 11 (01:54:22):
Going to camp and getting in shape is like nineteen
seventies baseball. Nobody does that anymore. That's not how it
works at the highest level. And I only do this
as a precaution because I love the guy. But I
cannot stand it when I see somebody just sit back
on their talent and not be the best that they are.

Speaker 4 (01:54:42):
All Right, I have several issues with what he just said.

Speaker 5 (01:54:45):
I have a lot of issues, not only I mean,
the least of which is what he was talking about
with Pat Mahomes first and foremost, why's he got a
bag on Taco Bell.

Speaker 4 (01:55:00):
I'm gonna back on Taco Bell. No you're not. I will,
okay on this show at two in the morning.

Speaker 6 (01:55:04):
It is the greatest thing alive at two in the morning,
when I am driving home, or even at midnight, like
if I'm doing an Astros game and I'm working the
board over here and then I drive home, and that's
what's open that hits the spot one thirty in the afternoon.

Speaker 4 (01:55:18):
I'm not gonna talk about why. I just don't. It
sits with me. It makes you want to fall asleep,
make I have things to do.

Speaker 6 (01:55:25):
It's like whenever you see those people who used to
be and I know that you don't part take perusing this,
but those who are taking gardening at early seven am
in the morning and they go about their day gardening. Gardening, Yes,
that's the term we're going to use for it. How
do you function afterwards? How does your day continue to
go on? That's me with Taco bell one at one
pm in the afternoon, and it's my stomach. I get chaloupa,

(01:55:47):
I get it's casadia. My day's over. I'm not moving
off the couch. How many times have you purchased a
Taco party pack?

Speaker 14 (01:55:57):
Uh?

Speaker 6 (01:55:58):
Oh, I can say at least a dozen. I can
say at least a dozen because I used to do that.
Whenever we would have like house parties, that'd be my contributions.
Step shown up with the alcohol. I would show up
with the Taco twelve pack.

Speaker 5 (01:56:09):
And by the way, stop just putting sour cream on
it and then calling it supreme. Because sour cream's discussed
smar cream is disgusting. But I just, first of all,
who knows what Patrick Mahomes eats during the off season.

Speaker 4 (01:56:23):
But the pictures, the pictures that.

Speaker 5 (01:56:27):
He was referencing, it's like he's got a little bit
of like tub It's not he's acting like this guy's
five hundred pounds.

Speaker 4 (01:56:39):
It's Jared Lorenzen in the backfield right now.

Speaker 5 (01:56:41):
Yeah, it's like he's he's always kind of been a
little this is what uh Teresa likes to call it fluffy,
you know, Okay, like it's he's always had a little
bit of that, even his face.

Speaker 4 (01:56:53):
You can see it in his face, you know what.

Speaker 6 (01:56:55):
He's already always remind me of like a three year
old that is coming out in his pull ups, like
a no shirt.

Speaker 5 (01:57:01):
Like he's got like that baby belly disheveled. Yes, exactly,
just like a bottle, just just very much. He's in
that milk drunk feed. Yeah, he's got milk drunk, is it?

Speaker 4 (01:57:10):
Yeah? That's Patrick Mahomes. And what has he done with that? Now?

Speaker 5 (01:57:14):
If this guy wants to argue that if he got
into the shape of his life, he could actually put
up better numbers, I'll actually hear that. But That's about
the only plausible argument he could make, because the guy
he's talking about has had this physique pretty much the
entire time he's been in the NFL, and as you
put it, he's being compared to the goat's he's hot

(01:57:36):
on the trail of Tom Brady. Now, that's as much
about the Chiefs managing their roster and their organization sure
as good, if not better than the Patriots did. Because
remember the Patriots, what are they won in two thousand
and one? They won, So they won three all before

(01:57:57):
twenty twelve, and then they took a hiatus and then
they won.

Speaker 4 (01:58:00):
Listen to that.

Speaker 5 (01:58:00):
Their first one was in two thousand and one, and
they won three by twenty twelve. Yeah, they went back.
They were here in two thousand and four and one.

Speaker 6 (01:58:08):
They were here in two thousand and four and one,
they won one in two thousand and six, they lost
in two thousand and seven, and they went and they.

Speaker 4 (01:58:13):
Lost in twenty eleven. They had three before two thousand
and eight.

Speaker 5 (01:58:17):
Yeah, Well, the Chiefs have a more impressive window right now,
do they not?

Speaker 4 (01:58:23):
Yeah? Because of also the proximity of each other.

Speaker 6 (01:58:26):
In terms of like astros, you can almost guarantee every
year the Chiefs are playing in the AFC champions Oh, the.

Speaker 5 (01:58:31):
Chiefs and the Astros have been running concurrently this entire stretch.

Speaker 6 (01:58:36):
Right, there's a one year separation between them in twenty
seventeen and mahomes in twenty eighteen.

Speaker 4 (01:58:41):
Yeah, that's it.

Speaker 5 (01:58:42):
And other than that, they've both been right there every
single year. So that's one thing. The other thing is
any time that somebody that does what we do is
going to critique some sort of physical ailment or condition
or look or what have you, well you should probably be.

Speaker 4 (01:59:04):
In really good shape yourself. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:59:05):
I mean, I know that you're not expected to play
quarterback for the Chiefs and you don't have a five
hundred million dollar contract about it.

Speaker 4 (01:59:12):
I understand what.

Speaker 5 (01:59:12):
He's trying to say, but there is no way he
was going to win here.

Speaker 6 (01:59:17):
When you said, you look like one of me and
my dudes at a pool party and we're sixty for starters,
you're sixty pipe down. Yeah, he's playing quarterback at twenty
nine years old, has multiple MVPs and a couple of
Super Bowls. Attacher's name, you're sixty, Shut up. I don't
need to hear your opinion. On that, and also the
fact that you were to throw in your wrinkly old

(01:59:38):
skin like as an added bunch, I don't want.

Speaker 4 (01:59:40):
To picture that.

Speaker 6 (01:59:41):
I would tune out at that point to everything else
that you're saying, because nobody wants to think of you
laying around in your pool at sixty years old. I
want to think about Patrick Mahomes either, but at least
with him, he's twenty nine.

Speaker 4 (01:59:52):
He could fix that. You are who you are at
your age.

Speaker 5 (01:59:55):
Mahomes is a trainer. Bobby Stroup, as you may have imagined,
I need one A big fan of these comments. He
tweeted the following or posted the following on x and
he has deleted them since.

Speaker 4 (02:00:07):
Quote. You obviously need attention.

Speaker 5 (02:00:08):
If you want to see what in shape is, go
make it through a practice at Saint Joe or run
hurry up offense scrambling back to back to back plays.
You don't have a clue what it takes. It's not
a look, it's performance, dude.

Speaker 6 (02:00:19):
Invite him to a workout and make sure and if
he throws up one time, then I'm automatically as right
an apology ladder.

Speaker 5 (02:00:25):
Yeah, that was that was one for the records. That
was one for the record books. All right, we will
take a quick time out when we come back five
o'clock hour, final hour of the day, Football at five,
and we need to talk about another serious matter involving
a top five NFL quarterback, the A teed.

Speaker 1 (02:00:45):
On Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (02:00:50):
Adam Clinton and Adam Weckfler are the A teay.

Speaker 4 (02:01:03):
Football at five underway here.

Speaker 5 (02:01:08):
As we start the final hour of a Tuesday edition
of the program Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (02:01:12):
You know, i was talking.

Speaker 5 (02:01:13):
About the whole head coat cold situation going into the
vacation last week. I'm still got like I still got
the cough drop thing going on, just to kind of
it's like my little it's like my training wheels before
I really can take the training wheels off and fly again.

Speaker 4 (02:01:31):
That's where I'm at right now.

Speaker 5 (02:01:32):
It's I'm still kind of battling through it, so bear
with me, but back at it again, and wex will
be back in here on Wednesday or on Monday of
next week, will be that much closer to training camp,
which means fat Pat Mahomes not my words. Some Kansas
City radio hosts CJ. Stroud and the rest of the

(02:01:53):
quarterbacks will be reporting and before you know it, they'll
be not playing in preseason games and getting ready to
start for games that matter once the NFL season gets
underway in September, as this tradition, Yeah, exactly, especially like
and you know, there's three preseason games now before we
know that, there's gonna be eighteen games on the schedule
in two preseason games and then you're really never going
to see anybody who matters playing the preseason. It's just

(02:02:16):
the fact that the NFL charges full price for some
of these games is a travesty.

Speaker 4 (02:02:20):
But I digress. We need to talk about something serious.

Speaker 5 (02:02:23):
And I know that quarterbacks are the most important position,
not only to their teams but in sports. And I
know that they make a ton of money, and I
know that they're very important. They are investments for these
organizations and they you know, they're important. What they do
on and off the field year round is absolutely paramount

(02:02:43):
to winning at all times or losing at all times,
depending on who you have. Like if you're you know,
if you're the Cleveland Browns and you have Deshaun Watson
and you've paid him two hundred and thirty million, guaranteed
you're going to lose a lot. But for teams like
the Texans, for teams like you know, the Eagles who
want to you know, repeat a Super Bowl champions and
the Chiefs who want to get back there, and on
and on and on. They have their sights set on winning.

(02:03:05):
And I think that's the same in Cincinnati. I think
the Bengals and Joe Burrow. They can say he's a
top five quarterback. They can say he's one of the
elite passers in this league, and yeah, all those things
are accurate.

Speaker 4 (02:03:18):
But well, he's not buying the batmobile, Cole. He's not
buying it.

Speaker 5 (02:03:25):
Wait, he actually didn't do it, so he canceled why
he had it. He had it like ready to go.
He wanted to get a fully functioning and if you
saw the video, they were out at practice I think
one day and he's talking to somebody I can't remember
who it was, and they have him miked up because
he was on he was it was either he was

(02:03:49):
miked up, Yeah, it was. It was last season's Hard Knocks,
Hard Knocks, and he goes he was like talking about
getting it and then all of a sudden he had
a home burglary.

Speaker 4 (02:04:02):
Remember this, Yeah, they when he was on a road trip.
He was on the road.

Speaker 5 (02:04:06):
Yeah, that's and that's by the way, when you get
like your car stolen. I don't know if any of you,
hopefully none of you guys have experienced that. I had
that when I was a kid. We actually had a
vehicle stolen at Willowbrook Mall. Thanks for Nothing, Willowbrook Mall.
And that was when it was good. Anyway, It's just
it's like this this violation feeling. It's just just knowing

(02:04:26):
that somebody took that property, or in the case of
Joe Burrow, they were in your home, trying to get
into your all that kind of stuff. So apparently that
home burglary caused Joe Burrow to cancel his purchase of
a replica, fully functioning Batmobile. So he revealed this in

(02:04:49):
the last season or the latest season, I should say,
of the Netflix show Quarterback that was released today. The
decision came after his Cincinnati home was broken into last
December while the Bengals were on the road playing the
Dallas Cowboys. His novelty vehicle purchase initially revealed during last
year's in season installment of Hard Knocks, which chronicled the

(02:05:11):
seasons of the four AFC North teams. But the quote
is I didn't end up getting a Batmobile because I
just had other things I wanted to deal with at
that point. What other things did you have to deal with, Joe,
that were more important than purchasing a fully functional replica

(02:05:32):
of the Batmobile?

Speaker 4 (02:05:33):
I got a better question for you.

Speaker 6 (02:05:34):
Who's breaking into your house when they know Batman lives there?

Speaker 4 (02:05:38):
Right?

Speaker 5 (02:05:38):
That's the other thing, because it could be argued that
if the Batmobile is there, even if it's a fully
functional replica, then the bat Cave can't be far behind.
And if the bat Cave is at Joe Burrow's house,
what does that make your team if he's gonna play.
If your team's gonna play Joe Burrow, it makes your
team dead meat. Yeah, so I understand, like I think

(02:06:02):
where he's coming from.

Speaker 4 (02:06:03):
I don't, but I don't care, is what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (02:06:06):
I want you, I need you, Joe, to purchase the
three million dollars it's going to take to get that
fully functioning replica Batmobile, because let's face it, no one
else can afford that, and we all want to live
vicariously through you, even if you are.

Speaker 4 (02:06:23):
Batman, which battlelbile.

Speaker 6 (02:06:25):
Is is it the one from like the nineteen nineties
movies or is it the TV show where the two
thousand and five Christopher Nolan film.

Speaker 5 (02:06:30):
I think it's the Christopher Nolan one. Okay, now you
have to buy the battle right. It's a tank, It
growls at you.

Speaker 4 (02:06:36):
It's a tank.

Speaker 6 (02:06:37):
It also can shoot out and turn into a motorcycle
at any given moment and then blow up behind you.

Speaker 4 (02:06:42):
Like, now, how are you not excited about that?

Speaker 5 (02:06:44):
Well, to be fair, and the article goes on to
say Burrow spoke extensively about the burglary that led to
multiple arrests and a federal grand jury indictment that alleged
Burrow's home was robbed by members of a large criminal network. Hello,
so the well Coney family is coming after you at
this point, what do you think Batman does? He doesn't

(02:07:05):
take off like small scale criminals. He takes down large
criminal networks.

Speaker 6 (02:07:11):
He literally the entire plot of The Dark Night and
Batman Begins is trying to fight the Falcone Front crime family.

Speaker 4 (02:07:20):
That's the job, the Batmobile.

Speaker 5 (02:07:22):
This is a quote. I just get very uncomfortable. My
life is very public. That comes with the job. But
there's certain parts of your life that are yours. Your
house is.

Speaker 4 (02:07:33):
One of those. We'll see if I end up moving
or not.

Speaker 5 (02:07:36):
Now the whole world knows where I live now, but
that hasn't been very fun to deal with.

Speaker 6 (02:07:42):
Okay, well, think about this for a second. Every single
cool team in the AFC has somebody to kind of
go ahead and represent them. The Bills now have Hailey Steinfeld.
Taylor's with this going out with Kansas City. The way
to get Cincinnati into the playoffs and make them a
household name is you have the Batmobile, Bruce Wayne, you
get to fight crime in the middle of the night

(02:08:03):
and then throw for four hundred and twenty five yards
to Jamar Chase and the t Higgins the following day,
who are dressed up as Robin and Nightwing.

Speaker 4 (02:08:11):
Like, honestly, how are you not excited about that?

Speaker 5 (02:08:14):
So, unless you're planning on starting a long term and
eventual marriage relationship with like Sabrina Carpenter, I'm gonna needs
you to buy the batmobile.

Speaker 6 (02:08:21):
You're gonna have to buy the batmobile because he can't.
He's in a very healthy, happy relationship. So you know what,
maybe you need to end that relationship. And go by
the Batmobile so that we turn into full Bruce Way.

Speaker 4 (02:08:30):
Who's he dating. I don't know, some random chick, but
he is. You know this for a fact.

Speaker 5 (02:08:34):
He's been with her for a while. I know that
she's got to go. Exactly, She's got to go or
you buy the batmobile. Well, no one or the other.

Speaker 6 (02:08:41):
She has to go the same way that Josh Allen
lecho of his girlfriend. They were dating forever, they were
together for the time that they were on and Steine,
and then a month later he met Hailey Steinfeld.

Speaker 4 (02:08:51):
And married her.

Speaker 6 (02:08:51):
That's what you gotta do, and then buy the batmobile.
I promise you you'll pull Sabrina Carpenter that way.

Speaker 5 (02:08:56):
Have Okay, So here's something that you're gonna enjoy quite
a bit. I met Hailey Steinfeld and Sabrina Carpenter in
the same day.

Speaker 4 (02:09:04):
Hailey Steinfeld bet nicer than Sabrina.

Speaker 5 (02:09:06):
They were both very nice to me. Yeah, they were
also both like fifteen at the time. Oh okay, you
see at the start off with.

Speaker 4 (02:09:13):
That no, no, no, no, it starts off with that.

Speaker 14 (02:09:15):
No.

Speaker 5 (02:09:16):
It's better when I say. I met Hailey Steinfeld and
Sabrina Carpenter in the same.

Speaker 6 (02:09:20):
Day, did you think about it and you're like, okay,
we'll hold up.

Speaker 4 (02:09:22):
How old we there? We go now now it just makes.

Speaker 5 (02:09:24):
Me say, I think what I need to do is
during the break, send you the audio of both of
them saying hello to Brooklyn, my stepdaughter, who was also
very young at the time. I mean she was probably
seven ten now she was nine when when Teresa and
I started dating, so she was probably ten eleven twelve.

Speaker 4 (02:09:43):
At the most.

Speaker 5 (02:09:44):
Where we were at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Vegas,
Teresa was one of three air talents that was doing
like backstage interviews and kind of it was a national
shift basically across the iHeartRadio platform. It involved her, you know,
interviewing a lot of the acts that were like it

(02:10:05):
was awesome, like Halsey was there, twenty one pilots, I
want to say, and this was like not the one
they had like this show at the arena later where.

Speaker 4 (02:10:14):
Like the biggest award show.

Speaker 5 (02:10:16):
Yeah yeah, but then like the one that was like
this is the same field where that unfortunate incident took
place where the guy was at the mandel A Bay
that was the next weekend that happened. Oh yeah, So
like this was a long time ago, but yeah, we
were out there and like, uh, Hailey Steinfeld, Sabrina Carper,
all these people were coming back through like the backstage

(02:10:37):
area before they would go on stage.

Speaker 4 (02:10:39):
Right, so like she would talk to them or she.

Speaker 5 (02:10:42):
Was some of these she wasn't even interviewing, but I
was just they were doing interviews and it's out back there,
so I'm just like, well, Brooklyn loves her. Let me
see if I can get her to say hi to
Brooklyn on my camera. And that's what I did, So
maybe I'll send those during the break.

Speaker 6 (02:10:57):
I think I think Sabrina's kinda got with one of
the afcqueuarterbacks in this.

Speaker 5 (02:11:00):
I think Joe Burrow needs to date Sabrina Carpenter. Actually,
you know what, screw that.

Speaker 4 (02:11:06):
Needs say what are you doing?

Speaker 14 (02:11:07):
You want?

Speaker 4 (02:11:08):
I want Sabrina Carpenter at Energy You know what, No,
let's just get him. Let's just talk letter date justin
Herbert at this point. Let's just have that. No, no, no, no,
why not, let's.

Speaker 5 (02:11:16):
Just that because he's not a top ten quarterback.

Speaker 4 (02:11:18):
Okay, well exactly, but you want to what do you have?
Top five? Aura? And then I'll be right and say
that he is a top five quarterback.

Speaker 5 (02:11:24):
I'll tell you I'm about this Clay and we're gonna
see this guy. I think on one of the days
this weekend, I've about decided that Justin Herbert is going
to join Nate Uvaldi as on my bum list. He's
a bum on the list. Well, those two are on
it right now. Yeah, but there's room. We're gonna have tryouts.

Speaker 6 (02:11:45):
See Okay, okay, no, no, who's the joker that now?
Joe Burrow has to fight as Batman? Would it be
Mahomes Fat Mahomes? Why that's so much? I still don't
that's so much?

Speaker 5 (02:11:57):
She said, that's not right, man. Something happened. Then there's
an inside job, you see. That's what happens when you
I'm not gonna say that. I that death broke my heart.

Speaker 4 (02:12:07):
It legit.

Speaker 5 (02:12:08):
I'm like, gosh, this and it made him so much better.
And you went to go see the movie. He it
was so much better. He got an Academy, he got
a posthumous Academy because he was so good. We actually
watched that over the week. Brooklyn had never seen The
Dark Knight, so we watched it. You're in Orange Beach
so good. Yeah, it wasn't good though, because that's that's
one of those rangy movies where it's really really loud

(02:12:28):
and then it gets really really quiet. Then you can't
watch it on a normal TV. That's all I'm gonna say.
All right, there's your Joe Burrow Batmobile segment. When we
come back, we will continue here. There's someone who's trending
to return to their American League team, which reminds me
of my hot take about that team. I'll explain when
we come back.

Speaker 2 (02:12:49):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:12:58):
It is the a team Sports Talk seven ninety, Space
City Home Network AC with you, Wex on vacation back
on Monday.

Speaker 4 (02:13:07):
Cole Thompson in as per usual.

Speaker 5 (02:13:11):
So Alex Bregman is apparently trending toward a return those
are his words. Trending towards a return here pretty quickly,
whether it's the end of this week or first game
after the All Star break, one of those two, but
hopefully it will be the end of this week. The
Red Sox finish their three game series with Colorado tomorrow,

(02:13:36):
then they host Tampa Bay for a four game series
Thursday to Sunday, and that'll be it. For the first
half pre All Star Break portion of the calendar. Bregman
is going to opt out. That is I never thought
we would get to this point. I honestly, I don't

(02:13:56):
think anybody thought that he was going to have the
type of season he's having.

Speaker 4 (02:13:59):
Even though he got hurt. He got hurt.

Speaker 5 (02:14:03):
After signing one hundred and twenty million, three year deal
during the offseason. Of course he had He was hitting
two ninety nine, eleven home runs thirty five runs back
an end before suffering an injury. But this is forty
games as of last night that he's been sidelined. It's
a lot like his left quad strain in twenty twenty one,
which we all remember. The fact that the Astros made

(02:14:24):
the twenty one World Series is just stupid. No, Justin Verlander,
Lance mccullors Junior was your ace. Bregman was injured. I
think Altuove ended up having surgery after the season, just
like a total house money season, and they took the
Brave to six games.

Speaker 4 (02:14:44):
Just incredible. Here's where I get to my hot take.

Speaker 5 (02:14:53):
The Red Sox are not gonna make the postseason and
Alex Bregman is not only gonna opt out, he's gonna
leave now where he goes, I'm not sure.

Speaker 4 (02:15:05):
But you're the Red Sox. You have allowed.

Speaker 5 (02:15:11):
A situation like what happened with with Raphael Devers to
cloud the greater good of your organization.

Speaker 4 (02:15:21):
Okay, you like, I get it.

Speaker 5 (02:15:23):
People break up all the time and players break up
with organizations and vice versa. I get all that, But
Bregman doesn't want to hear that Bregman signed with you
and not say the AO leading Detroit Tigers because probably
he thought he'd get unless unless it just really did
come down to the money. But it sounded to me

(02:15:43):
like it was a two horse race, and it sounded
like Detroit had the upper hand until like the last second.

Speaker 6 (02:15:48):
Detroit had the upper hand until literally the last second.
That was what everyone had reported. That was what everyone
had kind of said. Remember when they were bringing up
that the ass shows were interested. Again, the Asses were interested.

Speaker 4 (02:15:59):
It was no conversation.

Speaker 6 (02:16:00):
It was down to Detroit, and it was down to Boston.
And then a dark horse I heard was Toronto, which again,
if he was in Toronto, he would have been playing
with George Springer and he would have been on a
first place team in the same division as Boston.

Speaker 5 (02:16:13):
That's again, that's one of the main reasons I'm saying this.
It's not even that hot of a take when you consider,
like if you think the Yankees are gonna turn it
around because they're just so talented, which I don't know
about that. But Toronto is like, like I asked a
question earlier, who's gonna have a hotter post All Star
Break finish to the year in the al the Astros

(02:16:35):
who are gonna get super healthier presumably or Toronto who's
playing well right now, but there's no necessarily rhyme or
reason for it when they weren't doing this at the
beginning of the year.

Speaker 6 (02:16:46):
Does Toronto make a big trade before will so? Again,
if you throw that in, then I could lean to
where you maybe say Toronto ends up.

Speaker 5 (02:16:54):
Having a But do the Yankees. No, But that's the
thing I don't think the Yankees do.

Speaker 4 (02:16:57):
Do the Mariners? Who who is the option?

Speaker 6 (02:17:01):
Like it's nailer or bust for me when it comes
down to them, because I don't think that they're going
to go after Suarez.

Speaker 4 (02:17:05):
I think Suarez will either go to the Tigers or
he'll go to the in.

Speaker 5 (02:17:08):
I mean the guy they had, Yeah, the guy they had.
They didn't know what they had.

Speaker 6 (02:17:11):
Again, it's like breaking up with a really good girlfriend
when you're in your worst stage of life.

Speaker 4 (02:17:15):
That was them. Is she hot? Yeah, she's like an eight.
She's like an eight point five. That's really hot.

Speaker 6 (02:17:23):
I say, she's like an eight point five. But she
also is willing to cook. She also is willing to
watch sports of you and hear your dumb take.

Speaker 4 (02:17:29):
Does she clean? No, that's one thing she doesn't, all right, because.

Speaker 5 (02:17:33):
Eminem told me it's like a woman with good looks
who cooks and cleans doesn't exist.

Speaker 4 (02:17:37):
That's what he said. Right.

Speaker 6 (02:17:38):
So she can make you a three course meal, but
you are going to have to do the dishes afterwards,
and you're also going to have to make sure that
the carpet is cleaned.

Speaker 4 (02:17:45):
I think the.

Speaker 5 (02:17:46):
Dishes this morning after Teresa cooked last night.

Speaker 4 (02:17:49):
Yeah, I see it.

Speaker 5 (02:17:50):
It was the first home cooked meal since we got
back from vacation, and she made the most amazing pasta.

Speaker 12 (02:17:56):
Oh man, it was so good.

Speaker 4 (02:17:58):
Now I'm hungry.

Speaker 6 (02:17:58):
Yeah, back to back, back back to Bregman.

Speaker 4 (02:18:01):
Now I will pull Wex. Let's get back to bow Alex.

Speaker 5 (02:18:04):
Bregman is going to opt out that's not a surprise.
Alex Bregman leaving the Red Sox after opting out.

Speaker 4 (02:18:11):
Fifty fifty for me.

Speaker 5 (02:18:13):
Well, here's what's gonna come down to. What he and
by he, I mean Scott Boris is gonna say is Hey,
he signed here for admittedly forty million a year, but
he thought he was gonna be playing with a much
better team than this. And part of the reason the
team is not as good, whether it's you know, matters
to you or not because of who it was and

(02:18:33):
what was going on. Is it Rafael Devers isn't here anymore.
He's a giant.

Speaker 6 (02:18:37):
Yeah, But did you hear about Rev Devers on what's
going on with him in San Francisco? I may or
may not have about how he snubbed one of the legends, which.

Speaker 5 (02:18:44):
Legend Dave Clark. Well, if it's not very bonds, does
it matter kinda?

Speaker 6 (02:18:48):
I mean, if you're the if you're new to the
organization and you have one of the biggest role Devers,
but you're one of the best Giants players of all time,
and he's like, hey, let me maybe teach you a
thing or two about playing first base, a position that
you don't know, and you also said you were willing
to learn, and you blow him off, Like, how does
that end up helping your franchise.

Speaker 4 (02:19:08):
He's probably not the best guy.

Speaker 6 (02:19:10):
I mean, he's probably one of those people that on
the field offers you an incredible bat.

Speaker 4 (02:19:15):
Off the field, I don't want to deal with you.
He's always rubbed me the wrong way. Devers is it
the baby face. It's just his manner.

Speaker 5 (02:19:23):
It's like Machadogato just got his two thousand hit, but
like it's not just Dodgers fan, Like a large majority
of baseball fans don't really care for him because he's
just a jackass.

Speaker 4 (02:19:33):
It's a baby face for me. I don't know if
they both have babyfaces.

Speaker 6 (02:19:37):
Machild of me doesn't have a baby face because he
has facial hair, Like that would be weird to see
a two year old walking around the facial hair. Yeah,
that's true with Devers. He looked like a seventeen year
old when he came up. He still looks seventeen in
the face, but he's got the belly that we're talking about.

Speaker 4 (02:19:53):
That's seventeen year old.

Speaker 6 (02:19:54):
He is a He's a very doughy seventeen year old,
which is why he can't play defense.

Speaker 5 (02:19:59):
But again going back to the Al East, presuming the
Yankees get it together, because regardless of what was happening,
even when Bregman was healthy, the Yankees were still right there. Right,
So if the Yankees and the Blue Jays are there
and the Rays are good too.

Speaker 6 (02:20:15):
Until they're gonna talk it to the deadline and they
trade away their past hosss.

Speaker 4 (02:20:17):
Well that's fine.

Speaker 5 (02:20:18):
But like, if you're the Red Sox without Devers and
with Bregman, what are you a second place team at best?

Speaker 6 (02:20:27):
Right in that vision, I would say at best and
the third wild card team.

Speaker 5 (02:20:32):
Okay, but that's that's assuming they're gonna get that many
wild cards out of that division.

Speaker 6 (02:20:38):
That's not what I'm saying. That's assuming that they can
get at least Okay. So the Yankees, I think are
at this point, are still gonna be in I don't
tell they okay.

Speaker 4 (02:20:45):
Right now?

Speaker 5 (02:20:46):
Tonight, the Yankees and the Mariners start a series, which
is just delicious for me. Yeah, because they're gonna beat
up on each other. It doesn't matter. It's happening in
New York. So probably Seattle actually wins that series because
they don't play well at home because you can't hit
in a cavernous stadium like that.

Speaker 4 (02:21:02):
Just bring your next two uh, just wring your next
two games here. Soon you're fine.

Speaker 5 (02:21:05):
But I mean cal Rawley's gonna eat. Yeah, but this
may decide the MVP. Dude, these two teams are a
game away from each other in the Wildhart standings well. No,
the Seattle is forty eight and forty two. The Yankees
after their tailspin are a game better. They're forty nine
and forty one. These two teams are neck and neck
right now. Yeah, like Seattle is honestly, and I don't know,

(02:21:28):
I don't know what Seattle we're gonna get. I mean,
sweeping the Pirates is nothing. But if the Seattle Mariners
win two out of three against the Yankees, that's gonna
help the Astros more than anything else.

Speaker 6 (02:21:37):
I say, it helps out the Astros for making sure
they have number one home field advantage and where they
stand in the pecking order.

Speaker 4 (02:21:42):
I think.

Speaker 5 (02:21:43):
So that's why the Astros need to not They need
to stop messing around and beat the stupid Guardians.

Speaker 4 (02:21:47):
And they will. I will happen. Brown's gonna have eleven
strikeouts tonight.

Speaker 6 (02:21:51):
Just stick it out there, I'll throw Okay, I will
throw the over under at nine and a half. Look
at that lineup, be honest, be honest, right now, nine
and a half is the line over you're taking any over,
I will take the under.

Speaker 14 (02:22:01):
He is.

Speaker 4 (02:22:02):
Listen again, this a lot a lot of this has.

Speaker 5 (02:22:06):
To do with who they're playing, but Hunter Brown, and
I'm bringing up his uh, I'm bringing up his game
log here just to see.

Speaker 6 (02:22:16):
Has he had anything more than a nine strikeout game
this season?

Speaker 4 (02:22:18):
He's had twelve against the Twins. That was it. Okay,
so he didn't have a twelve strikeout game, but he's
had let me just I'll just go down the list.

Speaker 5 (02:22:26):
His last time out was the second against Colorado at
eight yep nine against the Phillies, right only four against Anaheim,
twelve against the Twins, nine against the Guardians the last
time he saw them. So that again, that bolsters my argument.
But it's at nine.

Speaker 6 (02:22:41):
That's why I said the line at nine, because we're
hovering that eight to nine range.

Speaker 5 (02:22:45):
Yeah, but he's home now, Okay, that was at Cleveland,
so again nine on the road, so he's basically gonna
have fifteen to night.

Speaker 4 (02:22:50):
I've changed my mind. I'm gonna say fifteen. I'm gonna
get twenty like Cary would. Okay, you're gonna say twenty.

Speaker 6 (02:22:54):
Now I'm gonna go and be civil and you know,
an adult, and not go be degenerate.

Speaker 5 (02:22:59):
I will say in all seriousness, he's had nine a
lot like over half of his games.

Speaker 4 (02:23:06):
It looks like this year he's had nine.

Speaker 5 (02:23:09):
There's a lot of nines. That's all I'm gonna say. Right,
it was twelve was his high.

Speaker 4 (02:23:14):
Four was his love.

Speaker 5 (02:23:16):
No, he had three against Seattle in a loss at
Seattle on April ninth, but nobody was playing.

Speaker 4 (02:23:21):
Well back then.

Speaker 5 (02:23:23):
Hunter Brown's getting over nine strikeouts tonight, all right, in.

Speaker 4 (02:23:27):
Case you missed it, coming up next, the A.

Speaker 1 (02:23:32):
Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:23:40):
It is the A Team Sports Talk seven ninety. Wex
on vacation AC and Cole with you all week long,
and it's the time of day where we feature Coal.
We just step aside and let him do all the work.
It's in case you missed it.

Speaker 4 (02:23:55):
Go so remember how we talked about earlier in the show.

Speaker 6 (02:23:58):
Yes, good old Kevin Durant, Tom to Houston. I remember
Profell so beautiful dude saying all the nice things all
things that Houston, all things using Rocket fans want here
about how this was the deal that we knew was
gonna get done.

Speaker 4 (02:24:10):
We believed in him.

Speaker 6 (02:24:11):
I think that Kevin Durant made sure that he was
coming to Houston. Recently was doing an interview alongside the
likes of Steve Nash and Lebron James and long and Behold.
He talked specifically about email Udoka and the impact that
he had on him and how challenging it was to
prepare to play against a Rockets team we played Houston.

Speaker 17 (02:24:34):
Emil Dka does a good job there. He would go
one possession regular man, next possession zone, go back to man,
the next three possession zone, all in the first two
in the first quarter, and it's like, Okay, how good
you are as a team, how connected you are as
a group, how well you passed? Guys are unselfish if
the coach does that and you're not prepared for all

(02:24:56):
about you all.

Speaker 4 (02:24:57):
Off that.

Speaker 5 (02:25:00):
Man. He I told you this earlier, like when we
were still talking about it before the trade was actually made,
and I and I said this back in February. They
came in. He had thirty seven on like fifteen of
twenty three shooting. It looked like an audition, but it
was more about his interaction with e May, his interaction

(02:25:25):
with you know, the Jeff Greens of the world.

Speaker 4 (02:25:29):
He looked like he was coming here.

Speaker 5 (02:25:32):
I'm not even like I don't normally say this kind
of stuff, like especially on for effect.

Speaker 4 (02:25:36):
That's just not what I what I usually do it.
I said it.

Speaker 5 (02:25:40):
Then I turned a Matt Off air and I was like,
he's coming here, He's coming Okay.

Speaker 6 (02:25:44):
Do you remember when Shoeo Tani was expected to hit
the free agency and everyone's like, he's going to Dodgers,
He's going to the doctor. It's the same thing. That's
how I feel. He won't have to worry about what
was going on with with Minnesota. You didn't have to
worry about Milwaukee, didn't have to worry about any other team.
Just the attitude and the familiarity. Yeah, I think made
it clear that there was a culture, there was an identy.

Speaker 5 (02:26:08):
There was a role that he knew he needed to fill.
There was the relationship.

Speaker 6 (02:26:12):
There was the I have an opportunity to win now,
and also I can do it in a place to
where I have been rumored to have been going to
for several years. Let's just go ahead and get this done.
No reason to panic, no reason to overthink this. Call
call whoever you have to to make sure that I'm
in Houston when July seventh thirls around. That's how I

(02:26:32):
felt when it comes to that. And I think that
the way he spoke and the way that he presented
the argument, and the way that he talked about, you know,
the defensive metrics, that's a selling point. The fact that
he had a chance to mention images in general. He's
not mentioning other coaches that alllone makes you feel like
that this is a gun deal.

Speaker 5 (02:26:51):
Yeah, listen, I don't worry about any part of this
not working out other than a catastrophic injury. If he
gets hurt, he misses a few games, you know, nicks
and bruises and all that kind of stuff that happens
over the court, you sprain ank or whatever. But other
than a major injury where he can't this, they're going

(02:27:14):
to be better. They're going to win more games, They're
going to be a Western Conference finalist.

Speaker 4 (02:27:21):
That that is.

Speaker 5 (02:27:22):
What that is the floor for this upcoming season, in
my opinion. So you think the floor is Western Conference finals.

Speaker 4 (02:27:29):
Okay, what do you.

Speaker 6 (02:27:30):
Think the floor is for college football playoff Big Twelve
having multiple teams?

Speaker 4 (02:27:37):
What's what's less than zero? So you think less than zero? Well,
when the SEC gets all the teams? Okay? Cool? So
you think, do you believe the SEC is gonna get
all the teams? Mostly? Well, shouldn't? I I mean you
should because it just means more. It does.

Speaker 5 (02:27:49):
I haven't said that since I got back, and I
said it while I was gone. I was like, you
know what this seafood I'm having here in Orange Beach,
it just means more.

Speaker 6 (02:27:58):
Yeah, because they're an SEC country, but we're going to
break your our country.

Speaker 4 (02:28:01):
Who wants to speak highly of.

Speaker 6 (02:28:03):
The Big Twelve and I get it, you got to
sell your conference as the commissioner, But dude, just remember
there is a reason why the Big Twelve only has
one representative.

Speaker 5 (02:28:13):
Unfortunately he is that way. Going into twenty twenty five.

Speaker 8 (02:28:17):
I believe we will be the deepest football conference in America.
No league offers the competitive balance that we do. Last season,
the Big Twelve at the nation in fourth quarter lead
changes and go ahead scores in the final minute of
conference games. I fully expect the Big Twelve to earn
multiple college football playoff bids this year and to show

(02:28:40):
once again that we can compete with anyone.

Speaker 4 (02:28:45):
I wonder what his poison of choice was, because he's drunk, dude.
Oh you know what?

Speaker 5 (02:28:51):
You know why our conference is better because of all
the late lead changes.

Speaker 6 (02:28:57):
What okay here? So let's let let's le just go
break it down, little by little. Number one talk about
being the deepest conference in college football in terms of chaos.
No argument here in terms of you guys representing and
winning national titles.

Speaker 4 (02:29:12):
Stop talking, just stop.

Speaker 6 (02:29:14):
There's a reason why you can see a two to
ten team upset a nine to three team in the
Big twelve, and it doesn't happen in the SEC, it
doesn't happen to the Big Big ten, and it usually
doesn't happen in the ACC because it's crazy the most
fourth quarter lead changes do.

Speaker 4 (02:29:31):
That doesn't make you good.

Speaker 5 (02:29:33):
That means that everyone is on an equal playing field
of mediocrity, and somebody is keeping to ask you, No,
I want you to win this game.

Speaker 4 (02:29:41):
No I want you to win this game. No I
want you to win this game. I don't want to
win this You can win this game.

Speaker 5 (02:29:45):
That's what it means, and then you talk about being
able to compete with anybody. Okay, I understand Texas the
Peach Bowl last year, great game.

Speaker 4 (02:29:56):
I'm not gonna see you're not gonna it wasn't. But
you have that.

Speaker 5 (02:30:00):
Game and beating a two to ten Mississippi State team
that lost.

Speaker 4 (02:30:04):
To Toledo as your only arguments that's it. Well, be happy.

Speaker 6 (02:30:11):
That we still believe that you're a powerful program going
into twenty twenty five.

Speaker 5 (02:30:14):
But at the end of the day, and I realize
this is you know, maybe it's minutia in two in
depth football analysis, but bear with me, Cole. At the
end of the day, it just doesn't mean more in
the Big twelve. No, it doesn't, because nothing happens with you,
nothing less doesn't.

Speaker 4 (02:30:33):
I love Big twelve football.

Speaker 5 (02:30:34):
I'm not crapping on Big twelve football at all because
of it is something that I grew up with with Texas,
Texas A and m friends from.

Speaker 6 (02:30:40):
Oklahoma Texas Tech. But like guys, you have to read
the room. You're not Alabama, you're not Georgia, you're not
Ohio State.

Speaker 4 (02:30:50):
You have these.

Speaker 5 (02:30:51):
Teams, and by the way, the teams that they really like,
they're already talking about plucking away at some point when
they get to the Super League.

Speaker 4 (02:30:58):
What is that gonna make you? Just that we keep
you involved?

Speaker 6 (02:31:01):
Speaking of keeping you involved, tier rankings have come out
by ESPN on who can compete with the Oklahoma City
Thunder in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 4 (02:31:09):
What tier do you think the Rockets are in? The First,
they are in tier two because tier one, because Tier
one is the.

Speaker 6 (02:31:16):
Clear cut favorite Oklahoma City Thunder.

Speaker 4 (02:31:17):
Oh okay, So then tiers to compete.

Speaker 6 (02:31:20):
Ready to deny a repeat champion. Can you guess who
else is in that realm? There are three.

Speaker 5 (02:31:25):
Teams in the West? Yes, uh, Denver yep? So three
teams other than the Rockets.

Speaker 14 (02:31:30):
No.

Speaker 4 (02:31:30):
Three include the Rockets, So you have two. So it's
it's Rockets, Denver and Minnesota. Yep, there you go.

Speaker 6 (02:31:36):
Next on the list would be the old guard of
the LA Clippers, Los Angeles, Lakers, Golden State and Dallas
all fill in that role. And then Young and Hungry Memphis,
San Antonio, Portland, and then last which makes you laugh
really hard. What in the bleep is the plan? The
Sacramento Kings light the beam and continue to be a
mediocre franchise in a mediocre city.

Speaker 4 (02:31:57):
Light the Beam.

Speaker 5 (02:32:01):
I'm looking forward to Golden State's epic drop off this year.

Speaker 4 (02:32:04):
I'm just gonna go ahead and put that out there.

Speaker 5 (02:32:06):
Pajem Ski and the like, Jimmie Butler and Steph Curry
getting injured with like sprains and that kind of thing.

Speaker 4 (02:32:16):
It's happening. It's happening. Trust me.

Speaker 5 (02:32:18):
Hey, something else might be happening that I'm very very
excited about.

Speaker 4 (02:32:22):
We'll tell you about it next.

Speaker 1 (02:32:25):
The ag on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:32:34):
I have it on good authority that the Astros on
Deck Show will be emanating from right here in this studio,
in the very chair I'm sitting in, and that it
will be hosted by the one and only Ross Vireal.
He is the star of the Matt Thomas Show that

(02:32:54):
also has Matt Thomas on it, so he'll be hosting
the Astros on Deck Show. Getting you for Game two
of this three game step between the Astros and the
vaunted Cleveland Guardians. I say that, just don't pitch to
Jose Ramirez and everything's gonna be fine, even you, Hunter Brown,

(02:33:15):
as you get your more than over nine and a
half strikeouts? Was it eight and a half or nine
and a half. He's in nine and a half, eight
and a half. Oh okay, so I'm taking the over,
definitely taking the over. All, Right, we need to talk
about something very important, and honestly, let's be like, it's
July eighth, it's the All Star break coming up. You've

(02:33:39):
got quarterbacks being called fat by radio hosts, you have
you know, list radio galore. It's frankly, it's a slow
time in the sports calendar, even with the astros and
the thick of the things, even with Kevin Durant billboards
going up at the end of the day, we were

(02:34:01):
waiting on all of the good stuff to get here.
Football season, NBA, Major League Baseball postseason. It's all still
in the distant future. So I need something to hang
on to. I need something to get me going. And
even if this too is also in the probably more
than distant future, if indeed it happens, I am going

(02:34:24):
to be I texted my wife this earlier today and
I was like, frankly, I'm going to pass out if
they make this. I was sent something. Actually, Dan Matthews
sent this to me and it's actually five days old,
so Dan was really on top of things there. But
then again, I didn't see it, so he was more
on top of things than I was. The film Crimson Tide.

(02:34:49):
You seen that coal?

Speaker 6 (02:34:50):
No, but I probably should, just because of it's for
the University of Alabama.

Speaker 4 (02:34:54):
What is wrong with you? A lot of things?

Speaker 6 (02:34:56):
Where do you want to start? When I was born?

Speaker 5 (02:34:59):
Let's just start with the list of two films you
haven't seen that are almost up there with the time.
Wex hadn't seen Tombstone until I shamed him daily into
finally doing it.

Speaker 4 (02:35:09):
Boogie Knights. Yes, okay, that's fine.

Speaker 5 (02:35:11):
When Academy Awards are won because of the performances in
these movies, and they're real Academy Awards and real movies,
not crap movies that they make. Now did they give
to crappy actors?

Speaker 4 (02:35:22):
Sure?

Speaker 5 (02:35:22):
Like you know he already had an Academy I think
for Glory.

Speaker 4 (02:35:28):
Are you talking about Denzel?

Speaker 5 (02:35:29):
But Denzel got what is, in my opinion, his most
well earned Academy for his role as Alonso in Training Day.

Speaker 4 (02:35:37):
That was the one that I know him winning the Academy.

Speaker 5 (02:35:39):
For in Training Day. Wex hadn't seen either, and he
finally watched it. Yeah, that's dumb, But you haven't seen
Boogie Knights, and you haven't seen Crimson Tide.

Speaker 4 (02:35:48):
I've not seen Crimson Tide. Now, Crimson Tide is a
little bit more.

Speaker 5 (02:35:51):
It's not as well known, it's not as like much
of a blockbuster, but it's still a really good movie.

Speaker 6 (02:35:55):
Okay, is it more well known as a cult classic
or his?

Speaker 4 (02:36:00):
It's one of those. Okay, So it Gene Hackman in it.

Speaker 5 (02:36:02):
Okay, Gene Hackman, Dington facing off on a nuclear submarine.
That's as good as it gets, like, and it's a
power struggle aboard the ship.

Speaker 4 (02:36:15):
So I've heard of this movie. It's a Jerry Bruckheimer film.

Speaker 5 (02:36:19):
Some people look at that and they're like automatically now,
so it's not like Michael Bay where you just don't
Jerry Bruckheimer is like, is like what Michael Bay wants
to be?

Speaker 8 (02:36:28):
Right?

Speaker 5 (02:36:28):
It's not a Transformer eighth sequel, Okay, Crimson Tide and
this is I'm just reading from the site. When it
comes to the great Jerry Bruckheimer action films before the
one point four to nine billion grossing success of Top
Gun Maverick, most of them are game for a sequel,

(02:36:48):
including one to the nineteen ninety five, Tony Scott directed
nuclear submarine thriller Crimson Tide.

Speaker 4 (02:36:55):
Now Tony Scott committed suicide. I don't know if you
guys know that, Okay, And Gene Hackman's dead and.

Speaker 5 (02:36:59):
Gen Acman just recently passed away under unfortunate circumstances. But Denzel,
here's the kicker. We have a really good director writer
talking to the Navy right now about what's going on
under the water. Bruckheimer said in an interview with Rich
Eisen We have Denzel. If we give him a good script,

(02:37:22):
I think he'd do it.

Speaker 6 (02:37:23):
So they Okay, So let's just let's start here. You
can't promise that you have Denzel and.

Speaker 5 (02:37:31):
Then say, well, we think that if we give.

Speaker 4 (02:37:33):
Him a good script we have Well, no, you either
have him or you don't.

Speaker 5 (02:37:35):
You have him, but see Denzel, Like, if Denzel likes
the script he's in, is better than we hope to
get Denzel.

Speaker 4 (02:37:44):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 6 (02:37:45):
Right, But read the very last sentence again of the caper.

Speaker 4 (02:37:49):
If we give him a good script, I think he'd
do it.

Speaker 6 (02:37:52):
I think he'd do it, not that he would do it.
That's where I'm going to push back just a little bit.

Speaker 4 (02:37:56):
He is.

Speaker 5 (02:37:56):
You're talking about Jerry Bruckheimer. You're talking about the guy
that makes He's the he's the power broker in this situation. Sure,
he's going to give Denzel his twenty million or whatever
it's gonna cost, and he's going to make sure that
it is a good film because he's putting his name
on it. Right, And you can't much like Top Gun Maverick,

(02:38:18):
you can't do a sequel like this.

Speaker 4 (02:38:21):
And I'm not comparing.

Speaker 5 (02:38:22):
I mean Top Gun is a bigger brand than it
was before the sequel. Now Top Gun Maverick is one
of the best about making a third movie. They will
make a third movie exactly. And that's how you Cruise.
He's in, Tom Cruise is in.

Speaker 4 (02:38:34):
So are they gonna kill him off? I think so.
I think they have to.

Speaker 5 (02:38:38):
I don't think they have to, but I think they're
going to.

Speaker 6 (02:38:40):
I think they have to. Why because says Iceman dies.
I think because if you have to finish the story.
I think if you're gonna do anything, you move it
over to Rooster at.

Speaker 5 (02:38:47):
This point, finish the story. What is his Cody Rhodes, Sure,
why not?

Speaker 4 (02:38:52):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (02:38:52):
But Rooster can be he can become the man without
like why is why.

Speaker 4 (02:38:57):
Does Maverick have to die?

Speaker 6 (02:38:58):
You can't just let him. It's one of those things
with Maverick. He can't just be sitting at home idly.
It's like he's finally gonna burn out. Okay, y think
about this, like like like what's his name? Goose No,
like Mike and Mike and mad Dog, like Radio one
dude never want to get out.

Speaker 4 (02:39:14):
One dude said he retired and now.

Speaker 6 (02:39:16):
He still does things as a podcast for like a
random radio station out Long Island.

Speaker 4 (02:39:21):
Like he can't get out of the game. That's Maverick.

Speaker 6 (02:39:24):
Maverick's like I'm done, I'm ready to call it a career.
And then that's like nope, I'm right back in.

Speaker 4 (02:39:29):
You kill him.

Speaker 5 (02:39:29):
He has one hundred percent done. He can't do anything
but look as it as it pertains the Crimson Tide.
If you haven't seen it, it really is worth going.
I mean it's it's really good. It's and the soundtrack
is incredible, you know. I know because they've used the
soundtrack like the main theme for Crimson Tide for like
countless trailers for other movies.

Speaker 4 (02:39:49):
That's how you know it's a good And I think
they've ever used it a second time.

Speaker 6 (02:39:52):
Uh yeah, maybe he overuses not the right word. They've
duplicated it in other movies that because of how good
the music is.

Speaker 5 (02:39:59):
Yes, I think it's Hans Zimmer, by the way, that
was before Hans Zimmer was like a huge name that
did Dark Knight and all that. Like Hans Zimmer's been
at it for a while. Anyway, if Denzel's in, if
they make this movie, I'm absolutely in. Cannot wait. Let's
go opening day, opening morning. I'll be there. That's how
good the first one.

Speaker 6 (02:40:18):
If they get Denzel to do this, I will make
sure I watch it on the day that he signs
the contract that he is going to be in.

Speaker 4 (02:40:23):
The secret way, I'll watch it. There you go, There
you go.

Speaker 6 (02:40:26):
I will find a way to watch Boogie Nights within
the next I will say, three weeks before August first
rolls around, I will give you a full on interview
of my thoughts on Boogie Nights with William H. Macy
doing something very tragic and uh Mark Wahlberg being Mark Wahlberg.

Speaker 5 (02:40:40):
He does other things in that movie. All Right, we
will call it a day. We will be back at
it again tomorrow. Talking about an Astros victory, speaking of which,
Astro is on deck right around the corner with Ross
Viial and we will see you tomorrow at Too

Speaker 1 (02:40:56):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety