Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A team A team.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Bye Bye Buccos, Pirates be gone, and finally this week
and Astros dub The last two Astros wins have come
thanks to late home runs Saturday night, the vibes from
Alex Bregman's home run immaculate, immaculate, Monday and Sunday and
(00:40):
Tuesday and whatever order of days the vibes.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Were non immaculate, non immaculate.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
And then Mauricio Dubon comes around and for the second
time in five days, say four or five run deficit
overcome by the Astros and they do not get swept
by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but rather even up their home
stand at three wins, three losses with three to play,
and the next of those three will be started by
(01:10):
new left hand or you say Kakuchi when the Tampa
Rays are in town. Astros also shoot back into first
place because the Mariners managed to only score two runs
again in ten innings and got walked off by the
Red Sox in that bottom of the tenth inning, and
the Astros by those percentage points remain in first place,
(01:31):
back in first place, hopefully where they will be the
rest of our time here in twenty twenty four. An
absolute shot in the arm, which was aided greatly, as
you heard from Robert and Esch in those highlights there,
aided greatly by a team with the same record that
looked like they were one of the worst teams in
(01:51):
baseball if their gloves were on, because boy did they
not know how to use them this weekend.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
This week Joe Adell thinks their fielding was suspect.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Bye.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Boys weren't much better. No, they weren't.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Okay, let's get to that. Bye bye Michael A. Taylor,
Bye Bye Joey Bart. What about what? Michael A.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Taylor will not home run in last night's game, as
I said here on the show.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
But that's why I said bye bye Joey Bart, because
that guy got on every single time he was at
the plate.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
He hit a shot just a few minutes after Jordan
Alvarez hit a shot into Michael A. Taylor's glove deep
in center field. To open up last night's game, we
open up the A team wex and ac here with you,
Dan as well as we got three hours here with
you to take you through what took place these first
six games, most notably yesterday's game, what lies ahead of
(02:39):
them as they've reshuffled the roster a bit, and we'll
see that in action with Kokuchie getting the start tomorrow night.
Shane Boz, someone familiar to the locals here, gets the
ball for Tampa and hopefully the Ashras, Like I said,
take some of these vibes. It's the baseballs is why
it is what it is and why it's different than
all the others. The offense that just simply couldn't seem
(02:59):
to put all together. I'm not even saying that they
put it all together on a night where they had
very few hits, but they definitely took advantage of the
Pirates scoring a run on a wild pitch, scoring another
run thanks to O'Neil Cruz thinking he was the only
defender on the field, and then taking advantage of that
out with jan Or Diaz continuing to have a magical
(03:20):
offensive month of July which is now complete, and they
got it done somehow, some way avoided falling to the
Pirates in all three games. And again I think it
sets well because the schedule every day you have to
linger on what has taken place and baseball is bad. Well,
they don't have to linger on it because the off
day now includes the w Was it a getaway day?
(03:41):
And that's even better that this nine game homestand included
an off day, one in which you will not have
had to travel. Obviously, not the same for Tampa. Just
about everybody that is of any consequence to the Astros
is off today. Then I'll get back started again on Friday. Well,
and look, you mentioned it.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
The the Mariners did just solid by getting walked off
at Fenway. And I'm not here to talk about the
Astros taking any team lightly or for granted or whatever.
But if you're asking me, after both teams have an
off day tonight, if I'd rather have the Philadelphia Phillies
coming up next, who are smarting after their series with
(04:21):
the Yankees or the decimated by deals.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Sort of, they kind of seem the same as all.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I mean, that's kind of what their moo has been
for the better part of this run the Astros have had.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
But Tampa just finds ways. They do find ways.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
They've joined at the Astros in the playoffs through five
of these last seven years. Obviously, once beating them once,
not beating them, and they're certainly not a pushover. They
will see a little bit different looking team that is
clear and obvious. Like you said, the matchups this weekend
when they get back on the field. The Red Sox
went from their win at home to fly into Texas
(04:59):
so they could take on the Rangers in Arlington starting tomorrow.
The Mariners back home from Boston, so, like you said,
to host the Philadelphia Phillies starting tomorrow night. The Rays
again come to town, not expecting to make a push
for the playoffs anymore. One whole game right behind Houston, right.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
And it was funny because last night on the broadcast,
which you may have noticed, everything was a little bit
different because Blummer had the night off, which meant that
Sparky did television for a change, which is very rare.
But I enjoyed it because I love Sparky on any medium,
I'll listen to that guy. But he and Todd were
talking about it, and Todd has better knowledge than anybody
because he came from Tampa before, you know, working here
(05:38):
in Houston, about how the Tampa Bay Rays organization goes
about things. And I can't remember the exact phrase he used,
but it was, you know, every they try to stretch
every inch. I can't remember exactly how he phrased it,
but you know, they try to get every ounce of
whatever out of their roster.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
They pretend that their roster of players and they that
goes along with it is an apple sauce pouch for
your toddler, and they're trying to get every single possible
They squeeze it through, they've got you know, pressure on
both sides, you know, put it between their fingers, slided through.
They put it on the end of the table and
mash it together, every single last drop that they can get.
(06:19):
They're scouring the couches and the owner's office for pennies
and they they do a pretty good job of it.
But this is like the modern day version of why
I was never overly respectful of what Billy Bean and
the Oakland A's were doing. They were smart, they did
think ahead of the curve, and there are a lot
of teams doing what they are doing, and they were
(06:40):
certainly fighting against the obvious. Everyone else is spending money
and we're not. But they also didn't do anything. They
didn't ever win anything. They had an awesome winning streak
during the season, which was part of the Brad Pitt
movie or the Jonah Hill movie. I'm not sure that
Scott or the what's Pratt's first names?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
You need to be clear because jonahore no movie.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Where Jonah Hill is not, as you said, fat is
even in my vocabulary.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
So if he's not fat in the movie.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Best Jonah Hill movie where he's in shape, well, how
long has he been in shape? I'm just saying there's
really no reason to go into it, and I don't
want to because I think I've made my point. But
that's where I kind of feel like the Rays are
different than them. Like the A's would do all these
great regular season things. They put up ninety plus wins,
one hundred wins seasons, they had, you know, Molder and
Huddy and Zeno and hey man, this is awesome, and
(07:31):
then they go to the playoffs and nothing would happen
for them. The other team would always beat them and
they'd go home. Sounds like the Astros in the two
thousand and nineties, but in Tampa's case, they they are
much more formidle. Even when the Astros eliminated them from
the playoffs in four games, I don't think it was
very easy. Even though it only went four games. Everything
kind of worked in your favor to get it done.
You took down Tyler Glass now when he was tipping,
(07:52):
and they destroyed him. Yes, let's be clear. They met
again in the postseason in front of thousands and thousands
of cardboard cutouts, and unfortunately Tampa barely got the best
of them. In they advance to the words.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
They were your donning and hitting the ball into everyone's glove.
It was disgusting. That was tough to stomach.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
So yeah, we want to get into what might take
place this weekend for sure.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
By the way, just because I brought up the dichotomy
and we're going to get to diet game day as well.
Diet game I'll explain. I think I get it. You do,
I think you do? Do you realize it's really my
whole meal. This is the whole thing. There's nothing on
my plate to eat. I don't even have a drink.
I'm going to devate because it's worth it. Derek, take
you about the time I went on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Now, when you go on vacation, you think about Eastern Mediterranean.
I'm already lost all right.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
It docked in Rome, we went to Athens, Greece, we
were in Turkey.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Is kind of gives you a g I'm sure they're
right there with me.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
It's a great I would recommend it to anybody because
you see a lot of places anyway. You know, you
think you going on a cruise, you're gonna be eating
like crazy, and we did. But the portions you don't
realize until you get back to the States. In Texas,
in Houston and you go to a tex Mex restaurant
and they put your food down in front of you,
and you realize just how little you were eating the
(09:07):
past week in comparison, and why we're all fat in
this city because the portion sizes.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
But I digress. We were talking about what's ahead.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Of you immediately. If you're the Astros and the Mariners.
Not only are the Phillies going to be smarting because
they just got swept by the Yankees, go back and
look at their schedule after sweeping the Dodgers at home,
they've lost every single series, two out of three of
the A's, two out of three to these very same Pirates,
(09:35):
two out of three to the Twins, two out of
three to the Guardians and they just got swept by
the Yankees. Mariners are about to get touched up here
in their house. I'm telling you right now, the Astros
are going to be two or more games ahead of them.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
When these two series conclude this weekend. I'm calling it now.
That should be what we have in store. Again.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
We've said it all all along and really nothing should change,
even though clearly we're scoreboard watching. Yeah, just take care
of your own business. You don't have any care for
what the Rays are doing unless you're playing them, well
you are. You don't have any care for what the
Phillies are doing. If you're not playing them and they're
not let them do what they do. Let the Red
Sox and Rangers have their nice dance party. Take care
of your own business. Get something from Kokuchi, maybe even
(10:14):
from Caleb Ferguson, maybe even from pedro Leone.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Who knows what is in store this weekend.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
The diet Game Day that you were referring to, that
is definitely on our plates next. I have lots of
what to watch for tonight, not just their new costumes.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
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Speaker 1 (11:30):
Back to Adam Clinton had Adam.
Speaker 6 (11:32):
Wexler the eighteen on Sports Talk seven.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Ninety If your at AC mentioned diet game day. He
was referring to its back. It is football season the
Houston Texans and the Chicago Bears, all right, neither team's
home tonight, but rather in Canton, Ohio, play a little football.
(11:59):
Results matter to the individuals scored. Is not Hall of
Fame weekend in can'ton Ohio. And for the first time ever,
that matters to the Texans off of the field, because
it's mattered once before since they've played there once before.
Remember when Jeremy Shockey ran over one of their players
about twenty years ago.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Oh my gosh, I did, I was a man. I
haven't thought about that in a long time.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
So, yes, they've been there before, but this version is
there now Andre and thousands of his adoring fans and
now friends are there with him.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
It's going to be pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
We'll have more on that throughout this afternoon and Friday
show as we get closer to Saturday's induction ceremony. But
it's very cool stuff. We'll have more on that actually
next segment. But the game tonight, Brown's or the Bears
weren't very willing to acknowledge the obvious. The Texans were not.
Caleb Williams and our other main players, they're not going
(12:52):
to be out there tonight. According to their coaching staff,
Demiko Ryans was unwilling to go that far. It really
doesn't matter because we already know. If you the team
at all, you know the situation. I don't expect any
non rookie starters and they only have one that will
be out there tonight, and that's even a maybe. But
there are some things to look for tonight, and definitely
(13:14):
want to get into a few of those things, and
it does start with that draft class. I think that'll
be very careful with how they use both of the
frontline members of the draft class tonight while resting nearly
everybody else among the starting group Blake Fisher on offense
and Kamari Laster on defense last year is a starter,
just playing and simple. There's eleven guys that will be
on the field when they start their season against Indianapolis,
(13:34):
and barring injury, Kamari Laster will be one of them.
Not only that, he'll barely come off the field. In
my opinion, he will be a typical starting cornerback on
non slot cornerback in the NFL on day one. So
to have him out there now get him used to
tackling for six eight ten plays against the Bears' reserves.
If the Texans find value in that, I'm not going
(13:56):
to tell them they're wrong, but I actually don't think
that they will. So keep an eye for whether or
not Number fourteen makes his first NFL play tonight, and
the same thing for number fifty seven. That's Blake Fisher,
who's gotten all the reps with the Ones this training
camp because of the absence of Laramie Tunsell on the
practice field.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Jareremie.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Tunsel's fine, but his purpose is best served again in
Indianapolis and the rest of the season. So while Fisher's
taken all these snaps as their left tackle, and hopefully
they will have practice time for Laramie Tunsel so they
can work in Blake at right tackle. And the fact
that if their tackles are healthy, he is their swing
tackle and'd be nice to be taking some reps. On
(14:34):
the other side, he falls into the same boat. Do
you need him out there? Do you want him out there?
He'll be working with basically for other linemen that he
doesn't normally work with, but that could be a good thing.
He'll be blocking for a bunch of guys he hasn't
been on the field with a ton because it will
be most of the reserves, and again not CJ. Stroud,
but rather almost assuredly to start Davis Mills. So beyond that,
(14:56):
I do think you're gonna see most of the other guys.
I do think you're gonna see plenty of Jordan Probably
in addition to him lining up in the backfield, you
will likely see him in part of the return game.
That whole conversation is worthy of our time later because
this is for everybody in the NFL. Everybody in the
NFL would be watching tonight for a number of reasons,
but now there's a new reason. What are these kickoffs
(15:18):
going to look like? What are the teams going to
decide to do in the preseason. Are they going to
decide to try to get some intel, try to learn
what it's all about. Our teams incentivized properly to make
this an exciting play, which is the reason the league
designed it like this. Or will they just be resigned
to say, look, we're just gonna make sure there is
no return And if they get it at the twenty
(15:39):
because they've messed up, fine, If they get it at
the thirty because we've messed up. Fine, no return may
be better than a return, but we'll find out. So
I think Jordan will be out there in that capacity,
if not in both. Kaylen Bullock, I think we'll see
quite a bit of work in the first half of
tonight's game. He was pretty excited the other day. We
talked to him for the first time this camp, and
(16:00):
even though it would have been really cool for him
to be on the field with his former teammate and
maybe even pick him off Caleb Williams from SC that
obviously won't happen, but he even said, Hey, this is
our first opportunity to get out there. I'm excited. Football's back.
Let's go, And I think most people would agree.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
You know, it's weird, it's completely off topic from the
actual player side of things, but you've mentioned this yesterday
and we talked about a little bit, the new costumes,
the uniforms that the Texans are going to be wearing
for the future. I mean, who knows how long this will,
this era will last. They make their debut tonight, technically
in a game that doesn't count.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
You tops, blue pants, correct, blue helmets, blue helmets.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
You ever think about the fact that some real seminal
moments in Astros Rockets Texans history have happened similarly.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
And here's what I mean by that.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
It is going to get more and more rare for
you to be able to find pictures or you know
whatever of you know c J. Stroud wearing the old uniforms.
He's the most decorated rookie. It's gonna get scrubbed. Well, no,
but what I mean is as his career evolves and
he plays on and on and on for twenty years
(17:14):
and becomes the greatest of all time and surpasses Tom Brady.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
So the best plays of his career will not just
be from his rookie season exactly.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
And not only that, I mean, I've got a picture
of him for example that a buddy of mine shout
out to, Eric, who's one of the photographers who actually
goes to the games, has an amazing He is awesome.
And there's a lot of people, you know, we always
talk about, like Karen Warren with the Astros. They're just
great photographers, sports photographers in this town. He actually got
a shot, an action shot of CJ. When he was
(17:44):
wearing the ketchup bottle get up all red the earlier
this year. He'll never wear those again. That's super rare
because that's like a gimmick. He'll never wear those. But
they do have a red on correds. But you'll be
able if you were to look at a side by side,
you'd be able to see the same difference. You ever
think about Yaoming, same exact thing. Wore the Penn stripes
for one year, then they moved to Toyota Center and
(18:06):
got the Communist font jerseys that they still wear today.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Are you as another aside to that since you brought
up Yeah, Are you aware that Yao is participating? Yeah,
in the Paris Olympics.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
How can you miss him? He's taller than everyone.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
If you're not watching that particular contest, which I don't
know how many people are.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
It is it's a niche.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Well, he's an assistant coach for the Chinese women's basketball team.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
Didn't look like he's an assistant though, because by default
he should be the head coach because he's bigger than everyone.
That's how they decide who's in charge. You're the tallest,
you're in charge. Okay, but is not And I could
be wrong on this one because and I'm really gonna
be sad if I am, because it's gonna the symmetry
is not gonna be there. Jose Al Tuvey wore the
brick jerseys he did for one year or two. Yes see,
(18:50):
I knew you were the wrong person to ask on this.
Maybe Dan knows. That's pretty cool though. If you think
about those three guys, and I mean not all of
them have won championships, some of them may still one
of them has, and then one guy didn't get it
done because of health reasons. But you have these like
these snapshots in time, and this is another example of
that because these jerseys tonight, nobody's.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Really thinking about this because it's it's.
Speaker 4 (19:13):
Just so not important to the grand scheme of things.
But it is going to be cool in my opinion,
as time goes on. Oh yeah, CJ. That's how we
know it was his rookie year because look what he's wearing.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I well know, because those plays, I'm sure his career
is going to be full of a lot more plays.
Just like you're talking about anything that happens in the playoffs.
I mean, those those players are probably going to rank
higher just anyway. You know, the pseudo playoff game, the
throws against Tampa. They're never going to go away right,
the throws against Cleveland in the playoff game. The throw
to a Nico Collins to end the regular last game
(19:47):
of the regular season. I know it was the first play,
but did feel like it ended.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
It was at night.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
These players are always going to stand out, but there
will be many, many more that carry more weight. If
what we think is going to happen is going to
happen coming up over the next however many years of
his time here in Houston. But again, I do not
expect to see him tonight. I wouldn't be shocked if
we only saw two quarterbacks tonight. I'm not sure how
they feel about case Keenan, and just that he didn't
(20:12):
practice a whole lot leading up to this game. He
was on the field at their final practice, so I'm
not sure where they feel the need to play him
or the health of him, but rather get snaps for
Mills and Tim Boyle. I think them a similar thing
is gonna happen at tight end, one of the other
rookies I just did not happen to mention yet. I
kind of think we're gonna see a ton of Cad
stover a ton of Tiguan quatriano. Because they only carry
(20:35):
five tight ends, one of them clearly is the starter,
Dalton Schultz.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
He will not play.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Brevin Jordan probably would have played, but in that he
did not finish the last practice that they had, and
I don't think it was any significant injury, but he
did come off the field and go inside the tent,
returned to the field, but did not continue practicing. Also
didn't go inside for any immediate assistance from a medical standpoint,
I just think they'll be smart and not send him
(21:01):
out there. Well, that leaves them with okay, still three,
so they're okay. Well, Dalton Keen their fifth tight end,
he hasn't practiced in a week. He's certainly not gonna
jump from that into a game situation, I would expect.
So you got two tight ends heading into this preseason game,
you're not gonna be able to get with coach Eberflis
and say, hey, look, man, I know there's twenty some
odd minutes left in the game.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Can we just call it? That's the halling me.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
That is the negative of having a fourth preseason game,
versus say, the positive of setting up additional joint practices
to get done what you want to get done. When
you feel like calling off a joint practice for whatever reason,
no problem. You probably can't do that with a an
NFL game at the Hall of Fame game when it's
the only game in town. But I'm sure they'll make
(21:46):
their way through it. Solomon Bird, Jamal Hill, a couple
of other rookies I suspect we'll see quite a bit
of tonight are among the others.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
You should probably keep an eye out for first day
of August. It just feels like, all right, here we go.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
It's not, you know, it's it's an extended edition of
the preseason very much address rehearsal. It is very diety
to me when it comes to this being a game day,
and the things that we will talk about will probably
reflect that tomorrow when we reconvene over at Minute Made
Park to talk about what happens tonight. But like you mentioned,
there are some actual, really cool things to pay attention
(22:20):
to in this contest tonight, even if it's not the roster.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Yeah, the game itself will also feature the Hall of
Fame aspect, which we will get to next about.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
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Speaker 2 (22:29):
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Speaker 7 (23:28):
Hey Sparky from the Astros broadcast team. Catch every Astros
game on Sports Talk seven ninety and iHeartRadio app Home
with Your Astros.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Obviously a little focus on the football tonight. Everybody's been
waiting for it, and quite honestly, August football technically is
back on the college stage. There are games that will
count in standings this month in college football and will
just about make it through to have the same in
the NFL. That first week of September is when we
will get started with the Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday
(24:08):
night games for the opening weekend in the NFL, of course,
the Texans will open with a noon tilt at Indianapolis.
Inside the AFC South Division games always means something, quite honestly,
as the schedule has shifted from sixteen to seventeen, and
maybe not long into the future from seventeen to eighteen, well,
the actual mathematics of how much your division games mean
(24:32):
it just keeps getting smaller. Used to six out of
your sixteen, then six out of your seventeen, now six
potentially out of your eighteen. So the idea that you
dominate the division that leads to an almost automatic division title,
it's not quite like that anymore, not even close. It's
getting further and further away from that. So even though
I think the Texans will be in good shape when
(24:52):
it comes to those six games, I'm hopeful that at
worst they're four and two, and obviously all that takes
is sweeping the Titans and splitting with the others. But
if you sweep anybody, then you're in very good shape
of finishing on the right side of five hundred inside
those six division games. And again, it's nice to get
started with that Indianapolis game of all the teams of
the division to open with. Even though I think we
(25:14):
recognize Tennessee as the worst of the three teams, I'm
not looking for the Texans to just walk over somebody,
even though it's nice the challenge, the fact that you
ended the season last year against the Colts in a
winner take all, go to the playoffs type of scenario,
and the fact that these are two second year quarterbacks,
and the fact that they're only meeting they had the
upper hand in that game was here in Houston. There's
(25:35):
a lot of storylines to go into that game. It's
about a month away, so we'll focus in on the
storylines of this weekend. Both tonight with the Bears and
the Texans and the seven players who everybody in the
country will see a little bit from during the broadcast tonight.
It's always part of the Hall of Fame game broadcast.
The individuals set for induction at Hall of Fame weekend
will be a part of it. They get to tell
(25:56):
a little bit about their stories to the people who
don't hear them all the time on a national stage.
And considering what Andre has been talking about throughout his career,
and we all saw it unfold here but even earlier
this week, about being drafted here, it's a second year
team off an expansion year. The respect level for the
Texans was extremely low, and throughout his career, almost all
(26:19):
of his career, he was trying to change that. And
year after year after year on the front side of
his career, it was playoff list football. It was trying
to get to respectability. It was trying to find a
quarterback who could well throw the ball to him more
often than to nobody. And they finally got that with
Matt Schaub. And there's just a lot of things that
I think everybody here that's now there in Canton, and
(26:40):
that's another thing to look forward to. What do the
stands look like tonight, and then what does everything look
like on Saturday afternoon in terms of the fans that
have made their way there from Houston their first opportunity
to do so. But it's the plays themselves that I
don't think anybody's ever gonna forget. And I mentioned this
to Chancellor Johnson over at KPRC Channel two when I
first saw him to practice this week after last Sunday
(27:02):
Night Sports Sunday, they aired a bit of his film
session with Andre Johnson. He got together with the Texans
and Andre and sat down in their film room, their
auditorium and ran through a bunch of plays over the
course of his career that we all remember, you know plays,
you know, the catch of the back of the end
zone against the Tennessee Titans on the road, you know,
(27:23):
running through one handed. See they all remember running through
the Arizona Cardinals defense inside the five yard line, battering
Ram Johnson, so many others.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
And it was a flip in the end zone against
the Vikings, the.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Flip of the end zone against the Vikings, the catch
over the then Redskins, and lots of great stuff. So
I mentioned to Chancellor this was, you know, even in
the way that they did it. If you haven't seen it,
it was just awesome. It's really good and the subject
is phenomenal. If he sat down with Andrey Johnson for
five hours and nineteen minutes, I would watch five hours
and nineteen minutes of it. Is that entertaining. It's that
about what we all saw him do here, those that
(27:58):
were here, and it reminds me people or enlightened people
who weren't and maybe that's the rest of the country
over the next couple of days. So I told it
was really really good. So as they've sent out the
rest of it only a couple of minutes on Sports
Sunday and now the full version. We can see both
on his social and their YouTube and their website at
click to Houston dot com. Chancellor Johnson at KPRC two.
(28:21):
There was one thing in particular, the one play of
great importance I did not mention that I thought you
guys would enjoy listening to Andre discuss and takes you
back to that day in Houston when Andre was asked
not to finish the game by the game officials. They
ejected him for beating down Cortland finninggen We've heard from
Andre a munch of different times on it. I was
(28:42):
there that day, many of us were in the media
and heard from him. The cameras were inside, so we've
actually heard what Andre said to coach Kubiak and his
teammates after, and we all know, like, this isn't who
I am. Sorry it happened, but you know, hey, we
won the game and that everybody just kind of moved on.
But hearing him talk about it in this manner, the
fight with Courtland Finn again, all that led up to it,
(29:05):
and all of the people basically he did this for,
and that's where the conversation begins.
Speaker 8 (29:11):
People think that's just something that just happened out of
the blue, that had been going on for probably about
like three or four years. He had been asking for it, though,
because even as teammates enough, you know, his teammate even
admitted it, and that you know that he karate chopped
me under the pile, you know, tried to hit me
in my throat one time. So uh, it was a
(29:33):
little stuff he did. He did it. It wasn't just me.
It was the other guys that he played against that
he did stuff too, too. So I just wasn't the
person who was tolerated.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
Most people know you as being kind of a chill guy.
Speaker 9 (29:45):
When you get back to the locker room with your
teammates and ain'ty won the game?
Speaker 3 (29:48):
What was it? Do you remember that conversation or what
what your guys are saying to you at the time.
Speaker 8 (29:52):
Nobody really, nobody really said much about it because they
knew he was So that's that's the crazy thing. Like
after the game, nobody really in I mean, they knew
he had somebody was gonna do it to him sooner
or later, so nobody really cared. The funniest thing was
(30:12):
me and Monte Leech. We went to the Rockets game
that night, same night, same night, and I walked down
and they gave me a standing ovation.
Speaker 9 (30:21):
Fans getting into this with Bill where they are because
the big board just put up Andrey Johnson.
Speaker 8 (30:28):
They were upe where they put it pitch out. Not
only did detectives win, did they great win, but either
wanted to they wanted the battle in the warm. That
was a funny. That was a funny thing. So uh,
I'd probably say they enjoyed it, boy anything, But as
far as the teammates like, we didn't we ain't I mean,
(30:48):
it was.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
What it was, was what it was. Thanks Bill and
uh Clyde for contributing. Clyde thought that Andre was clubbing Courtland. No,
it's pot he technically was he. I mean you could
probably argue that, I know what you're getting at at
Chancellor TV, by the way, is one place you can
find that in its entirety, really really outstanding stuff. And
(31:09):
like I, like I mentioned, you know, we were there.
I was there covering the game. I knew exactly what
he was talking about when he was at the Rockets game,
and the fans definitely were reacting to that more than
just him being there. He gets the standing ovation every
time he goes there, and he goes there a lot,
and he has gone there a lot ever since he
came to Houston, even though he's you know, probably was
was a fan of the team where he was from.
(31:31):
But it's just everything I can get. And I think
the fans feel the same way about Andre Johnson's career from.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
All of the interviews.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
He's already done and is about to do and everything
that's happened here since he was draft in two thousand
and three. Bring it, I want it all.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Yeah, Look a couple of things there. We all know
that bad things happen in piles. Okay, offensive and defensive
lineman trading I pokes, among other things is not uncommon.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
He chopping him in the throat.
Speaker 4 (32:02):
And again what he said is so accurate because I
was in the locker room that day standing behind him
on camera a lot of time. I've got a great
picture of us because of this. He everybody, and you
remember this universally was like like just Liken.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
They all did.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
So it wasn't If it wasn't him, like he said,
somebody else probably would have.
Speaker 4 (32:24):
Absolutely, It's just funny that it was him because of
who he is and what his usual characteristics are. We
will continue to discuss the astros when we come back.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Hey, it's Craig Akerman.
Speaker 6 (32:37):
Are certainly popping the pop.
Speaker 7 (32:40):
Back to the A team with Adam Wesler and the
Twitter troll Adam Clinton.
Speaker 6 (32:45):
Help me to do it with somebody I'm not.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
I don't try it here.
Speaker 6 (32:51):
I don't look for fights.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Why I get irritated?
Speaker 7 (32:57):
Adam and Adam are on Sports Talk seven nine.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
A team rolling along on the first day of August.
I was texting during the break with mutual friend of
ours Brody shout out, good dude, and he's like, we
were agreeing. There is something different, Like when that calendar flips,
it's not just that you're well passed a halfway point
of the year. You're now you're on track. Even if
(33:26):
it's an early preseason game like this one game day diet,
if you will, diet, game day football and the everything
that comes with it, and not just from the pro side,
actually more so from the college side, is like right
around the corner and you're you're just on that. You're
already making that mentality, that mindset. I can't do that
(33:47):
that weekend. I can't do that that weekend. I have
to sit on my ass and watch football.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Both of the last two Saturdays in August have college
football slated. Now, the first of those two Saturdays, the
twenty fourth, are our only four games, but Thursday of
the following week, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of the
true opening weekend of college football, there are games to watch.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
It's usually essentially, is what we're saying.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
August is when football begins, but practices for the high
school kiddos, the colleges yesterday, U of H today, many
others Longhorns among them, have now been on the field
for a little bit. I've seen Arch Manning throw passes
against air. Oh Arch, that's awesome. So here's the deal.
It's easy to get lost in the shuffle the baseball season.
(34:38):
Yet I thought, whoever was in first place on August first,
just automatic you're in.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Well, if you're the official mL beyond Fox twitter account,
I just can't call it x and it says retweet
if your team is currently in the playoff hunt.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
I don't see the Mariners on that graphic playoff hunt. Well,
I mean, I think they're in the playoffs if you're
in the playoffs. Actually, I think it's howt it was phrase.
I don't have the exact right in front of me.
But here's the thing.
Speaker 4 (35:03):
They you know, everybody's grading the deadline and the Astros,
I think, for the first time in this whole run,
are losers at the deadline. According to at least one
and probably more than one publication. You say, Kakuchi, who
is going to officially start tomorrow night. We've been telling
(35:24):
you that and it's been made official too.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
But off the top of your head, do you remember
how you would have graded last year's deadline.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
They did nothing.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
They did they made two deals. They did well, you
remember one of them. It's just obviously escaped you. I've
slept since then. Justin Verlander was acquired last deadline.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
Oh that was last year. You know why I was driving.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
He was acquired for the two prospects at the top
of the Astros list. And just before that was when
they made the Kendall Graveman deal.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
That's the actual name that came to mind, not Justin Verlander.
So those were the two pictures they added. Graveman pitched
a little and then was hurt and does not pitched
sense and probably won't and that'll be the end of
the remainder of the two years that were on his contract.
Corey Lee will continue to lose games for the White Sox.
He's helping them a lot, as will every other player
on the field for them.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
So a potential reserve catcher at the major league level
and two highly touted prospects were sent away this year.
We know what the four players that were sent away
and the two players that came in, and then most
of the other deadlines.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
The team was so good it was.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Hard to be They were super selective either they were
going out to get a Granky or Verlander or it
was some of the other years where you were getting
Jimmy Garcia or you're getting the Montero Graveman deal. Initially,
who is the comedian that sucked Joe BYAGENI yeah, that
guy sucked. And then also the same thing about the
(36:51):
Mancini and Christian Vasquez? Did you're not really what are
you gonna grade the astros on?
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Do you know what's funny about those?
Speaker 2 (36:56):
He went out to try to fill two reserve roles.
There was nothing more than that. They were clear needs,
but they weren't trying to really reshape their possibilities of winning.
And last year and this year, even though they got
totally different quality of pitcher, they really were trying for
something much bigger than that because of where their team
is and what their team. The team's a ninety win
(37:17):
team last year. This year's team is on a lower pace.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
I mean, I just got done telling you how miserable
this stretch has been for the Phillies and they have
lost four straight In the midst of losing, was it
four or five straight series? After the Dodgers sweep, They've
got sixty five wins.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Yes, Despite that pretty good spot, both overall and inside
their division. So as people on the outside are looking
into what the Astros did, it's certainly created a lot
of conversation.
Speaker 4 (37:45):
Yeah, you say, Kakuchi might help the rotation, and Caleb
Ferguson has pitched in some big games, but this is
not the kind of deadline you expect from a proud
team with a shrinking contention window. There's also a good
chance the Astros overpaid and prospect you to land Kakuchi,
a pure rental player. And on top of all that,
Houston did nothing to address its first base situation, with
(38:09):
Brent Rooker sitting tight in Oakland and Guerrero vlad Junior
still in Toronto, neither of which is Yonni Diaz, who
they are supposedly closest to of all those names.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Right, They were not very close to Brent Rooker because
the A's were not apparently looking to trade him, so
I'm not sure I can get him.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Well, somebody's got to sell tickets in Sacramento.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Weren't particularly close to getting Vladimir Guerero Junior because they
weren't taking phone calls on trading Vladimir Gurero Junior.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Plus they'd already given.
Speaker 2 (38:36):
I understand the ask what he's trying or the writer
is trying to point out. I mean, he says it
in the wrong way. Well, of course it's not doesn't
seem like the once proud for because that's not who
they are anymore. It's been two years of this. Where
have you been? Of course, it doesn't seem like those deals.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
How can you can't?
Speaker 2 (38:54):
Nobody, nobody can make deals like that forever you do.
No team has twenty five desirable prospects over this long
period of time. Some of them have been moved, some
of them are playing right field for you. Some of
them are now your DHS, some of them are now
your short stuff, some of them are now your ace,
some of them are your catcher. You can't, you can't
(39:15):
do it forever. So of course it's not gonna look
like that. And then the who the team is now.
You've also changed GMS twice during this run, so he's
saying pretty obvious, Well, you've changed it twice, you've had three.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
It's just a it's a totally different error the stuff
about you know, they didn't go out and do this
or that that. Like I said, it's nonsense. You know
why the Astros didn't get Brent Rooker because nobody did.
They didn't miss out on him. There wasn't a way
to go get him, let alone. I mean, I think
Oakland's dumb and all like everybody else. I'm not so
sure they were gonna send one of the five most
productive American League hitters who's young and under control to
(39:53):
a team in their.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
Device they hate.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Hey, you can have bad ownership, you have a lot
of competent GM though. By the way, ESPN also ranked
the prospects that were traded at the deadline, and so
just that list, not overall.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
This is a tough one.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Well, OK, here's a funny thing. Low Perfido is number seven.
Jake Bloss was number two.
Speaker 6 (40:15):
Now.
Speaker 4 (40:16):
Chandler Rome, who joined the show yesterday, was texting me
the night of the deal and said, Jake Bloss is
your loss in this deal. Yeah, I would agree. I mean,
he's the guy who really could become something. And I
know that the low Braffito stands don't want to hear that.
But and Chandler has been consistent about that too.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
He's just a guy, he thinks, And I actually I
think there's an opportunity potentially. You know, he's been in
the system a while, so these things might just never change.
About how often he has swing and miss, and was
on display in his first game with Blue Jays, striking
out in his first at bat, first to at bats,
I should say, I do think he's a major league player,
But if you're going to get something to help you
(40:54):
win a World Series, you probably aren't torn up by
trading away a player on a roster. And that's I
think how they might have viewed Joey low Perfito a
major league player. He was on this year's team. He's
probably gonna be on the Blue Jays major league rosster
for a couple of years at least, but he's probably
not one two, three, four, five, six, seventh best player
that will then go out and get something to help you. Bloss,
on the other hand, I mean, I said, at the
(41:15):
moment they made it, I mean I would probably take
Bloss's immediate next three years versus Kakuochies next three years
in the majors. But that's not really what's it's say.
It just points out I would agree Bloss is the
loss in this deal. Almost assuredly, we'll continue on the
A Team.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam talking Your Teams series,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A Team.
Speaker 6 (41:47):
A four o'clock cow.
Speaker 4 (41:50):
We're underway here on Sports Talk seven ninety. It is
a Thursday edition of the A Team. He is Adam Wexler,
I'm Adam Clanton, Dan the show Killer Matthews is our
party us. We take you up until six o'clock tonight.
No Astros game tonight, them and the Mariners, who they
are fighting neck and neck with tooth for tooth, eye
for an eye. That's all I got to win the
(42:13):
very mediocre AO West this year. Neither of those teams
will play tonight. When they resume their schedules, respectively, Tomorrow night,
you will have the Mariners at home taking on a
very very good but very very slumping Philadelphia Phillies, if
that's possible to be both at home, as I mentioned,
(42:34):
and then the Astros will also remain at home, but
they'll welcome in the Tampa Bay Rays and they'll have
you say, Kakuchi on the mound making his Astro's debut.
Speaker 3 (42:44):
So very very.
Speaker 4 (42:45):
Interesting stuff going on, particularly tomorrow night will be over
at minute made Park bringing you the show. We'll have
Jeff Blum the first hour tomorrow as well as we
get you ready for that series in a weekend that's
going to be I guess jam packed. The Texans are
going to be done by then with their first preseason game,
although I've been calling it diet game Day all day
(43:06):
long because, by the way, when you were going through
the list of players that won't play in this game,
like all of them, you mentioned Kamari Lassoner correct.
Speaker 3 (43:14):
That, in my opinion, saw he wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
It would be very unlikely they would send him out
there in this game because of who they'd be going
up against. If the starters were out there for the Bears,
maybe there'd be some value for him. And that he's
never tackled a player in an NFL game before, all
the things you can't do in a practice now you'd
have the opportunity to do there.
Speaker 3 (43:32):
But I did doubt that he would.
Speaker 2 (43:34):
I know our own Aaron Wilson has indicated he is
not slated to play, and I am not surprised by
that in the least. I'm not sure again on how
they will deal with a couple.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Really, it's just one other rookie.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
I think all the other rookies almost have to be
out there, But if you look at what will likely
be their group of starters on offense, I do think
there will be zero of them on the field. And
the same thing goes for the defense. Now that Kamari
Laster is not among the guys expected to play, so
you just take twenty two guys right out of the picture.
Right out of the gate, you're left with the final
(44:06):
sixty eight to work with, and there's probably eight to
ten that for injury reasons you would not have out there.
I've got about sixty guys to work with, and then
they have enough bodies to make their way through it.
Quite honestly, some of the more veteran guys would not
normally be out there either. So what Tamiko said is
actually probably the exact thing we're going to see. Without
naming names. A lot of the young players will play
(44:29):
all positions. If you are young, if you're a rookie,
if you're an undrafted free agent, if you're somebody that
was on the practice squad last year.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
You're going to be out there. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
So, but again, as we mentioned in the first hour,
there's going to be reasons to watch this game, legit,
reasons that have nothing to do with Oh, I'd like
to see CJ. Stroud because that's not gonna happen, and
anybody like that. You're looking for, but kickoffs, you know,
any sort of rule changes. I actually read earlier today
the NFL is closer and closer to getting rid of
the chain gang in favor of new technology, which can
(45:03):
only be newer than chains. Yes, newer technology than measuring
a distance of ten yards with two sticks and a
chain tied to each end. Don't forget technology that well,
wex don't forget how they get out to where the
ball is because they definitely, these old overweight guys, all
of them can definitely not ever screw up running in
(45:26):
a straight line.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
Well, they know.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
That's why they hold the chain at the at the
big five yard line marker, so they know where to
put it down.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Well, then why do they still need an index card?
They make sure there is distance that one time.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
It's just that one guy, you know, the guy who's
now the rules official on television. Gene.
Speaker 3 (45:42):
Oh is that who it was? Yes? Gene? Is it territory? Territory?
He's very very good.
Speaker 2 (45:47):
I always when you get more from Gene, that means
you get less from Tony because he almost is always
with Chim.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
And by the way, why doesn't he ever scream at
Gene screams every once in a while when they're going
through a repill play.
Speaker 3 (46:00):
We'll see.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
All these things should be advanced, as I would hope
that they could do something better with that.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
You've heard him say in the middle of a game.
I don't think that's a first down, Jeed.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
Probably why does he scream so much?
Speaker 2 (46:11):
Whow Maybe he'll be mormellow this year bloom Is off
that rose. He was the number one color commentator among
former quarterbacks that are on the number one broadcast team
for a particular network.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
For sure be number two to Tom.
Speaker 4 (46:27):
Yes, I thought you were for sure going to say
he's the number one guy who broadcasts NFL games. Amateur
golfer who's not a pro, he was one.
Speaker 2 (46:37):
He was a part of the celebrity golf tournament we
were talking about a couple weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (46:40):
And don't you feel like he could make some money
on the tour?
Speaker 2 (46:43):
He thinks he can, but he's not quite There's a
lot of people who are really, really good at golf,
and he's one of them, okay, and he's nowhere near
good enough to make money playing golf, him even on
the corn Ferry Tour. And I don't mean it to
say it that way. I mean even at the you know,
the level to get you to the PG.
Speaker 4 (47:00):
Him or Steph Curry, who would be better if they
really tried to do that, like put an absolute serious
push behind being a.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Profession to buy money on Steph for sure, because by now,
and I know Tony has maybe you want to say
he's got injury issues that have maybe prevented it, I guess.
But Steph plays a lot of golf. I'm sure he
had the opportunity to play less. Considering he's still playing.
Tony's not playing, I wish you'd go play golf forever.
And his both of his his dad and his brother
(47:28):
are very good golfer. So gives me more belief that
one of them, if they really put their mind to it.
I mean, look at Dal's still working, Seth still finds
a team every year.
Speaker 3 (47:37):
That again, I don't this is one of the things
that the ill money from. I just don't know. I
think the exact opposite.
Speaker 2 (47:43):
He'd be good here like he's shooting is at a premium, right, Yeah,
So do you not like guys that shoot forty three
forty four percent?
Speaker 3 (47:50):
So you don't like that.
Speaker 2 (47:51):
I know they can't play thirty minutes a night because
they can't defend anybody.
Speaker 3 (47:54):
I get that too.
Speaker 4 (47:55):
See, that's why the Rockets drafted Reach Shepherd. He can
defend people.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
Will will soon find out.
Speaker 2 (48:00):
If I were to guess, we're probably in the neighborhood
of under three weeks until the schedule's released. Somewhere in
that neighborhood, hopefully we'll find out some of those dates.
I mentioned this on the X platform earlier. The baseball
postseason schedule was released today, and one of the off
days during the World Series prevents the Astros and Texans
(48:22):
from playing on the same day on Halloween, at least
because that game on Halloween against the Jets is now
an off day around Major League Baseball. I guess the
possibility still remains on one of the other postseason days
they could see the field together and we'll find out
if the Rockets are one of the few teams there'll
be a couple of Halloween games that first five, six,
seven days of the season. Whatever day the year starts
(48:44):
and wherever that falls on the calendar, not of great significance,
but yeah, all those things will they'll get played out.
And we were talking about what we're going to see tonight,
and the other part of this game is what they're
up against. The same thing we're talking about the Texans doing,
resting players is pretty much what the Bears are going
to be doing. And in two short years you had
(49:07):
two teams that were pretty much going nowhere, and the Bears,
honestly record wise, essentially have stayed there. But by virtue
of how they've manipulated their draft, they ended up with
the number one pick in the draft, and they're the
ones with Caleb Williams. The Texans they ended up with
the number two pick in the draft and drafted CJ. Stroud,
And a team that's barely won any games during that
time is the one who jumped ahead of Houston and
(49:28):
then traded away what turned into the number one pick,
and they're the ones with Bryce Young. But the Bears
and the Texans in one particular area have emerged as
arguably the best. If I told you the Texans had
the best receiving trio in the NFL and you were
going to tell me, no, they don't. One of the
teams you would say is the Chicago Bears. Granted, Roma
Dunes has not caught a pass yet and Keenan Allen
(49:51):
has not caught a pass yet as a Bear, but
DJ Moore being involved in the same trade I just
talked about to come to the Bears from the Panthers.
He's now another wide receiver this offseason that got paid
a huge amount of money via an extension. And we've
been talking about Andre Johnson and what he thought when
he first got drafted by Houston. He already didn't want
(50:13):
to come here, and then when we heard that, it
was I don't yeah, the stinks.
Speaker 3 (50:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
During uh oh, he saw the commercial that and he
referenced it during DJ Moore's press conference after he signed
his deal. He was reluctant to actually say how he
felt or the actual words he used when he heard
about the deal trading into Chicago. Chicago was terrible, was
the first few minutes of his interview. He just didn't
say it, and so someone brought it up again, not
(50:38):
trying to force him to say it or get him to,
but he said, ah, yeah, I'll tell you what I said,
I don't care, and he basically said, oh bleep, that's
what I thought when I got traded here. And he
and Justin Fields obviously hooked up and were super productive
last year to the tune that they realized he's in,
he's a number one, and we potentially have a one
A in Allen and a one B in Roma Duneesa,
or maybe a B and C if you want. And
(51:01):
he got paid, and if Caleb Williams is going to succeed,
they're doing in year one what the Texans also did
in year one and then augmented in a year two
with their brand new quarterback. We got to make his
life better. We got to make sure he has every
chance to succeed, and then when he does, we got
to make sure that continues. Texans, I think, have done
a phenomenal job. It's why they shuffled the deck as
(51:23):
with the number one running back, bringing in Joe Mixon.
It's why they brought back Dalton Schultz. It's why they
went out and were the team to trade first to
Fon Dix. And you look at what the Bears have
done in a very similar fashion. They just happen to
have done it before. He's even been on the field,
if he fails, if it doesn't work out, if he's
not all that. Even though the line is a huge
(51:44):
part of it, so it's not one hundred percent fool proof,
but you probably know where the issues will lie. The
only bigger issue that the Texans don't have to deal
with that the Bears might. Demiko Ryans also started on
the same timeline as their quarterback, their head coach, didn't
their head coach. Each year is like, as this is
last year? Well even this year is this his last year?
(52:06):
It's the same situation. I hate to bring this up,
but eventually it was going to have to be brought up.
The Texans also need to really really be good this
year because it's almost assuredly the last year that they
will have with this group together because Bobby Slowak is
going to be a head coach next year unless nobody
fires their head coach or he is the new come
(52:26):
in second.
Speaker 3 (52:27):
On all of his interviews around the NFL.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
Why can't we just do Eric Bienemy here? He just
keeps coming back. It could happen. I do not expect it. Well, Well,
if i'm Demico Ryan's I need to start coaching him
on how to interview poorly because well he already got
a raise. Yeah, well, hey, whatever whatever it takes. If
they do anything close to what they did last year,
and if they do, it's going to be better because
(52:50):
the talent is significantly better, then you gotta do everything
you can to keep hold of him because he's big
key as to why CJ has been so good, all right,
A good key to your finances being in a good place.
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Visit PRIMEWAYFCU dot com. Today, that's Primeway fcut.
Speaker 1 (54:02):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler. The A team now continues.
Speaker 4 (54:14):
A team continues here on Sports Talk seven ninety. It
had been a while, so I figured I would have
a fight with my co host. He's Adam Wexler. I'm
Adam Clinton. What do you have to say for yourself
last night?
Speaker 2 (54:25):
Wex You got to explain to people what we were
talking about before I answer.
Speaker 4 (54:30):
Well, earlier, just this week, you made it a point
to say that anytime Fromber takes the hill, it is
good fromber.
Speaker 3 (54:40):
Well.
Speaker 2 (54:40):
I mean I have won seven consecutive frombervals as starts,
so yeah, good Fromber every time he gets the last.
Speaker 4 (54:45):
And he won, and they won his start again last night. Yep,
but he was not good Fromber there for a minute.
Speaker 2 (54:52):
And wow, you even gave your own self a caveat
for a minute.
Speaker 4 (54:57):
And what on top of that, Yeah, this comeback that
you texted me would happen before it did?
Speaker 3 (55:03):
At exactly seven to.
Speaker 4 (55:04):
Sixteen, seven thirty eight pm. Yeah, then I think it
was in seven o'clock hour.
Speaker 3 (55:09):
Close enough. There's twenty four hours to get down for nothing.
By the time they needed a comeback, it.
Speaker 4 (55:14):
Seemed like it took exactly six minutes for them to
get down for nothing. Those runs, with the exception of
Mauricio d Bond's two run shot, we're all gifts from
the pirates.
Speaker 2 (55:28):
That's not relevant to Fromber. What's relevant to Fromber is
did he allow them a chance to win? And four
runs is about the absolute back end of me trying
to make a case for it. But I'm just trying
to say, when he gets the ball, I feel fine,
because that's what I feel like an ace affords you,
and I view him even not at that same level.
(55:50):
I mean, maybe Ace is isn't quite right, Maybe a
number one is okay, maybe a frontline guy. I'm not
sure what you're what you want to describe him, but
I can't help but acknowledge the numbers are what they
are for a reason. Like this was his only start
in July where he gave up more than three earned runs.
He had only one start in June where he gave
up more than three earned runs. And it's not that
(56:11):
he was always giving up that number of three and
I'm spinning it well. In the other games he gave
up one one two, one, one two zero. He's been really,
really good again. His era was in the mid fours
at the end of May. It's three point five to six.
Now his FIP is three point five to three. That's
the twelfth best number among American League starters. That's front
(56:33):
line stuff. That's give him the ball, you have a
pretty good chance to win. They're now twelve. This not
very good team, right has won seven consecutive times they've
given him the ball.
Speaker 4 (56:44):
And I'm not disputing he's a good pitcher and is
far far better off at this point this year than
he was last year. And if you needed to know that,
just looked at the graphics before the game last night,
right before he gave up those four runs. I mean,
there's no debate, but I just there is always in
(57:05):
the back of your mind. And maybe I was plagued
by this because of twenty twenty three, not just the
regular season when he threw a no hitter, by the way,
on this day a year ago, but also what happened
in not one but two of the ALCS games that
he appeared in.
Speaker 2 (57:23):
Yeah, recncy bias will send people in your direction. If
you don't have recency bias, and it's fair to have it.
You'll look at his postseasons prior to twenty twenty three,
which were beyond ace level material. They essentially won every
game he appeared in for multiple postseasons. He was awesome
last year, he was not very good at all. And
what he did last year in the second half of
the season August first, Guardians in Town, nine innings, one walk,
(57:48):
no hits, and then what wex well disaster ball in
nearly every start the rest of the way, except for
the start twenty four days later when he also no
hit the Tigers for seven innings that was surrounded by
just so many bad outings. Not three and four runs,
but six runs here and six runs there, and six
(58:10):
runs again. Three times in the final two months of
the season he allowed six runs three times. He gave
them less than six innings, which almost never happens. Now
he's got two of those starts this year. The I
don't like what you're telling me to do. Yeiner start
against the Angels was horrific and that's what's plagued him
more this year. He got out of sorts all at once.
(58:33):
Boom boom, boom boom. He gave up six, six to
seven eight runs. That did happen in yesterday's game. But
to me, that's also what's good about fromber in twenty
twenty four for the most part. I mean, couldn't he
have left after three three and a half innings down
six or seven nothing. He had six minutes of trouble
in two hours of work, and in those six minutes
(58:54):
they scored four runs. They didn't have anything going in
the first, they didn't have anything going in the third
through sixth, and that's what got them to their leverage
guys to keep the game where it was, which they
did and they won.
Speaker 4 (59:06):
Yeah, at the end of the day, that's gonna be
the ultimate. It always is scoreboard.
Speaker 2 (59:12):
But again I'm not I'm not gonna lie and say
he is among the best pitchers in the American League.
Guy could be in continent to start an All Star Game,
guy that's in contention to deserve to get votes on
cy Young ballots.
Speaker 3 (59:25):
But he's still very, very good.
Speaker 4 (59:26):
And here's the thing that leads me to the next
question that we had a debate about affair. We didn't
really have a debate about this part. Who's the ace
of the Astro staff? And you said, you're ready.
Speaker 2 (59:37):
Yeah, I haven't even off of you know, two of
his last what four or five starts? Yeah, I've not
changed yet. The ACE is probably Hunter.
Speaker 3 (59:44):
Now.
Speaker 2 (59:45):
I wouldn't say that Joe's giving the ball to Hunter
in game one of a postseason series just yet, because
why not just give it the guy who's to the
guy who's pitched well and has done it before. I
feel fine either way. But if I were in Joe's
seat and everything stayed the same from now until then,
I'd probably give the ball to Fromber and then Hunter
(01:00:05):
and then Renelle. And again, we're clearly not discussing where
Justin Verlander fits into that, because at this point in time,
it's impossible to.
Speaker 4 (01:00:13):
That's the thing I like, and I think, I guess
that's a good thing that the Astros have a Justin
Verlander who's not expected to be an ace. Like, that's
what it comes down to, what if, you know, what
if he comes back, he's.
Speaker 3 (01:00:26):
Healthy, he's whatever.
Speaker 4 (01:00:29):
This forty one forty year old version of Justin Verlander
is and everything lines up. In other words, you get
the division championship. You might not have the week off
that the number one seed would afford you, but you
get to kind of line things up the way you
would like.
Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
If you can clinch the division prior to Sunday, so
you'd have Saturday where you clinch it.
Speaker 3 (01:00:53):
Let's see the.
Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
Final Sunday, you know, the very last second to last
day of the season. If you're done Saturday and you've
won it, you would not need to use anybody who
didn't want to on Sunday. There's no game Monday, but
game one at home as the third place third best
division winner, your three game wildcard series begins the Tuesday
following the final Sunday of the season. That'll give you
(01:01:15):
a lot of time, but it might afford you that
opportunity to to set a little bit of it up.
Speaker 3 (01:01:20):
Especially if around six man rotation, which is the idea, if.
Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
You start, if you clinch it on Friday, if you
clinch it one more games, then all of a sudden,
even though you have to play in the what I
would call dreaded mini best of three wildcard series, and
all three of those games would be at home, I
think you'd be in a much better All those things
line up to make it a little.
Speaker 3 (01:01:40):
Bit better for you to stop losing. The Pirates well again,
catching one or two.
Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
The Guardians and the Orioles or Yankees, they're going to
be battling for the best record of the rest of
the way, and they have such a cushion on the
Astros it's really not maybe they'll be each other's not
an option for them. And on Verlander, I know the
most recent starts he had were subpar. He couldn't get
out of the you know, he couldn't get you beyond
the fifth inning, gave up four runs at both starts.
(01:02:05):
Fully acknowledged after the fact he was pitching through what
was already neck discomfort.
Speaker 3 (01:02:10):
So can you.
Speaker 2 (01:02:11):
Believe that maybe he's more like the pitcher that we
saw in April and May he had one really bad
outing In the first seven outings of the season, he's
only made or first eight out and he's only had ten.
But there's there's three outings of seven innings where he
basically pitched the Astros to what should be wins. Granted
they lost two of those games, but if your pitcher
(01:02:33):
gives you seven innings, he gives up two runs or fewer.
Speaker 3 (01:02:36):
He did his job. You're supposed to win that game.
He pitched you to a win.
Speaker 2 (01:02:39):
I'm not gonna believe that's what's coming until he does
that three more times during the regular season. If I'm
Joe Spot, if I'm Josh Miller, if he gives you
a full September part of October and there's multiple starts
like that where he can get through ninety five, one
hundred and one pitches and he's gotten you twenty one outs,
only a lot of a handful of hits and two
or fewer runs, then maybe he would convince me he
(01:03:00):
ready to be handed the ball early in a series.
Speaker 4 (01:03:02):
The other night, during Hunter Brown's start, where we were
getting down to the nitty gritty and he was about
to give up that two run shot that I never
actually really told you about, the perfect storm water, I
almost punched a hole in my wall I had.
Speaker 3 (01:03:14):
My son was just harping on me. We're both back
in the back, you know, watching the game in there.
He's wanting to get his his.
Speaker 4 (01:03:21):
iPad's not getting enough battery, you know, and so he's
he's on me. He's on me, and I can see
the at bat is going very poorly, and he keeps
not getting the you know, edge calls that he wants
Hunter Brown, and he's clearly getting frustrated.
Speaker 3 (01:03:35):
He's visibly frustrated himself.
Speaker 4 (01:03:37):
And it all culminated as he's like in my ear
at that got that boom, gone to run Homer. Now
it's five to one. I'm like, come on, man, it
is one of those kinds of nights. But he hasn't
had a lot of those lately.
Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
Hunter Brown and I I do think the addition of
Kakoochies is kind of for that reason. And if there's
a I wish it was sooner than later, because they
cannot go they can and I go to his six
man rotation. Yet the off days will afford them a
little bit. The off take coming today, the fact that Kokuchi,
yes he's technically replacing Bloss, but Bloss's spot already hit.
(01:04:12):
It wasn't replaced by any of these starters, So essentially
they've gotten an extra day because of when he's slotted in.
Now where they get the other extra days from really
stems on, well, somebody else has to join the rotation.
It's been good news recently on both Justin's case and
Luis's case.
Speaker 3 (01:04:30):
But they're no more bullpen day ahead of us.
Speaker 2 (01:04:32):
I mean, yes, at least they've never said anything otherwise
from JV needing at least one rehab start. You wanted
me to remind you of his previous rehab start. Well,
the good thing is the results don't really matter. It's
is he healthy or not. He came out of them
both healthy. He got shelled in both of them. Yeah,
it didn't look great, all right? When we come back.
Speaking of rehab assignments, there's one guy in the ASTROS
(01:04:56):
organization who is nowhere near it, and that's gonna be
a big part of What's up with that?
Speaker 3 (01:05:01):
Next?
Speaker 5 (01:05:03):
This is Jabari Smith, Jake Bari for three Smith, Stay
clutch with the iHeartRadio app here every Rockets game on
Sports Talk seven nineties.
Speaker 2 (01:05:15):
Why I'm now a new signature seven called.
Speaker 3 (01:05:18):
What's up with That? What's up with that?
Speaker 6 (01:05:26):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
I say, what's up with that? You're welcome introduction to
the brand new and old signature segment here on the
A team.
Speaker 3 (01:05:39):
What's up with That?
Speaker 2 (01:05:41):
And I know where we're headed with this on the
injury front, but I have to jump in front of
the line. And note this other unfortunate injury news around
Major League Baseball. A couple of years ago, the Anaheim
Angels La Angels of Anaheim signed Mike Trout to a
(01:06:02):
twelve year, four hundred and twenty six million dollar deal.
Speaker 3 (01:06:05):
How's that working out for him?
Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
Well, because of today's news, he's now halfway through that contract.
This is now the end of year six, and I
say the end of year six because he re injured
retremyscush his attempt to return from his meniscus tear, and
his twenty twenty four season is over. After twenty nine
(01:06:29):
games COVID season, he played fifty three of the sixty games.
There have been four major league seasons since then, he's
missed fifty nine percent, missed fifty nine percent of the
games played.
Speaker 3 (01:06:42):
By the end of this year.
Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
Two of the four seasons he's played less than forty games,
and this is now the second.
Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
Time in those four years.
Speaker 2 (01:06:51):
He's one of the most talented baseball players this generation
certainly has ever seen. He had a run pretty much
unlike almost any other player in baseball, when he was
nearly winning the MVP every season. He won it three times.
He was the runner up for it four times, and
now he cannot stay in the field, on the field
(01:07:13):
six years at thirty seven million dollars per year, still
do Mike trout as Next year will be his age
thirty three, fifteenth season in Major League Baseball. Great investment,
It's it seemed like a reasonable thing to do, even
though it was long term and super lucrative because he'd
basically never been hurt one hundred and fifty seven games,
(01:07:36):
one hundred and fifty seven games, one hundred and fifty
nine games, one hundred and fifty nine games. He's leading
the league in all these totals all throughout that portion
of his career and essentially never since this is a
definite five home one hundred home run guy, potential four
hundred stolen base guy, three four five MVP guy, and
(01:07:57):
it's all gonna not happen now.
Speaker 4 (01:07:59):
Well, speaking of guys that until this year were never hurt,
Kyle Tucker, I'm sorry, like this is a dead horse
that I have absolutely bludgeoned.
Speaker 3 (01:08:13):
I don't think the horse is dead. He just has
a bone bruise.
Speaker 4 (01:08:17):
I mean, okay, longest bone bruise recovery contusion ever. That's
what it is it's a fancy word for Bruce and
I'm sorry, but a bone bruise does not make Brian
McTaggart of MLB dot com come on the Matt Thomas
Show mere hours ago on this very station and when
asked about Kyle Tucker say the following.
Speaker 10 (01:08:39):
I think Ferlander and Garcia are going to be going
out on rehab assignments here sooner than later. And I
don't think Tucker is anywhere close to that. Until we
see him out there on the field chasing fly balls
and batting practice, running the bases and some drills. He's
not close to a minor league rehab assignment. So I
don't think he's close to doing either one of those
(01:09:00):
two things. There's a third of the season left there,
exactly the two third point in this season here, there's
fifty four games left, and you know, if Tucker started
a progression right now to get ready for the to
come back, it would take him seven to ten days
with you know, the rehab and all that.
Speaker 3 (01:09:17):
And he's not close to that.
Speaker 10 (01:09:19):
So we're getting close to saying that that Tucker might
not be back towards the end of August September at
the earliest. And then you know, at some point you
run out of that runway.
Speaker 4 (01:09:30):
At some point you run out of that runway. You
know what happens when you run out of runway, wex
you crash.
Speaker 3 (01:09:36):
And I'm just.
Speaker 4 (01:09:40):
The I think the reason that this gnaws at me
is because we've almost we've seen this before, different version
of it, where a guy is going to be back here,
then he's gonna be back here, and then before you
know it, he's just not back.
Speaker 8 (01:09:54):
Now.
Speaker 4 (01:09:54):
I don't think Tucker's not going to come back, but again,
going back to what Brian McTaggart was talking about, once
he does get back, the ramp up and the rhythm
and the timing, specifically for a guy that you just
assume is going to be the same guy that was
hitting bombs right up until the time he got hurt
in early June.
Speaker 3 (01:10:13):
That just doesn't happen overnight.
Speaker 2 (01:10:15):
I'm going to assume, however, y'all take it that he
will be at least the guy that he's been his
whole career prior to this year, because he quite honestly
was having the best season of.
Speaker 3 (01:10:24):
His career this year. Pretty much every number.
Speaker 2 (01:10:26):
You want to look at was a nice sizable, noticeable
jump up from anything you'd done in his career before.
His walk rate was through the roof, his home run
rate was up, sluggings up ops plus up everything ops,
way higher than it had ever been before, way higher
than his career numbers.
Speaker 3 (01:10:46):
But if he's just the player that.
Speaker 2 (01:10:47):
You got in twenty twenty three and twenty two in
any other year, then that's fine too. And yes, you're
not going to see him for very much of the
remainder of the season. And I guess it's possible that
if he's now two days shy of being two months
from the incident, from the injury, if there hasn't been
very much progress to date, I guess it's reasonable to
(01:11:08):
assume there won't be a whole lot of progress over
the coming days.
Speaker 3 (01:11:11):
And that's essentially where we've been. He's been traveling with
the team.
Speaker 2 (01:11:14):
We've seen him on the field as long ago as
three weeks ago, on the field playing catch, stay out
in stationary, you know, throwing the ball back and forth.
He's not chasing balls. They're not throwing it over his
head and him trying to, you know, go get it.
He's not running the bases. He's obviously not been involved
in any on field BP. They've talked a little bit
about some of the things that he's done, but none
(01:11:34):
of them suggest they're ready to have him run the bases,
even get in a lineup for an FCL team or
a minor league team.
Speaker 3 (01:11:41):
None of that stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:11:42):
I'm not when he's cleared for all that, I don't
think he's gonna take very long because they don't have
very long. He's not gonna get seven to ten games.
I mean, he may get seven to ten days from
the day he's cleared, with a couple of game action,
just to make sure he feels good the next day
and nothing is wrong and you're not ruining the only
chance you have left to get him on the field.
But in terms of the player you're gonna get, I
don't think Kyle Tucker's coming back to hit two fifty,
(01:12:04):
coming back to hit two twenty with no pop. He'll
be fine, He'll get his rhythm back, and don't I
don't look at it like any other injuries. It doesn't
bother me how they've described it, even though it clearly
was very poorly described. Their situation with so many others,
and maybe Michael Brantley more fits the comparison very much.
Speaker 3 (01:12:21):
Unlike pitchers.
Speaker 2 (01:12:21):
Pitchers are the reason they're not coming back when maybe
we thought they were because they're having setbacks. He hasn't
had any setbacks. He hasn't done anything. He's not doing
anything to create one. And Michael Brantley had degenerative issues
to the point where he could have easily just said
I'm retiring, I'm not trying to play again, but he decided, well,
if you're gonna give me twelve million dollars, i'll try
to play again, four million more incentives which I won't reach.
Speaker 3 (01:12:43):
I'll try. This is why he retired.
Speaker 2 (01:12:45):
Now, if Michael Brantley could sign a deal to play
once a week, he could still hit. I guarantee you
he can still hit well, sign and throw the baseball.
He just can't do it every day anymore, and he
couldn't do it every day last year. So I don't
really like in that to how it's gone with. But
the real reason I don't like in it, I don't
have anything to compare it to. Yeah, it doesn't happen
(01:13:07):
this type of injury, unless it's just even a broke.
He broke his leg when he hit the ball off
his shin. He's gonna have a surgical procedure and it's
gonna be gone for the next eight to twelve weeks. Okay,
but that's not how it's happened. There was no procedure,
there was no report of a broken leg. He just
has not hardly gotten any better.
Speaker 4 (01:13:28):
It's I don't know, man, I have just never ever
seen anything like this, And maybe it was because, you know,
we thought it was just a bruise.
Speaker 3 (01:13:37):
So it's good.
Speaker 4 (01:13:37):
But the walking boot, I think should have been the
first clue that this is not just a bruise.
Speaker 3 (01:13:42):
Right, That's pretty normal for a lot of injuries.
Speaker 4 (01:13:44):
Though, I just feel like you put a walking boot on,
you're automatically tacking on some weeks. That should be a
rule of thumb, at least, I think. So, all right,
we'll come back to wrap up the four o'clock hour
next and we'll give away some free concert tickets when
we do.
Speaker 3 (01:13:59):
Hey, it's Blommer.
Speaker 9 (01:14:00):
The eighteen continues with Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler. Baby,
there's more asses on this show than a certain mix
a lot video.
Speaker 3 (01:14:11):
I'm like, your mother would not be proud.
Speaker 6 (01:14:13):
Right now, Baby's got those hot takes.
Speaker 2 (01:14:16):
Granted, I'm not gonna say this, Son Rangers not unfunny.
It's the best, but the whole rest of the movie
is so good. This should not be a highlight I had.
Speaker 3 (01:14:26):
Okay, so we're gonna give away Yes tickets.
Speaker 2 (01:14:29):
Clearly we're giving away tickets to Deep Purple, and yes, yeah,
well Deep Purple is the headliner, but as I said
during the break yes should be the headliner.
Speaker 4 (01:14:38):
Uh, I'm a Yes fan. But uh, real quick, let's
give these way that was from the breakup. We'll tackle
that in just a second. A pair of tickets to
see Deep Purple celebrating fifty years of Smoke on the
Water with special guest, Yes who wrote that song that
was just admirably performed in that film, August seventeenth at
(01:14:58):
the Woodlands Pavilion. Tickets on sale now at ticketmaster dot com.
Here's what you gotta know, because you always gotta be
listening so that you know what the answer to the
question we ask is.
Speaker 3 (01:15:08):
I me Adam Clanton.
Speaker 4 (01:15:11):
I refer to tonight's preseason opener as what I kind
of gave it a little moniker. There's not a lot
of players that you probably are gonna be seeing in
the regular season suiting up. It's a there's a reason
I refer to Tonight's Texans preseason opener as this term
call seven one three two one two five seven ninety
(01:15:33):
seven one three two one two five seven ninety Tell
Dan what I refer to Tonight's Texans preseason opener as?
And you're going to that to that show. Here's the
deal that movie I had. I just like two days ago,
had a discussion about this with my wife. She goes,
you know, if you ever thought about this that movie.
(01:15:53):
Guys love that movie because it is told from the
male perspective. And I disagreed with her about this because
obviously it's it's now it's probably heavily slanted that way.
But you definitely get Jennifer Anniston's side of things. I mean,
she she wants you to want to do the dishes.
We get her side of the story. Yeah, she's there
in the bathroom with her friend who's giving her kids
(01:16:16):
a bath, and talking about her scheme, her plans on
how to make it all work.
Speaker 2 (01:16:21):
I've got him right where he wants him. And what
does she say, what do you mean shirt listen in
the parking lot?
Speaker 3 (01:16:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (01:16:25):
Well, well at the same time, she is absolutely emasculating
her husband as he cuts up their children's food.
Speaker 3 (01:16:31):
Who Ralphie, Yeah from Christmas Story. Yes, she's like, not you,
I'm not talking about you.
Speaker 4 (01:16:37):
John Favreau is the best, though he needed his I
know what you're saying. No, seriously, don't do anything.
Speaker 3 (01:16:43):
I got you. I know, I hear you. That's what
I mean.
Speaker 2 (01:16:45):
Why the tone rangers so much of the rest of
the movie is so good. They even there are multiple
sports angles to the movie. They meet at a Cubs game. Yeah,
football in the movie, not just the video games. The
Arizona Cardinals are mentioned in the movie is.
Speaker 4 (01:17:00):
Well, although the guy that ends up buying the piece
of art does look a.
Speaker 2 (01:17:03):
Lot like Tom Brady Dead Ringer. It's just weird. He's
like And by the way, it's called the breakup. I
don't even think we mentioned that in the waste of
however many minutes this has been talking about.
Speaker 4 (01:17:12):
The only movie I went to the theater to see
with this one girl I dated one time. She used
to perform at Rockets games.
Speaker 3 (01:17:22):
Why only one date? I didn't last that long. That's
clearly one day we.
Speaker 4 (01:17:27):
Had the breakup after that was the only film we
went to the movies to see.
Speaker 3 (01:17:31):
There was no scheming on how to get back together.
Speaker 4 (01:17:34):
Apparently summer of two thousand and six a lot of fun,
very short time, and then it was over.
Speaker 3 (01:17:38):
Did you ever think about what you were doing though?
What do you mean?
Speaker 2 (01:17:42):
Hm, I think I should maybe go out with this girl.
I haven't been out with her before, so we're not
really together yet, but if all things work out, we
will be. That's that's what I'm after here. That's the
purpose of you know, getting a date with her. Why
don't we go see the breakup?
Speaker 3 (01:17:56):
Well? It was out. Everybody thought it was like you
know that. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (01:18:01):
I think that movie gets a bad rap. And here's
why nobody likes the ending. Well, let me rephrase all.
Speaker 3 (01:18:07):
So they're getting back together?
Speaker 4 (01:18:09):
Well, see you say that every time we talk about
this movie. You bring that up and you're like, you're
so sure of it, and I'm just not. I don't
think they ever got back together. That's why people don't
like the ending, because they break up. What do they
think The name of the movie is the breakup? What
did they think was gonna happen? So I just I
don't know why you're so sure that they get back together.
Speaker 2 (01:18:29):
I'm sure we'll find out in the the get They
Get Back Together movie that they make in the future.
Speaker 4 (01:18:37):
They can't make a sequel to that movie. What would
even be the plot? There wouldn't be The.
Speaker 3 (01:18:41):
Bawling scenes were amazing, though. I'll raise your hand if
you put your hand down there. Oh my gosh, Bandon Brothers.
She's rent it.
Speaker 2 (01:18:50):
Sometimes great because Vince is great?
Speaker 3 (01:18:54):
He is, and why does he make movies anymore? What
happened to him?
Speaker 2 (01:18:57):
He was in the relatively recent season of kur He's
out there still not a movie, I know, but he's
he's still out there.
Speaker 4 (01:19:03):
I think one of his more underrated during this stretch
of films too, was a couple's Retreat.
Speaker 2 (01:19:08):
What's underrated about it? He and Bateman doing their thing.
Favreau's there too. Favreau is a scumbag in that movie.
Wife they went to go get Well.
Speaker 4 (01:19:16):
Yeah, she was, by the way, the most attractive cast
member of Sex and the City.
Speaker 2 (01:19:22):
It wasn't horse face, it wasn't. That's what we don't
need to put on a pole question.
Speaker 3 (01:19:29):
Do you think it's that obvious?
Speaker 2 (01:19:30):
I hope it's that obvious not to mention some people.
Isn't the Matt Thomas Show talk about that?
Speaker 4 (01:19:36):
Some people think, for whatever reason, that Sarah Jessica Parker
is attractive.
Speaker 3 (01:19:41):
One guy does, who Matt? He does? Do you Broderick? Okay,
because Matt Thomas doesn't think that. I don't yet. No,
I mean her husband whose name is Matt.
Speaker 4 (01:19:53):
No, but he Matt Thomas has brought her up on
the show numerous times.
Speaker 3 (01:19:57):
Co host with him. Then, brother, I don't want to
if we're.
Speaker 2 (01:20:00):
Going to talk about Sarah Jessica, I didn't bring her
up at all.
Speaker 3 (01:20:04):
She's not in the breakup. You want to get Nick
in here before the top of the hour.
Speaker 4 (01:20:07):
Would love to Nick break up the monotony of this
conversation that is heavily sports related.
Speaker 3 (01:20:12):
He's gotta we have to click him in though. Somebody
has to do it. I can't do it from here,
I think.
Speaker 2 (01:20:16):
Okay, I'll move my mouth so I'll get it over
there here. So waf the screen on this screen?
Speaker 3 (01:20:21):
There you go. Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 6 (01:20:23):
Nick?
Speaker 3 (01:20:23):
Welcome to the A team. What's on your mind?
Speaker 2 (01:20:27):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (01:20:30):
Hi, hello, Hey, Hey, what's going on?
Speaker 3 (01:20:34):
How are you? Man?
Speaker 6 (01:20:36):
I'm doing okay? Try to stay cool?
Speaker 3 (01:20:39):
Yeah, it's pretty high outside. It's August.
Speaker 4 (01:20:41):
Last I heard, yes, yes, yes, and that's it. Five
o'clock hour is going to be straight ahead. We will
obviously revisit tonight's Texans preseason opener, which, by the way,
I was referring to all show long as Diet game Day.
Eric and Galveston and Lloyd in Northeast Houston are the
(01:21:06):
ones that knew that answer, So they'll be going to
see deep purple and Yes coming up on August seventeenth
of the Woodlands Pavilion, we will have another set of
tickets to give away tomorrow. We're always giving away tickets
here during the a team summer of fun, and of
course the Astros with the night off, but have that
it's the next biggest series because every game and every
(01:21:28):
series from here on out, when you're neck and neck
with a team like the Mariners and you have the
Rangers trying to act like they still count breathing down
your neck, I suppose all these games are gonna be
important down the stretches.
Speaker 3 (01:21:40):
The Astros have what we're.
Speaker 4 (01:21:41):
Really I mean, honestly, even compared to last year, this
will be the most competitive division race they've had during
this run. And I thought last year would be the case,
but none of us thought that the beginning of this
season was going to go the way it did.
Speaker 3 (01:21:53):
Yeah, probably gonna end very similarly.
Speaker 2 (01:21:55):
One team may think they've got it done and the
end of the season hasn't come yet, and we'll see
what does come on that final day. I do think
at least two, but I'm actually in the corner of
all three teams will be in it when that final
couple of probably seven to ten games roll around five
o'clock hour Football at five.
Speaker 1 (01:22:10):
Next, two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam talking your teams,
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler.
Speaker 6 (01:22:23):
Are the a team a team?
Speaker 2 (01:22:29):
Well for the first time since January January, the answer
to that question, while it remains the same, Yes, we're
ready for football. We actually have football Texans and Bears
to night, both teams. Like every team in the NFL,
you get to roster ninety guys. When you go to camp.
(01:22:51):
You're going to see a lot of the guys that
are hoping to break camp with their respective teams playing
the football game tonight. You're going to see guys that
run reserve to all your starters. You're gonna see guys
that are gonna be their first taste and maybe last
taste in the NFL. You're gonna see guys that have
the opportunity with all the reps tonight and over the
Texans next three presons in games to impress the coaches
(01:23:12):
enough to waive them at the end of camp, but
make sure they know they'd love to have you back
on the practice squad. Again, there's only twenty one guys
essentially that don't necessarily have to be here because the
practice squads have been enlarged to that point. Fifty three
guys on the roster, sixteen more on the practice squad.
There are a lot of players who are here in
Texans camp we will see tonight that will be with
(01:23:34):
the Texans when they are playing Indianapolis the opening week
of the season, just not the guys that will be
on the field first when they play against the Indianapolis
Colts to start the season. I expect zero starters to
be out there. All indications are even a expected rookie
starter Kamari Lassiter, will be on the sidelines for this one.
Probably changes as they go through the remainder of the preseason.
Pittsburgh and then a pair of games at home, still
(01:23:57):
on their preseason s late for the Texans, this does
open up the NFL preseason quite obviously with their game
tonight in Kent. It's always pretty special be that first
game in that it is part of Hall of Fame weekend.
It is even more special because of what Andre Johnson
is to this franchise and this city and the fact
that he's the first Houston Texans player to go into
the Hall of Fame because of what he did in
(01:24:19):
his Houston Texans uniform. He and the team obviously arrived
in advance of the game. Team going out yesterday, Andre
able to meet up with a host large contingent of
Texans fans, both there for the game, but maybe as
if not more importantly, there for Saturday's induction. There are
a bunch of events from the Hall of Fame's side
of things that will take place over the next couple
(01:24:41):
of days. The Texans putting on a couple of events,
basically parties to help fans and Andre and a lot
of people around the NFL celebrate. So what the Astros
did earlier this week and some of his friends who
supported him here in this city and elsewhere as a
part of see all that stuff is good. There are
(01:25:01):
some things to see. There are some young players to watch.
We didn't get into any of the position groups specifically,
but probably worth our while to do so here. The
only one I talked about already was the tight end position,
and it's probably the teage in Quatoriano Kate Stover show tonight.
I don't know if any of the other three tight
ends will even play with Schultz being the starter and
not needed. Keen at the other end of the depth
(01:25:23):
chart has been hurt and Brevin Jordan not completing the
practice on Tuesday. I wonder if that means let's just
be smart and safe and have him on the sidelines.
They do have a host of running backs, and they've
added one since camp began. I think we all talked
about the cam Aker situation. He's still been running in
the back group of players as they go through their
rep still working with that back end of team's third team.
(01:25:46):
But between Pierce and a Goombalwale, they probably know enough
about them. I still think you might see them and
how special teams are part of this game tonight because
of the new kickoff rules. But Jordan the rookie Brooks,
the rookie JJ Taylor who was on the prime bac
to squad last year, and cam Akers are all available,
and you signed cam Akers for a reason, and it
(01:26:07):
would stand to reason that you probably would want to
see what he can do. Granted he'll be playing with
reserves and against reserves. At some point you got to
liken this to your summer league NBA stuff. They're not
playing against players they're gonna be playing against during the season.
Reed Shepherd wasn't playing against guys that were going to
be guarding him during the season. He wasn't driving by
(01:26:29):
these guys that were gonna guard him, and he wasn't
guarding guys that were gonna be out there, And the
same thing's gonna happen. For the most part tonight and
most of training camp. You're battling against players in the
same position. You're all trying to make the team. You're
all trying to be the fifth corner, this sixth corner,
the fourth running back, the seventh wide receiver. That's who's
going to be out there tonight. But those players, some
of them will prove that they belong here. And the
(01:26:52):
wide receiver group of all the ones that we could
talk about offensively. It probably still merits the most attention.
You have five guys that you probably they already have
answers to, not necessarily that they're on the team, but
you already know what you have. You know what you
have in your three starters, Nico Stefan and Tank, and
they're not gonna play tonight. But you also know what
you have. And Noah Brown and Robert Woods, they're not
(01:27:12):
gonna play. There's no reason to put them out there.
When you have John Mechi, Xavier Hutchins and Steven Simms,
Ben Skarni, Jane Jenkee, Quinneesiphas and Johnny Johnson the third.
They have twelve wide receivers at Camp Sit five. You
still probably hardly see enough reps for seven different receivers,
but that's worth watching. Where can you find John Metchi
on this roster next year? Is he the next guy
(01:27:34):
in line? Is he basically your number four? Is he
gonna be on the field with two of the other
three at times? And I think the chances are getting
better and better the more I've seen from him this camp.
One of the things I actually asked John when we
talk to him this week because he was already talking
about how much how he feels and how it's different.
This is the you know, the third season for him,
But each of the previous seasons he came to camp
(01:27:57):
or his season was totally different because the physical state
that his body was in trying to get over the
cancer and not being a part of the team. Really
Then last year, his first year back from that, after
having part of the previous six months, eight months, twelve
months unable to do the things physically that you'd want
to do to have your body preferred.
Speaker 3 (01:28:17):
So I essentially asked him, did he know he was going.
Speaker 2 (01:28:20):
To feel better this camp, better about what his body
could do better after going through practices, how he felt
the next day, things like that, did he know that
or did he find that out as he's been going
through camp here and going through OTAs he said, he
felt pretty confident that he would know that without seeing
it happen, and that I thought was a pretty good
sign that he felt so good about things physically that
(01:28:40):
now he can just go out there and play football.
And that's one of the first things that coach Ryan
said about him way earlier in camp is the confidence
you see in him that those things are so far
in the rearview mirror now from a football standpoint, he's
just out there playing. He's he had a really good day.
Albeit a lot of this coming in drill work with
in his one on ones, some of it in eleven
(01:29:01):
on elevens. But his wiggle is I just had not
seen a whole lot of it before, just what he
had on display this. I guess it was Tuesday at
their final practice, just shaking guys, turning him around the
wrong way. Obviously he's open after that, after he shakes
the guy defending him. And that's why you put guys
out there on the field. I think in these situations
they do have four games, so I do think they'll
(01:29:22):
be pretty cautious about who they feel will be a
part of the team and how often they're going to
put them out there. But that group of all the
groups we could look at any given preseason game, diet,
game day, if you will, Yes, well worth keeping an
eye on that group again, seven other guys beyond the
top five, a twelve player group as they roll through preseason.
Speaker 4 (01:29:44):
It is to me one of the more fascinating subplots,
even though we have yet to have a single minute
of action on the actual field from a game standpoint,
just the difference in approach when we are all I
guess about what went down at the draft prior to
last season, the fact that the Texans did, I mean,
(01:30:06):
they literally swung for the fences. They got their quarterback
that they wanted, they got the quarterback that fell to them,
and then you know, able to get Will Anderson Junior
on top of that with the very next pick and
a massive you know, deadline day or a draft day deal.
Speaker 3 (01:30:22):
That's what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 4 (01:30:24):
But like the cautious optimism might have been the best
thing to describe what you went into last season, because again,
it wasn't like CJ. Stroud came out like gangbusters in
the first or second games. It was a slow burn,
if you will. It's just fascinating to me the subplots
(01:30:44):
going into this season. You basically know CJ's not going
to play this year because it's protect them at all costs.
But he's just he's this guy, he's this entity now,
and they have this identity now that not even a
year ago they didn't have. They had the guys on
the roster, but you didn't know what they were going
to become and it's just to me, this is the
(01:31:08):
the number one reason why the NFL is king. You
can go down the list of all sorts of pros
when it comes to comparing it to all the major sports,
but the parody that is involved in the NFL that
has evidence clearly every single year there's a worse to
first story. There's a huge turnaround, there's this many more
(01:31:31):
wins than you had last year. It's just it never fails.
You can talk about all the other things that you
think are baked into the NFL package, but that's the
number one thing, and we're experiencing that in Houston, maybe
for the first time ever, because I don't think DeShawn
was like this.
Speaker 2 (01:31:45):
Well, Deshaun's first season wasn't even a half season. He
played just seven games, right, it was cut short. He
was putting up ridiculous highlight reel numbers, right, you know,
they had a bunch of high scoring games. They didn't
win them all, but there were a lot of highlight
reel plays.
Speaker 3 (01:31:59):
The New Game comes to mind, the.
Speaker 2 (01:32:01):
Seattle game, the line. But then he missed the second
half of the season and the team.
Speaker 3 (01:32:05):
Was also bad.
Speaker 4 (01:32:06):
But I and again exactly, because I also don't feel
like even with the half season that he had that
was amazing. You know, recency bias factors in, but you
just didn't have the hype that you have for CJ
going into He's a top twenty player on that list
and deservedly so.
Speaker 3 (01:32:23):
Well.
Speaker 4 (01:32:24):
Micah Parsons and Dak Prescott ranked ahead of him.
Speaker 2 (01:32:27):
Misa being ranked ahead of him is fine. I think
it's a debate. I mean that's fine too.
Speaker 4 (01:32:32):
You know what, the fact that these two have talked
as much as they have about one another this offseason
in particular, you don't think that that's all gonna be.
I mean, just the hype videos for that game coming
up in November are going to be just astronomical.
Speaker 3 (01:32:48):
I hope both these teams do well.
Speaker 4 (01:32:50):
I mean, I don't want the Cowboys to do well,
but it's better for the Texans if they do in
that the Texans then go in there and make everybody cry,
and Dallas.
Speaker 3 (01:32:57):
It's probably better for it.
Speaker 2 (01:32:58):
I mean, something is going to happen with the Cowboys
this season, one way or the other because of how
they've set it all up. You know, three straight years
of winning twelve games each three straight years of having
massive playoff disappointments. Three significant players or people as we
sit here today not locked in beyond this season. Their
head coach, their quarterback, and their top wide receiver. Even
(01:33:20):
Micah Parsons plays into that a little, but I think
the timing just isn't quite there yet. He'll be there,
but all those things are. It all has to come
to a head at some point, and it's this year.
Speaker 4 (01:33:30):
No, I can't wait for it. The fact that it's
on Monday night will be great as well. We got
plenty more to get to, including an OJ update next.
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Speaker 1 (01:34:35):
We now return to Adam Clinton and Adam Wexworth on.
Speaker 11 (01:34:39):
Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4 (01:34:52):
Tell you I'm playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City, get
the chainsaw. Wex It is the A team here. On
Sports Talk seven ninety, the Texans preseason opener tonight, the
Hall of Fame game, the Chicago Bears third and fourth
stringers against the Houston Texans fifth and sixth stringers.
Speaker 3 (01:35:13):
They don't have fifth stringers, Yeah they do.
Speaker 4 (01:35:16):
They're practice squatters, right, that's like third, Well, what's the
last string third?
Speaker 3 (01:35:20):
Texans favored by two and a half.
Speaker 4 (01:35:22):
By the way, Oh my gosh, listen, if you're gambling
on this game tonight, you have a problem. You know,
I always give like the gamblers anonymous and the one
eight hundred numbers, and hey, reach out to this website
if you think you might have a problem, which is
hilarious to me in and of itself.
Speaker 2 (01:35:34):
Davis Mills over under, No stop ten and a half completions.
Speaker 4 (01:35:39):
No, I won't participate. I won't, I can't. I mean,
come on, man, there's a line on this game. The
fact that there's a line.
Speaker 2 (01:35:49):
There's a game, so the answers always doesn't count doesn't
mean you can't wager on it. Yes, it does, because
you have standards as a human. No, it's all right,
go feel free. Thirty two and a half over under.
Speaker 4 (01:36:01):
What do you think the typical person who bets on
a game like this looks like? What's their appearance? Unkempt?
Speaker 3 (01:36:07):
No, probably total.
Speaker 2 (01:36:09):
They're probably just getting off work, They've put their briefcase down,
they made themselves a Chai Ti latte. They're sitting down
for some football.
Speaker 4 (01:36:15):
Why why did you just describe like an eighties yuppie
on Wall Street that's betting on this preseason game to
get their.
Speaker 3 (01:36:23):
Coffee drinks from starves? Is that a.
Speaker 4 (01:36:27):
You know, Uh, Carson had a hard time saying it,
so it's story.
Speaker 3 (01:36:32):
Bucks that's cool, it's cool. What is he? What is
he like?
Speaker 6 (01:36:36):
Cake?
Speaker 4 (01:36:36):
Pops, cake, coffee? Yeah, he doesn't get coffee. Could you imagine,
oh my gosh, a little terrorist like on level nine.
Speaker 2 (01:36:46):
Yeah, this is a watch for players, and again watch
the kickoff, see how it goes. There are a lot
of people like me initially, and I'm not sure if
I've changed my tune yet that that coaches might just
decide I don't have a handle on this and I'm
not worthy.
Speaker 3 (01:36:59):
I don't want to risk you know.
Speaker 2 (01:37:00):
I was listening to the Director of Officials talk about
the reasons that they put these rules for the kickoffs
in place, and they're twofold.
Speaker 3 (01:37:07):
We already know one reason.
Speaker 2 (01:37:08):
They were trying to keep players safety in mind, and
to a certain extent, they've turned the kickoff into much
closer to a scrimmage play because there's no run up.
You're lined up here and you got to have your
foot on the forty. If you're talking about the coverage
team and they're lined up there and they got to
have that one foot. Seven of the guys have to
have one foot on the thirty. Two other guys can
(01:37:29):
be within that ten yard radius or ten yard area,
and then your two return men are ten yards behind that.
There's no run up anymore on this play, no matter
how it is executed, even if there's no return, even
if there is a return, the players are that much
closer to one another. You've created much more like a
scrimmage play versus the huge crashes with one guy running
(01:37:52):
for the last thirty five yards and another one trying
to stop him from running another ten at full speed.
Speaker 3 (01:37:58):
That's number one.
Speaker 2 (01:37:59):
Number two is they they think they've created a situation
where there's an incentive to return the kick, to make
a play on the kick, rather than just you know,
watch it going to the end zone and run your
offense out on the field. But the same people that
you're trying to incentivize to return the kick, they coach
both teams, and I mean they coach the kick return
(01:38:22):
team and they coach the coverage team. Now they're not
on the field at the same time. But the same
people you're trying to incentivize to return the kicks, well,
you also have the same coach trying to prevent that
from happening. There's no incentive for them to do that.
They're gonna learn on the fly, So I would hope
the teams air on the side of we should use
(01:38:44):
the preseason.
Speaker 3 (01:38:45):
For what it is. Let them return it.
Speaker 2 (01:38:48):
Ask your kicker to do the things that will initiate
that return. Have him kick it into the zone, into
the landing zone. Don't have him kick it out of
the end zone on the fly, so it will be
brought out to them. And by the same token, return teams,
if the kick is not caught cleanly, go scoop it
up and take it out, even though you have the
option to not do that here in the preseason. How
(01:39:10):
are we gonna find out how it works if we
don't at least put the guys out there. The other
part of it is, are these coverage teams gonna be
who you're really gonna use during the year, because if
some of these players, I think we're gonna see a
different group of eleven, like you might see a team
like Darian Gumbowale justin Reid. Can they not kick the
ball from the thirty five to inside the twenty, which
(01:39:32):
is all it takes now to get a return to
put it in the landing zone. Well, now you have
eleven actual tackle capable players on the field. No offense
to Kayimi or Tommy Townsend or whoever your kicker is.
You've put another football player on the field capable of
running down the field or being a better safety on
the field to prevent a big return, but to make
(01:39:53):
the tackle you're not gonna see like a big tight
end is basically the biggest player you're ever gonna.
Speaker 3 (01:39:58):
See out there.
Speaker 2 (01:39:59):
Now to see more backs, more linebackers, more smaller players
that are faster than these big huge I mean, linemen
on a kick team is normal, was normal. It will
not be anymore. There's no place for them out there
with the way this play is designed. So I am
curious to see who Frank Ross ends up putting out
there for this. And I would hope both teams, their
(01:40:21):
special teams coach Frank and the special teams coordinator on
the Bears. Well, let's let's get something out of this.
Let's make it happen. Let's return these kicks.
Speaker 4 (01:40:31):
The Realistically, how much does this increase scoring? Just across
the board?
Speaker 2 (01:40:38):
And I wish I knew where to look, and I'm
sure there's somewhere I just had not found it. Let's
say the average line of scrimmage last year was the
twenty six yard line. And let's say the average line
of scrimmage this year is the thirty two yard line.
Can you just in your head imagine how much easier
it is now to score. You started to drive on
the thirty two game of interest, you get eleven yards
on your initial first down. Well, now you're on the
forty three yard line. You have another first down, you're
(01:40:59):
in their territory without having any big plays, guys, nothing,
and you're in position to consider going forward on fourth
down already. Rather than just opening the game with a
meaningless twenty yards and a punt, you're opening the game
with a meaning full twenty yards and I'm gonna go
for it, which might make both teams more likely to
score if you make it. Well, now you're in field
goal range. If you don't, well, now they get the
(01:41:21):
ball halfway a fifty yard line.
Speaker 4 (01:41:23):
And see this is guys like Mahomes, guys like CJ.
Lamar Jackson, anybody who's an explosive quarterback for whatever reason,
whether it's more with their arm or with their legs,
but significantly more so with their arm. I would think
this is why when we look back on this time
period in NFL history, and in a couple decades even
(01:41:47):
there's so many things at play. First of all, the
league became so pass happy. Then the league had seventeen games.
The league's going to have eighteen games put in, and
you have, you know, all of these young quarterbacks in
addition to the.
Speaker 3 (01:42:00):
Guys that are already established.
Speaker 4 (01:42:02):
We're gonna look back and be like, what happened from
like twenty twenty until you know, it's just I feel
like you're gonna if you were to graph it out,
it's just gonna be this huge spike in numbers across
the board.
Speaker 3 (01:42:15):
Yeah, And I wouldn't will.
Speaker 2 (01:42:16):
I think the Texans were explosive because they had a
lot of big plays and a lot of you know,
twenty plus yard plays if you but they weren't that
good on offense, and they were definitely not very good
on first and second down. And they ran the ball
a lot on first and second down unsuccessfully. And I
wouldn't say they were bailed out, But it didn't hurt
them as much as it should have because Sloak was
(01:42:37):
coming up with really good plays on third down. Their
rookie quarterback was executing so brilliantly on third down, being
so good on third down kind of saved them from
what would have, otherwise I think, been a much less
successful offensive season because of their lack of it on
first and second down. You know one thing we probably
should have mentioned earlier, since you were into talking about
players who wear boots. Not the kind that you wear
(01:42:59):
to the rodeo, but the that restrict movement. The Chargers
are in a bit of a boot problem now, justin
Herbert injury to the planter fashion in his right foot,
two weeks in a boot doctors recommend, and then a
graduated return to play. They do expect he'll be ready
for the start of the season. This is straight off
of a Charger's release, where about a month from the
(01:43:21):
season's at about a month and a week from the
season starting, and they're putting their starting quarterback in a
boot with an injury to his foot that is going
to be better by having him not play. There's not
a procedure planned. This is a manner in which they
think it will stop hurting as much. Basically, any reason
(01:43:41):
why this isn't going to be a problem throughout the season.
I mean, I think they're hopeful, and only hopeful that
it won't be.
Speaker 3 (01:43:49):
There are certain injuries.
Speaker 4 (01:43:51):
First of all, no one's ever one hundred percent to
start the year, even and as the season progresses throughout
a seventeen game campaign, now it only gets worse. But
there are certain injuries that just don't get better until
you rest. Not rest from in a football schedule standpoint,
(01:44:11):
but literally don't use this part of your body at
all for any reason until it's healed. That's probably not
what you want to hear about your quarterback who I'm
not saying it's a make or break year for him,
but you've got a new head coach. You want to
get back into the hunt, get back into the you know,
(01:44:32):
the fray of things. Not just how about just in
your division, I mean outside of Denver.
Speaker 3 (01:44:39):
I don't think the.
Speaker 4 (01:44:39):
Raiders are going to be like world beaters, but they
found their head coach, I think, and I think they'll be.
Speaker 3 (01:44:46):
Do you know what their quarterback battle looks like right now?
I don't even want to hear the names.
Speaker 2 (01:44:49):
Well, they both have mustaches. If you think that's a
good thing, I don't. It's Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew.
Speaker 3 (01:44:56):
But Gardner Minshew healthy versus a planner for shitess like well,
the other part of this whole thing.
Speaker 2 (01:45:03):
They're gonna spend the rest of training camp basically having
East and Stick and the guys behind him preparing them
for the season.
Speaker 4 (01:45:12):
Right and then, by the way, everybody's looking up at
the Chiefs no matter what when the season starts. In
all likelihood, although the Chiefs have had a very rocky
off season, a lot of things going on.
Speaker 2 (01:45:21):
No offense to them and the players being arrested all
the time. Other than Rashid Rice, I think the rest
of the team that matters is.
Speaker 6 (01:45:28):
Fine, Houston.
Speaker 1 (01:45:30):
It's you're a home team, lifelong here anytime anywhere.
Speaker 8 (01:45:34):
I love your whole team. Go rock and go.
Speaker 1 (01:45:37):
Just tell your smart device slice sports Talk seven ninety
on iHeart Radio.
Speaker 6 (01:45:40):
Playing Sports Talk seven ninety on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (01:45:46):
You guys know what that music means, because we always
play it here when it is time to remind you
of the items we either have gotten to but not
in a while, or have not gotten to at all.
Speaker 3 (01:45:55):
In case you missed it.
Speaker 2 (01:45:57):
In case you missed it, the Astros are back in
first place above virtue of their win last night and
the Mariners loss off date today. Kukuchie, you say Kakuchi
will make Disastro's debut by getting the start tomorrow night
as they begin a three game series with the Rays.
In case you missed it, it's Hall of Fame weekend
and the Texans and Bears are playing an NFL football
preseason game tonight in just a couple of hours.
Speaker 3 (01:46:18):
What else I have today? I think you pretty much
got it all. Goodbye guys.
Speaker 12 (01:46:22):
No, so you talked about Mike Trout earlier, and the
reason why I lead off with Gordon Hayward retiring is
I'm gonna steal this from Barsoul. They posted the video
of when he nearly banked in the half court heave
against Duke in the Final four final game to almost
beat them for the national title, and their caption was
the legend that almost was but never was. And Mike
(01:46:45):
Trout I kind of feel like is trending towards that direction.
Like if he has another one of these injuries in
the next year or two, don't you kind of think
that's gonna be him saying that's it, Like I'm not
doing this anymore, I'm going to move on. So anyone
else kind of come to mind? Where you were, like, man,
that guy for sure is going to be or even
Lady is going to be a legend, and just what
(01:47:07):
could have been.
Speaker 2 (01:47:08):
I now, after the entire thought, understand where you're coming from.
Speaker 4 (01:47:13):
I have.
Speaker 2 (01:47:14):
I just there's so much difference in there, because to me,
Mike Trout's like he's walking around baseball is the best
player in the league for how many years in a row,
Like everybody wanted Mike Trout, everybody wanted to get a
Mike Trout. Finding Mike Trout, he's putting butts in seats,
just wasn't winning. But Gordon Hayward was like many other
college basketball players. He just happened to play at a
(01:47:35):
smaller school. He was the best guy on the team.
He could carry them a lot further than most other
guys did. The idea that he was or was going
to be an NBA star that I never understood, never
saw it. I don't think he ever got close to it. Definitely,
injuries have slowed his career one major leg break, but
that was already after he had left Utah, where Utah
(01:47:58):
was the first team to crazy overpay for a guy
you were never gonna win with, and then he had
a second team do it.
Speaker 3 (01:48:05):
And I just think the level.
Speaker 2 (01:48:07):
He had one really really good postseason, one really really
good series, but even that didn't seem like top level stuff.
The trade that was made this year, he and his
wife weren't very happy about Oklahoma City traded for him
this year, and he basically was never played because anybody get.
Speaker 3 (01:48:21):
Happy about being traded to Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2 (01:48:24):
He was in Charlotte, so he went from a team
that was among the all time worst teams even during
his years there, and he'd been there for several years.
Speaker 3 (01:48:31):
He went to Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2 (01:48:32):
He had a chance to play for a huge winner,
but he wasn't a part of what they did. He
also wasn't very good when he was on the floor
for some of the reasons. Dan kind of pointed out,
I do think injuries eventually took their toll.
Speaker 3 (01:48:43):
He is thirty three.
Speaker 2 (01:48:44):
He did start at age twenty, coming out of a
very impressive career, which would have you know, we talk
about Leatner's shot with Duke against Kentucky about at the
top of the heap for this era of fans that
have watched the NCAA Tournament or college basketball, that would
have probably been surpassed because he was awesome to begin
(01:49:07):
with he was one of the five best players in
college basketball. They really did not have a great team
except for him, even though they continued to win and
they had a good program. If he puts that shot in,
that's that's the kind of stuff legends are made of.
But it has nothing to do with his NBA career, which, yeah,
it probably ends prematurely.
Speaker 4 (01:49:25):
Maybe that was the worst final four ever here in Houston.
They Butler Bulldogs.
Speaker 2 (01:49:30):
Butler yukon final here. If you like Steve Francis probably
would have liked it because he could have used some
of those bricks to build a building.
Speaker 4 (01:49:39):
It was the worst final score, fifty to forty.
Speaker 3 (01:49:42):
It was awful.
Speaker 2 (01:49:43):
They could not make shots. I've long believed it, and
I think they've finally done something differently in the NCAA
tournament that there were two reasons for it. They would
use they obviously playing stadiums and the shooting backgrounds I
do think affected it.
Speaker 3 (01:49:56):
That hasn't changed.
Speaker 2 (01:49:57):
What I think has changed is the equipment there using
Their rims were brand new, they'd never been used before.
Watched the flight of the ball and then where it
would go after it hit the rim. In every other
arena in the row all season long and then watch
it at the regionals or at the Final four, and
it's just it's.
Speaker 3 (01:50:15):
A clang fit. Why would they do that?
Speaker 2 (01:50:17):
I don't know that they either I'm way off or
they didn't realize that was a fact.
Speaker 4 (01:50:22):
You have to break in equipment at some point. I
get that, but that's when to do this.
Speaker 2 (01:50:29):
So the Gordon Hayward in the NBA three times he
finished with votes for most Improved Player during his career
because he had put his leg or foot on backwards
the prior year.
Speaker 3 (01:50:41):
What else do we have?
Speaker 12 (01:50:42):
All right, So let's knock on wood for the Texans
in training camp. So far, it seems like outside of
Joe Mixon, they've been able to avoid serious injuries. That
doesn't sound like it's the case for former Texan DeAndre Hopkins.
According to Tron Davenport, the ESPN who covers the Titans,
Hopkins is going to be out four to six weeks
after hurting himself in an individual period of practice.
Speaker 3 (01:51:05):
I knee injury.
Speaker 4 (01:51:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:51:06):
I wasn't sure exactly what he was writing versus what
he was posting. So Paul Koharski reported it and Tron,
as you mentioned, confirmed it. A diagnosis of four to
six weeks out. Then he had posted video of Hopkins.
Here's video of Hopkins with a rap on his left
knee during individual period of practice yesterday. So he was
(01:51:29):
already hurt when this video was taken. And now he's
going to what for four to six weeks not practice
practice occasionally, so he'll be ready to go in four
to six weeks. It's a little hard to tell, but
an unfortunate injury. They do have Ridley and they do
have young receiver, but this is the type of guy
(01:51:50):
that should make life easier for Will Levis. Even Hopkins
couldn't do that last year because he was getting hit
so often and he was missing. His arm really really
is good, and I think he's gonna make some of
the most fantastic throws of the season this year and
any year he's there. But he wasn't very accurate and
you know guy, and he didn't make good decisions. Hopkins
was actually opened quite a few times even against the Texans,
(01:52:12):
and they just he just didn't find him or just
flat out missed that side of the field. It was
not the not a derailing injury for a team that
was probably fourth. I think they'll stay there. Yeah, nobody's no,
But I would love to see Hopkins on the field
rather than on the sideline.
Speaker 3 (01:52:27):
By the way, I mean.
Speaker 4 (01:52:30):
Short of Will Levis, I mean bursting onto the scene.
I can't even say that with a straight face. They're
gonna be in the cellar of the AFC South for
a good two three years in all likelihood unless they just.
Speaker 2 (01:52:45):
Yes, you can stop there because it is quarterback based, right,
That's what I'm saying. Everything about the other three teams
suggests the Texans know they have the guy. The Coults
are pretty convinced, even though it hasn't happened on the field,
they have the guy. And the Jaguars just paid the
guy that they believe they have that we believe they don't.
The Titans have no idea even though he played for
about half a season.
Speaker 3 (01:53:06):
They don't know that. While he's not Davis Mills, he's
not I just I don't know, man.
Speaker 4 (01:53:12):
I feel like you're gonna you might not know in
the first year in some cases. But I think you
just know or you don't. I think you just know
you have it or you don't have it, is what
I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (01:53:23):
I hear you I'm actually on the other side.
Speaker 4 (01:53:24):
I'm not anti LEVI like, who's the latest bloomer ever?
Speaker 2 (01:53:29):
You know what I'm saying, Like rich Gannon, Kurt Warner.
Kurt Warner is probably the right answer to this. That's
not a total aberration. I mean, there's a few others
that have made something of their careers, but you I
don't even know if you'd call them so making it,
but I do. I would say adding Pollard and moving
(01:53:50):
to more ty J. Spears this year. They're going to
be good in the backfield this year, as long as
their line is better than it was last year, which
is pretty much a given because they were their worst
line in the NFL a year ago, and they did
I think put effort into making that difference this year
with both Cushion Berry and their first pick Latham to
play tackle his.
Speaker 3 (01:54:08):
Cush How could you not go by that right too?
You have to.
Speaker 4 (01:54:13):
Yeah, they're cellar dwellers for the foreseeable future. Because of
the quarterback purgatory. It's kind of like Dallas. It's just
not as it's not as pronounced because of where they play,
and it's not as pronounced because of the talent level.
We've got one more segment to go here on a
Thursday edition of The eight Team, and it is straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (01:54:34):
Adam and Adam.
Speaker 1 (01:54:34):
Are very, very dedicated fans, such big fans. In fact,
one of them actually pays for his favorite porn. Paying
for porn, Now that's dedication, folks. Back to eighteen premium
on Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 3 (01:54:52):
You're gonna get your money's worth. This seems over the top.
Speaker 4 (01:54:59):
It is the eighth Team here on Sports Talk seven ninety,
final segment of the first day of August edition of
the A Team here on Sports Talk seven ninety. And
you know I'm gonna have to bring this up. I
knew I was gonna have to do it at some point.
OJ Simpson in the news again. Here's what I don't understand.
(01:55:19):
The gist of this is Fred Goldman is going after
the money that he never got from the civil suit.
He's now suing the estate because OJ kicked it earlier
this year for one hundred and seventeen million. Because there's
a lot of interest that has accrued since he originally
was awarded thirty three and a half million back in
(01:55:40):
nineteen ninety four.
Speaker 3 (01:55:42):
But did you know that.
Speaker 4 (01:55:44):
Some of the things that are now being auctioned off
to pay some of this debt. Are just it's not
so much what they are, it's what people are paying
for them. And I realized the irony in somebody like
me saying this, seeing as how well I probably wouldn't
pay this kind of money for any of this stuff,
but I wouldn't mind seeing it.
Speaker 3 (01:56:03):
Let's see, uh ski cap Nordberg war in naked gun?
Is that up for auction? A lot of irony there
was it? The same one he wore that night? What
else are there? There can't be any gloves up for auction.
That would be awkward. Could you imagine if you can
put your hands on those.
Speaker 2 (01:56:21):
Here's a real guess that I know where he was
while still alive. I know where he was looking for
the real killers.
Speaker 3 (01:56:27):
You're very hot. They must be selling some golf golf clubs.
Speaker 4 (01:56:31):
Golf clubs were the number one item listed, well, the
first item listed.
Speaker 3 (01:56:36):
Number one on SUV. What kind do you think it is?
Is it white? Yep?
Speaker 4 (01:56:40):
Keep going, You're you're very you're very close. Made by
the Ford Motor Company. Yes, go ahead, get take a
dander at the model?
Speaker 3 (01:56:49):
Is it like a Bronco?
Speaker 4 (01:56:50):
There you go, But it's not his. That's the one
that al drove. You know who he is. They have a.
Speaker 2 (01:56:58):
Guesstimate on the amount of money they could generate.
Speaker 3 (01:57:02):
I'm glad you asked.
Speaker 4 (01:57:03):
Well, don't forget though, his driver's license one of the
ones that we were talking about, I think off air
one day, and his heisman, the infamous heisman, but I
think it was a replacement.
Speaker 3 (01:57:13):
All right, here's the deal.
Speaker 2 (01:57:17):
Let me let me actually take us back to the
day we were talking about. That didn't his the I
guess the attorney that handles his estate OJS the state Laverne, Okay, Laverne,
that's his last name, Laverne. Didn't he say something about
them never getting anything again.
Speaker 4 (01:57:33):
Zero nothing, But he reversed course and later told the
La Times he would quote handle this thing in a
calm and dispassionate manner, you know, after he didn't handle
the thing that. Yeah, and actually the guy that's speaking
about this is a representative of Laverne. But some of
the things that have already sold. An expired credit card
(01:57:56):
just give me a figure. What do you think that
went for five thousand, six hundred and seventy five dollars,
including a piece of plastic that OJ once used toight
generate credit to order pizza with. Okay, I'm not really
interested in paying five thousand or ten thousand for that,
So are you interested in paying over sixty seven hundred
for an expired driver's license?
Speaker 3 (01:58:17):
No? I want something, No, not at all about.
Speaker 4 (01:58:20):
A signed copy of the dance recital program that he
attended for his daughter on the night of the murders.
Like at the four thousand, four hundred and forty six
dollars for this thing.
Speaker 3 (01:58:32):
So they're not gonna really get anywhere.
Speaker 4 (01:58:34):
You know that somebody who went to that thing still
has that somewhere and they're like, what could I get
from mine that's not signed?
Speaker 3 (01:58:40):
Well, nothing, yes, nothing exactly, almost forty.
Speaker 4 (01:58:45):
Five hundred dollars for a dance recital program because he
signed it.
Speaker 2 (01:58:49):
Well, it's also the timing. It wasn't some dance recital
on some random day and some random year.
Speaker 4 (01:58:55):
Other Simpson items will go on auction later this year,
including the white nineteen ninety three Ford Bronco that Simpson
was in the backseat of during the infamous low Speed chase.
It wasn't a chase through La which became a defining
moment in television history.
Speaker 3 (01:59:09):
It's been on loan for.
Speaker 4 (01:59:10):
Display at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeonforge, Tennessee.
It's owned by Mike Gilbert, the guy who was just
destroying him in the documentary, who used to be his
manager or his agent, I should say, and two friends
of Al Collings. That's odd to me. So three people
own this vehicle, and two of them are friends of AC,
but they're not AC. It's just the driver. What's he
(01:59:33):
doing these days? Nobody ever asks about that, nor do
they ask.
Speaker 2 (01:59:37):
Maybe tomorrow or sometime next week, you'll hey, I have
got an update on the OJ auction. One of the
items up forbid was purchased by an unknown bidder who
goes by the initials AC.
Speaker 4 (01:59:51):
Dude, I'm serious right now, I would drive a ninety
three four Bronco around.
Speaker 3 (01:59:56):
Do I have a problem? Do you think, uh in
that we're talking about it here today again?
Speaker 4 (02:00:00):
Do you have these issues? Do I have these issues?
I mean, is it serious? What do you think they're
asking for? The Bronco?
Speaker 3 (02:00:05):
The trio by the way, I guess they're gonna split
this three ways.
Speaker 2 (02:00:08):
Asking for one hundred K two hundred couldn't even sniff
it three hundred more, one hundred more more?
Speaker 3 (02:00:16):
What one point five good for them? Oh the goldman
see some of that hard earned money. The auction just
an I thought we were close to the end of
the Hey, something new with OJ. No, it's not. We
should be.
Speaker 4 (02:00:34):
Technically, there's gotta be some other Seriously, where are those gloves?
Do the l A, does the does the the city
or the police department or where do they have them
as like evidence stored.
Speaker 3 (02:00:46):
In case the case gets real?
Speaker 4 (02:00:48):
Well, he did say he was going to look for
the real killers, and now he can't do that anymore.
So maybe somebody else will. My hint for them, My
my tip go to the golf courses. That's where he started.
That's where you'll find the real killers. Did he take
care of all that? No, he didn't take care of anything.
He just kept playing golf and then he died.
Speaker 2 (02:01:06):
Twenty seven million views for the last post on at
the Real OJ thirty two.
Speaker 4 (02:01:15):
And none of those were from an account called at
Adam Clanton because it's blocked.
Speaker 3 (02:01:19):
It was the post on April eleventh from his family.
Speaker 4 (02:01:22):
Do you think I should send a formal letter with
like actual written letterhead to his estate saying, hey, he's dead, now,
can you unblock me?
Speaker 3 (02:01:30):
Probably not, that'd be in bad, poor taste.
Speaker 2 (02:01:32):
Speaking of running backs, it looks like Damian Pierce I
will not be suiting up for the Texans tonight per
Aaron Wilson.
Speaker 3 (02:01:39):
Does he say volatile relationships?
Speaker 2 (02:01:41):
I didn't say speaking of volatile relationships, I said speaking
of running back, I'm.
Speaker 3 (02:01:45):
Just looking out for him. I don't want it to
go south.
Speaker 2 (02:01:47):
I was curious if they would use him. He's been
one of the guys they've used on kick returns. But
they've used like eight different players because again, you now
line up with two return men per kick, so there
are a few more guys you might need. He's been
one of them, a host of other running backs as well.
Just opens the door for the other guys more reason
to probably and hopefully see a bunch of Jordan and
(02:02:08):
hopefully some cam Acres, and then see if Acres makes
his way up the depth chart as they move their
way through camp. I'm sure they're hoping there's something there
for them. Still far too young a player to think
his career's not in front of him. But again, he
was sitting out there for anybody to add and he
was available.
Speaker 3 (02:02:27):
How much like actual playing time do you think he
sees this year?
Speaker 8 (02:02:30):
Though?
Speaker 3 (02:02:30):
Who pierce realistically?
Speaker 2 (02:02:34):
Because he's not your third down back type backup, he
can catch the ball really well. That cuts into it
quite a bit because Joe Mixon doesn't really need to
come off the field anyway. He's a three down back.
If he plays, he'll be fine. Oh okay, well good,
I'm glad you know this. All right, that's gonna do
it for today.
Speaker 4 (02:02:52):
Obviously, we are going to discuss all things fifth stringers
tomorrow when we come back in.
Speaker 3 (02:02:58):
I did that just to make wex Matt. It worked.
He's shaking his head at me.
Speaker 2 (02:03:01):
By the way, that over under I mentioned earlier was
at thirty and a half. Oh, and it moved to
thirty two and a half during the day today.
Speaker 4 (02:03:09):
Gotta be kiding degenerates out there have fun gambling on
the Texans Hall of Fame game tonight against the Bears.
We'll discuss that and we'll get you ready for the
debut of Kakochi tomorrow. On a Friday edition of The
A Team here in Studio on Sports Talk seven
Speaker 6 (02:03:24):
Ninety The A Team