The Pittstop 06/10/2023

Join Namath for the first ever edition of The Pittstop on News Radio 101.9 Big Wax. Namath discusses a little bit of everything in the sports world.

Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Welcome into the Pitts Stop on newsradio one h one nine Big Wax.
I'm your host name with Pitts.I'm excited to be with you for the
first ever edition of the pitt Stop. We're gonna talk sports, ins and
outs of it all, all kindsof different genres of sports. Just a
little background information about me so youguys can get to know me again.
My name is Nameth Pitts. I'ma two nineteen graduate of Walter Welbourne High

(00:39):
School in Calhoun County. Went onto Jacksonville State University, where I got
my college degree. Got hired atiHeartRadio in Birmingham about a year ago.
Last summer, came on as aproducer for JT and ARC Radio, Alabama's
Morning News with JT Monday through Fridayssix am to nine am. Make sure
you check it out. But sportshas always been my love and so I

(01:00):
got this opportunity, and of courseI was not going to turn it down.
An opportunity to talk sports with youguys on the weekends on Big Wax
on social media where if you're listening, we appreciate you stopping in to listen.
I love again sports like I eatsleep, breed sports. My faith
is a big thing. That's onething I want you guys to know right
off the bat. I'm a bigbeliever. I'm a believer in Jesus.

(01:23):
I believe that he's the son ofGod. I believe that he came and
stepped in my place and died thedeath that I deserved. I believe that
he was rose from the grave.He rose from the grave, and he
still lives today. I believe GodIsrael, but I do believe they're sinning
our life that separates us from God. But I believe Jesus rescues us from
that. So my faith is anextremely important thing to me. Guys.

(01:46):
I love my family, I lovemy friends. I love traveling. I've
been to probably six plus baseball parksMLB stadiums. My goal is to visit
every single one of the before Idie. I've been to I can't tell
you how many times I've been toTuscaloosa, Yes, named after Joe Namath.
My last name's Pitts. That's wherethe pits Stop comes into play.
You come in and out, getwhat you need, get filled up,

(02:07):
get back on the road. ButI gotta tell you, guys, I'm
a big Alabama fan. I wantto pick up. I want to start
our show with congrats and condolences.We did this on a college station.
I was on with some guys shoutout to the screamage, which is now
retired. It was a sports showin me and some college buddies did in
college, and there was people beforeus that did it, but we did

(02:28):
a congrats and condolences and congrats isbasically I want to congratulate something that's happened
over the week to start the show, and today I want to congratulate the
Oklahoma softball Sooners. The softball womenof Oklahoma University beat Florida State to win
their third straight national championship. Here'sthe final call. Suck up that Oklahoma

(02:54):
caps off the winningest season in history. We are a seven national championship.
Sooners take the series two nothing overFlorida State. They give the three peat.
They extended the winning streak to fiftythree games, and they have their

(03:15):
sixth crown in a decade. Wow. So, Oklahoma's historic run through the
softball season started with a three onewin over Florida State and continued to what
was their third straight national championship.That's seven titles under head coach Patty Guesso.

(03:38):
Oklahoma became the first team to winback to back to back titles since
UCLA did in nineteen ninety, sowe're talking thirty three years since this has
happened. Oklahoma had a nine pointnine eight four winning percentage. They went
sixty one and won sixty one winsone loss, which was the best in
Division One history. That's why shesaid it was an historic season. Only

(04:03):
UCLA and Arizona have more championships UCLAstwelve in Arizona have eight. I love
college softball, big Montana Fouts fan, of course, big Alabama fan,
but you cannot deny the dynasty thatOklahoma has built and this team is soon
going to be in the SEC.They had four batters that hit over four

(04:24):
hundred. Three pitchers had an eraa earn run average of less than one.
Florida State congratulations on making the championshipgame they won. The ACC finished
the season with fifty eight wins.That's the most since twenty eighteen, when
the Florida State Seminoles won the Women'sCollege World Series. So Oklahoma another national

(04:44):
championship in softball, much deserved condolencesyou just hate to see something like this
happen. The condolences for this weekgoes out to Steven Strasburg, Washington Nationals
pitcher who's been reportedly shut down fromphysical activity due to severe nerve damage.
Stephen Strasburg's returned to the mound tookwell another hit after the Washington Nationals reportedly

(05:06):
shut him down for the foreseeable future. Guys, there's a chance this guy,
and a lot of people really believethat this guy will never step on
the mound again. This is aguy who has not pitched since June ninth
of twenty twenty two, and thelast time he pitched, he quite frankly,
was terrible. He gave up eighthits, seven earned runs, and
four and two thirds of an inning. Four days later, the Nationals placed

(05:26):
him on the injury list due toshoulder discomfort, and well, he hasn't
seen the mound since. This isa guy that has been plagued by injuries
his whole career. He won theWorld Series in twenty nineteen, had an
incredible run was the MVP signed aseven year, two hundred and forty five
million dollars contract that is unheard ofso ever since the Washington Nationals gave him

(05:49):
two hundred and forty five million andseven years. You know how many times
he's went on the mound to pitchfor the Nationals only eight two hundred and
forty five million, and he's madeeight appearances as Nerve pain. Probably never
going to see them mount again,but we hope and pray that he does.

(06:09):
Sad story today, Steven Strasburg,Nerve damaged, the former number one
pick in two thousand and nine,has pitched over one thousand, four hundred
innings as one hundred and thirteen winscareer era a earn run average of three
point two four, which is reallygood in over seventeen hundred strikeouts. Sad,
sad story, Steven Strasburg. Wewish and pray the best for you.

(06:30):
Let's transition to probably what's been thebiggest headline this week, and that's
golf. Well for good reasons,the PGA Tour was separated by Live Live.
So Live came into play and offeredall these golfers money. You had
guys like Phil Milkelson who took themoney and left. I said, see

(06:50):
you later, PGA. I'm goingto play for Live. Saudi Arabia company.
Ye had guys like Rory McElroy whowere faithful and loyal and didn't switch
up on the PGA. They stayedloyal and said, I will do whatever
you want me do. Rory TigerWoods, these guys said, we are
going to stay faithful to the PGATour. Well, over the last two

(07:13):
years, the world of professional golfhas been playing under this cloud of tension
between the PGA Tour and this Saudiabacked Live Golf League. But then we
got the stunning announcement that told playersand fans that those tensions were over.
Well, at least we think thesetwo have officially entered a landmark agreement that
will unify them into a larger commercialbusiness. PGA Tour Combitioner says that the

(07:39):
two nties can have a far greaterimpact on the game working together than working
apart. I agree from a fanperspective, but there's a lot of other
things that are gonna have to happen. We've seen some guys that have stepped
out and shared their honest opinion.Wesley Bryan, a golfer, posted on
Twitter, don't you love finding outInfluen Twitter? Y'all should be ashamed and

(08:01):
have a lot of questions to answer. I feel betrayed and won't be able
to trust anyone within the corporate structuresof the PGA Tour for a very very
long time. Another anonymous player said, why would we do this? Now?
The lives tours dead in the water, it's not working, and now
we're going to throw them a livejacket. As you can tell, the

(08:22):
ones that were not happy were thePGA Tour players, one of those being
well Roy McRoy, one of thegreatest goffers and well ever, yeah,
he spoke out on this, andhe says, despite these two coming together
on agreement, he still hates Live, despite the PGA merger, and he
hopes that it goes away and heexpects that it will. But it's not

(08:45):
live. I think that's the thing. I still hit Live like I hit
Live. I hope it goes awayand I would really expect that it does.
Rory also says that while the PGATour commissioner is while a hypocrite and
has to admit they can't stop theSaudi government from spending money into golf,
of course I understand it. Itis hypocritical. It signs hypocritical The one

(09:09):
thing I would say is again,whether you like it or not, the
PIF and the Saudis want to spendmoney in the game of golf. It
is they want to do this,and they weren't going to stop. As
a golf fan, I love tosee the two coming together so that we
can see the greatest players played togetherevery single weekend. But as a PGA

(09:31):
tour guy, I hate this move. I hate it for guys like Rory,
who were faithful, who didn't switchup. We're outspoken. You seeing
guys like Phil chase the money,and I believe money is not the root
of happiness. I would rather dosomething that doesn't pay a lot, but
pays what I need to provide fora family. If I'm having fun,

(09:54):
coming to work every day is nota job, it's a privilege. It's
I have fun. I hate itfor Rory, a guy who missed out
on what three hundred five hundred plusmillion, and now what does it get
in the end, A big fatnothing you got to play with live.

(10:15):
Let's transition into college baseball. Superregionalsare starting up this weekend. The Alabama
Crimson Tide are still playing baseball.Auburn was eliminated was a national seed,
but got eliminated it and went twoand done. In their own regional,
they lost the first game to Pinand then got eliminated by Southern Myths.
So they're out. But the AlabamaCrimson Tide it wasn't easy, but they

(10:37):
hosted a regional in Tuscaloosa, firstregional since two thousand and six. In
Tuscaloosa. They defeated Nichols State intheir first game, then defeated Troy,
played Boston College in the regional finals, and one they get to take a
trip to Winston Salem. Well,they'll play the number one overall seed,
wake Forest. Wake Forest is good. I just want to talk a little
bit about these games this week andbreak them down for you. So when

(10:58):
it comes to Superregionals, is thebest of three series, first one to
win two games moves on to theMen's College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Deep rotations matter when it comes todouble elimination style of tournaments like the
regionals and College World Series. However, when you get to a best of
three series, having three really strongstarting pitchers is the name of the game.

(11:20):
And when I look at this matchup, wake Forest has the best trio
of starters in the country by comfortablemargin. They've got Rhet Louder, Josh
Hartele and Sean Sullivan. Those threearms, if you put them together,
guys, they racked up a ridiculousthree hundred and forty six strikeouts. Wake
Forest won fifty games. That's whythat is firepower on the mind. But

(11:43):
Alabama has really good pitching as well. There were some times in regionals where
they didn't pitch to their capability,but you look at the SEC tournament.
Ever since Jay Jackson took over thisteam, and he has been awesome by
the way. You know, somepeople are already pushing the hey, this
guy needs to be the head coach, while others are saying, well,

(12:05):
no, you don't want to justgive it to him because you know he's
won some games. But ever sincethis case went on with Brad Bohannan,
you know where he was fired forgambling or well helping someone else gamble.
You know what I'm saying, thisteam has been resilient. They've been incredible.

(12:28):
Quite frankly, they've beat the best. They beat Vanderbilt in two out
of three series. Now they didlose to him in the SEC tournament,
they beat Kentucky. In the SECTournament, they beat Auburn. This is
a team that down the stretch haswon big games due to pitching. They've
hit the ball really well. Sowake Forest, this is not just a
typical sixteen matchup that they're just gonnawalk all over. They're gonna have their

(12:54):
hands full. Alabama's shown that theycan hang and it's Jason Jackson, not
Jay Jackson. I apologize for that. So it's gonna be interesting. But
Alabama's gonna have their hands full because, like I said, wake Forest has
the best trio of starters in thecountry by a comfortable margin. Number two
seat Florida. While the Gainesville Superregionalstaking place, it's an all SEC matchup.

(13:16):
South Carolina, who's a dangerous teamby the way, is coming into
Gainesville, and on paper, Floridaappears to be the better team. Right
they're playing better baseball right now.They're pitching staff easily disposed of Texas Tech
in the regional finals and the Gatorsessentially walk through regionals. However, baseball
isn't played on paper, and SouthCarolina swept Florida in Columbia back in April.
Now it was April. It wasearly in the season, but it

(13:39):
still counts. The Gamecocks don't lackin hitting. Though Florida has the better
overall lineup, we can argue backand forth on the mound. Overall,
South Carolina counters what Florida likes todo well. They did that in the
regular season again, but it's inGainesville, and that's what gives Florida the
upper hand. Indiana States to numberfourteen seats headed four words to face TCU,

(14:01):
and I don't understand how Indiana Statea fourteen seed has to go to
TCU, but that's what happens.College baseball postseason as well. All about
momentum, and nobody has more ofit right now than TCU. The Frogs
have won fifteen of their last sixteen. They won a big twelfth championship,
they won the Faetable Region against Arkansas, and they are on fire. But
Indiana State they're really good. Theygot three really good pitchers, they have

(14:26):
a really good runder earned run averageof two point seven seven, and they're
seven and o on the year.When it comes to starting pitching, that's
a big advantage. Tennessee was oneof those teams that wasn't a national seed,
but one a regional. They goon the road to Southern Miss.
This will be in Hattiesburg. Despitea very disappointing season for Tennessee. They're

(14:48):
forty one to nineteen. Only wakeForest has a better field independent pitching number
than Tennessee and Southern Miss has struggledthis season, So this one's going to
be interested in. That one's gonnabe in Hattiesburg. Another all SEC matchup
Number twelve. Kentucky goes number fiveLSU. From the start, it's been
pretty widely regard that LSU was severelyunderseated one of the best teams in the

(15:09):
country. They did have an earlyexit from the SEC tournament that took them
from possibly the number one or numbertwo seed and knocked them down to number
five. But don't let that numberfour you LSU is one of the top
teams in the tournament. They're starter. Paul Skeins is almost a victory every
time he steps on the mound.He's tossed one hundred and seventy nine strikeouts
and he hasn't even pitched one hundredinnings. Could you imagine Kentucky having to

(15:33):
win back to back road games atthe box. That's gonna be difficult.
But this is a Kentucky team that'snumber two in the RPI. This one's
gonna be a great matchup. Dukeat number six Virginia, that'll be in
Charlotte's full Virginia's thirty four and fourat home this season, Duke candid them
well two of those four losses,so an all acc matchup. Duke's rotation

(15:56):
is deeper than Virginia's. But inthis round it's about starters, and if
we're betting on starters, guys,Virginia's got the nod. The last two
regionals is kind of another upset regional. Oral Roberts is going to Eugene to
face Oregon. Oil Roberts has theirfair share of momentum, owning the nation's
longest winning streak at twenty one games. Both of these teams have made the
Cinderella story this postseason, just likeOklahoma and Old Miss last year. But

(16:19):
Oral Robert has to travel two thousandmiles to Oregon and the still Water Regional.
They have the benefit of heading anhour west. Gonna be a little
bit tougher this time. And thenTexas goes to Stanford and the Stanford Regional.
This is Stanford's fourth consecutive time hostinga superregional. This is a really
good team. Texas is on fired. I will say that they caught fire

(16:40):
early, shockingly bounced from the Bigtwelve tournament in two games. But they
were able to turn it around againstMiami. But this is a little bit
of a tougher task and Stanford hasthe rest advantage, the home field advantage,
and the better three men starting rotation. Stanford is better quickly. MLB.
The Atlanta Braves great week this week. They swept in New York.
Mets, won two against the DiveBacks, just started a series with the
Washington Nationals, and then they'll goon the road to Detroit and come home

(17:03):
for the Colorado Rockies. This isa team that leads the NL East and
has been on fire. But Iwanted to talk about something pretty amazing,
something that you don't see happen,and that is Jose Ramerez, third baseman
for the Cleveland Guardians. He hitthree home runs against the Red Sox in
his first three at bats from bothsides of the plate. Wow. It

(17:25):
was Ramere's first career at three homergame and it was the seventh time in
his career that he's hit a homerun from both sides of the plates.
I mean, when do we seeguys do something like this? It just
doesn't happen. Right now, theTampa Bay Rays on the best record in
baseball, the Atlanta Braves on thebest record in the NL. So I
want to talk a little bit aboutthe standings and where things stand as we

(17:47):
get closer and closer to the AllStar Game. Everybody always says, well,
you don't check the records until Junetill after Memorial Did. That's when
I really start paying attention to therecords. But you can't deny the greatness
of the American League East. TheTampa Bay Rays sit in first place with
forty six wins. They have asix and a half game lead on the

(18:11):
Baltimore Orioles, who have thirty eightwins. Then you've got the New York
Yankees thirty seven and twenty seven.The Toronto Blue Jays are thirty six and
twenty eight, and then the BostonRed Sox are sitting one game under five
hundred at thirty one and thirty two. Four of the five teams in the
American League East have winning records andby wide margins. But then you look

(18:33):
at the AL Central, they don'thave a single team with a five hundred
record or a winning record. TheMinnesota Twins or thirty one and thirty two.
The Cleveland Guardians are twenty nine andthirty three. That's a game and
a half behind the Twins. TheChicago White Sox, who great story about

(18:55):
Liam Hendricks coming back from cancer.They're twenty eight and thirty six, Detroit
Tigers twenty six and thirty four inthe Kansas City Royals eighteen and forty four.
Al West Texas Rangers. Man,what a season they have had.
Nathan Theivaldi Corey Seeger Marcus Sieman oneof the best leadoff hitters in baseball right

(19:17):
now. This team has been nothingshort of great. They actually lead the
Houston Astros by five games, thedefending World Series champions, they lead by
five games. The Astros, ofcourse, are good as always. They're
thirty six and twenty seven. You'vegot the Angels who have a winning record
at thirty four and thirty, andthen you have the Mariners or one game
under five hundred, and then theOakland A's only have fourteen wins. Two
of those against my Atlanta Braves.So you look at the AL, I

(19:44):
believe that run differential is what makesthe difference down the stretch. Teams with
plus run differentials, I just believeit's gonna come to fruition. That's gonna
hold. Nobody has a better rundifferential in baseball right now than the Texas
Rangers. The Texas Rangers have aplus one hundred and fifty four run different
inchel. The next best is theTampa Bay Rays, who have a plus
one thirty five. If the playoffswere to start today, well they're not

(20:07):
going to, but if they wereto start today, the Rays would be
the number one seed, the Rangerswould be the number two seed, and
the Twins would be number three.Then you get into the wild card.
Well, the top spot would goto the Baltimore Oriols. Then the next
spot would go to the New YorkYankees, and the next spot would go
to the Houston Astros. That's ifthe playoffs started today. Let's shift to

(20:30):
the NL. Let's start with well, the NL East. The Atlanta Braves
just swept the Mets. They're playingthe Washington Nationals currently starting a rookie tonight,
making his first career start. Thisteam has shown glimpses of a World
Series type team, but they've alsobeen really bad at times. Marcella Zuna,

(20:52):
while I was ready to get ridof him in April, now I'm
like, I'll give the guy anothershot. Or Lando Arcia, the guy
has been absolutely everything you could wantout of a shortstop that you quite frankly
expected. Nothing out of. MichaelHarris has been disappointing. Ronald Acuna has
shown that while he's the best playerin baseball now Otani doesn't count because he

(21:18):
pitches and bats. He's arguably thebest player in baseball. But when it
comes to MVP voting right now,Acuna leads in all categories. I'm not
homers, but you get what I'msaying. When it comes to voting,
he leads all voters. But thesurprise in the NL East is not the
Braves, because we expected them tobe where they're at. It's the Miami

(21:41):
Marlins, who are only three anda half games out of the Atlanta Braves.
This is a team that is sportinga winning record of thirty five wins
and twenty eight losses, but they'rerun differential as minus twenty four and that's
something I'm concerned about. We allknow that Miami Marlins have great pitching,
Sandy all control. The list goeson. They've got really good guys that

(22:03):
take the mound. They added aguy like Luis Ares who's having a phenomenal
season. They traded for him,got him from Minnesota, who I could
not believe that they traded him.The guys batting four hundred that is not
heard of in baseball, that isa phenomenal feat. This is a team
that had added Hora Slaire. Everybodyknows wore Slayer's magic home run against the

(22:29):
Houston Astros in the twenty twenty oneWorld Series. He was the MVP of
the World Series for the Atlanta Braves. Miami is a sneakingly good team that
pitches the ball really well. Andthen you've got Philadelphia, who doesn't even
have a winning record. They're twogames under, they've struggled, Trade Turner
has been awful. Kyle Schober eitherhome runs or strikes out, there's nothing

(22:53):
in between. Then you've got toNew York Mets, who have Max Scherzer
and Justin Verlinard. But there isold as my grandpa, not literally,
but they are as old as mydad, which means it's probably time for
them to hang it up. It'stime to fish or go play golf.
And for anybody that gets mad atthat, I'm sorry. These are two
I know justin Verliner just want tostay young. These guys have not been

(23:17):
good down the stretch this season whenthe Mets have needed big games. When
it comes to the n NL asa whole, the Atlanta Braves lead it,
The Diamondbacks are in second, theDodgers third, Marlin's fourth, Milwaukee
fifth. The playoffs started today,Atlanta would be the one seed, Arizona
the two seed, Milwaukee the threeseed, and then wild cards would be
the Dodgers Marlins. In Pittsburgh,we gotta take a break for news and

(23:41):
weather on news Radio one on onenine Big Wax, Oh you love it.

(24:10):
The Eye of the Tiger. Welcomeback into the pit Stop on news
Radio one O one nine Big Wax. I'm your host, name of Pitts
and this is the first ever editionof the pit Stop, And I gotta
tell you, Ehy of the Tiger. That song makes me want to run
through a wall. It makes meit's just it gives me that Rocky vibes.
You know, you just say,I remember being in Philadelphia and seeing

(24:30):
those steps running up them, justa matching that scene from the movie is
I'm just fighting, I'm air punching. This song just gets me going,
and there's nothing that gets me goinglike Alabama football on Saturdays. Big Alabama
fan, Well, big news thisweek is Nick Saban was in Washington,
DC and he sat down with SECCommissioner Greg Sanky and Senator Katie Brett.

(24:55):
They discussed what's a big problem rightnow in college football, and that's in
I l name image likeness. AlabamaSenator Katie Brett Thursday sat down with coach
Nick Saban and SE Commissioner SEC CommissionerGreg Sinky. Saban and Sanky and others
representing the conference or in Washington,DC this week to lobby Congress to regular

(25:18):
nil and college athletics. Katie Brittwent to Twitter to say that the meeting
was great and they discussed the challengesthat the current patchwork of name image likeness
systems posed to the future of collegiateathletics. Katie Britt added that after meeting
with both Alabama and Auburn this week, Hugh Freeze as well made a trip
to Washington, DC. It's clearthat no one wins in this current race

(25:41):
to the bottom. Katie Britt declaredthat action is needed to preserve the collegiate
athletics at Alabamian's love. Administrators andcoaches from both Alabama and Auburn were in
the National's capital stressing, educating,and sing a more balanced system. The
goal of these meetings is to getfederal assistance in regulating how college athletes can

(26:03):
earn money off their name, image, and likeness. I truly believe that
right now, college football as weknow is forever changed, and I believe
high school football is soon going tobe the same. It has become this
place of sign for me, bebased off how much money I give you.
What happened to the days where youwanted to wear that jersey because you

(26:26):
grew up being an Auburn fan.What happened to the days where you wanted
to wear that jersey because you grewup being an Alabama fan? Or so
forth, so forth. Now,don't get me wrong, Alabama is not
sweating nil money, neither is Auburn, but it is going to be hard
to keep up with the Texas Aand MS and the Texas Longhorns and those
type of states and teams usc thathave that money that is just coming.

(26:52):
Another problem in college football right nowis the transfer portal. Yeah, I
mean it's gotten insane. Guys jumpin the transfer portal and one day later
they're signing with somebody else. Youmean to tell me tampering isn't going on
when that happens. Well, Auburn'sHugh Freeze proposed bringing back former transfer rules
to eliminate the tampering. You know, there's a lot of college football coaches

(27:17):
who have expressed their concerns about thetransfer portal. Hugh Freeze is no different.
He believes what could help ease manycoaches concerns is that the transfers have
to sit out a year. Hesaid he would love to see things go
back to players not being able totransfer in being immediately eligible unless the coach

(27:37):
were to leave, get fired,or the player graduates. Hugh Freese believes
this eliminates tampering, that people aren'tgoing to come and take players that have
to sit out. He also suggestedthat players who transfer after they graduate or
after a team makes a head coachingchange, well then they should not be
subject to sitting out, they shouldbe able to play. But I think

(28:00):
it's very unlikely that the nc DOABAis going to go back to this old
way of business. And my proposalpersonally would be a lot like Mike Gundy
from Oklahoma State's proposal. I believeit's a better option. Back in March,
Oklahoma State head coach suggested that highschool recruits signed contractual scholarships, which

(28:21):
means the player in school commit toone another for a certain period of time.
I believe this would be a littlebit of a better option personally,
because we've seen this emergence of thetransferportal, this emergence of the name,
image and likeness, and what hashappened is it's given the college athletes the
flexibility and earning potential. Now I'mnot saying these guys don't deserve it.

(28:41):
I'm not saying they don't deserve tomake money. I'm saying there's got to
be a better way to go aboutthis. Because you're gonna see guys sign
with a team, get all thatmoney, go their freshman year, and
then they're gonna into the transferportal andgo make another forty million somewhere else.
Why would you not. I mean, if I was in that position,
why would I not go to TexasA and M my freshman year make my

(29:03):
thirty eight million dollars that they justoffered me. I'm probably not going to
touch the field of my freshman yearjust because, But maybe you're that guy
that does. Caleb Down's expected toplay for Alabama is a true freshman,
and then I'm gonna hop in thetransfer portal and see if usc will give
me another thirty eight million, orsee if Notre Dame will give me another
thirty eight million, or if Alabamawill give me another thirty million or whatever.

(29:26):
I do think it's interesting that HughFreeze has been very outspoken about the
transfer portal, considering he added fourteenplayers from the transfer portal since he became
the head coach at Auburn. That'sa pretty high number. But he didn't
get to recruit, so I givehim the benefit of the doubt on that
coming from liberty. He didn't getto, you know, get his on

(29:47):
guys. So when you can't getyour on guys, you've got to go
to trans reportal. Let's be honest, Auburn has an issue. They have
a quarterback issue. Same as Alabama. Both teams in the state of Alabama
don't know who their quarterback is goingto be. Quite frankly, Auburn's in
a worst position than Alabama is,though they do have a local standout from
Hoover, who I thought did goodAuburn fans. I've had a little bit

(30:11):
of a different opinion on that,so it'll be interesting to see how the
quarterback race turns out for Auburn.Now, I want to talk a little
bit about my top twenty five aswe enter the season. This is my
personal opinion. I'll be honest withyou. I'm not a Paul fine Bomb,
but I like to make hot freezingcold takes. Yes they're hot freezing

(30:33):
because they're typically wrong. But Iwant to talk about my top twenty five
and I want to break on breakdown my top twenty five, and I'm
gonna start at number twenty five withthe Liberty Flames. This is a team
that took a backstep last season withHugh Freeze gone. So how are they
going to bounce back and respond isto be determined, But I do think
this is a top twenty five teamplays in Conference USA. I can't wait

(30:56):
to see them come to Jacksonville,Alabama to play the Jaxville State Gamecox.
I'm a graduate of the Jacksonville StateGame. Cox Go GAMECOX head coach Rich
Rodriguez second season at the helm ofJacksonville State making the jump to D one.
But we've seen a pretty good springgame from Liberty team that has been
really good since they joined D onefootball as an independent school, now on

(31:21):
Conference USA, but independent for awhile. Number twenty four as UCF Central
Florida. Gus Malson has done agood job at UCF. They return a
veteran at quarterback in John Reese Plumley, the Old Miss transfer. He had
a great year last season, andquite frankly, I don't see how this

(31:41):
team doesn't make a New Year's SixBowl if we're talking teams that are you
know, I don't know. Theyjust transferred to the Big twelve, so
maybe that's a little bit of aharder task. I was basing that upon
them being a at law bid,but I don't guess they're in at large
bid anymore. If they're in theBig twelve, can they win the Big

(32:05):
Twelve? Not this season. ButJohn Reis plumbly gives you a good shot
number twenty three's UCLA incredible season forthe Bruins. Last year they turned heads
as they should have had a greatseason. Twenty two's North Carolina twenty ones
Old Miss. They got a littlebit of a quarterback battle going on down
there. Twenty South Carolina. Ithink Spencer Raller's gonna have a really good
year. I've been high on theGimcocks every year under Beamer. They have

(32:30):
big wins and then have bad losses. Nineteens Oregon State eighteen's, Wisconsin seventeen,
Oklahoma sixteen, Texas A and mmy top fifteen, usc Is fifteen,
Tennessee's fourteen. Why do I haveTennessee so low? You ask?
I think Milton is a lot likeAnthony Richardson. Maybe he proves me wrong,
but that's what I believe right now. I don't think they're gonna beat

(32:50):
Georgia. I don't think they're gonnabeat Alabama after beating them last year.
There's no chance they beat them twoyears in a row, especially not with
it being in Tuscaloosa. I've gothim at fourteen. I've got two sec
losses thirteen, Flora State twelve,Notre Dame Notre Dame, great transfer,
portal quarterback coming in one of thebest in college football. You're gonna give
him a chance to make some buzz. Number eleven's Texas arch Manning. Everybody

(33:15):
talked about him coming into college,but let's just be honest. The guy's
not gonna start day one. Theyhave a really good quarterback. They've got
a really good team. They aregoing to lose by Gene Robinson at running
back, so we're gonna see howthey responded that. But Texas is a
really good team. Steve Sarkisian isa really good coach. Number ten's Kansas
State. My top ten again.Kansas State number ten, you taw Number

(33:36):
nine, Penn State. Number eight, seven's Climpson. A lot of people
are hiring Climpson nine, but they'restill unestablished at the quarterback position. Dabo
has been a couple of years sincehe's really had that big season, so
we'll see if that happens. WhenNumber six is LSU, I mean,
they've got a really good team.Daniels is an incredible quarterback transfer from Arizona
State. Had a great year lastyear. They beat Alabama in Death Valley.

(33:58):
But again, I don't see thembeating Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I just
find it really hard to believe thatNick Saban loses to a coach two years
in a row. I just don'tsee it happening. Maybe it does,
and maybe that's the start of reallythe end of the dynasty as we know
it. But as long as NickSaban's coaching, don't ask me who the
dynasty is, because I still sayAlabama number five's Michigan number four. I

(34:22):
have organ I think both Picks isgonna have a great year. I think
this is a team that got sometransfer portal talent. Eugene is fired up
as always for football season, andI just think the Pac twelves unestablished.
Think USC's too much about nil andthey never really quite produce, not since
the early two thousands. I guessyou could go into the two thousand kind

(34:43):
of seven to eight six era,but I just think USC's overrated. I
believe that every year number three's OhioState. WHOA? Number two is Alabama?
WHOA? Why is Alabama above OhioState? Well, I think everybody's
missing out on the point that neitherone of these teams know who's going to
be quarterback. Well, maybe OhioState does. But if they're gonna be

(35:06):
good, I think it's clear.George is the clear favorite this year at
number one. Could they be athree peak champion? Well, their schedule
is softer than the pelo I sleepwith at night. I mean it is
bad. Their schedule is bad.So quite frankly, in last Tennessee beats
them, they're not losing. Theyget to the SEC championship game. That's

(35:30):
probably the only chance they have itlosing, and in that game, depending
on who it is, you probablystill make the playoffs. So George is
going to cruise into the playoffs.So the question is can they win two
games again under Kirby smart? Ithink it's to be determined, but I
think they've got a really good chanceto win three straight national championships. Right
now, the dynasty is Alabama becauseof nixt seven, but current day Georgia

(35:52):
is turning in to the new Alabama. But I tell people this all the
time, they don't agree with this. I need to see this sustained.
I know Clinton never went back toback, but there was that four to
five years where Clemson was right there, but they only won two championships.
I need to see Kirby smart dothis more and more and more. If
this trend continues for another two years, then I think it's clear to say
Georgia will now be the dynasty.But right now it's still Nick Saban in

(36:15):
Alabama. I don't know how youcould say otherwise. Had Jamison Williams not
got hurt, I believe Alabama wouldhave beat them in the National Championship Indianapolis.
And I was at that game.But if some butts were candy and
nuts, we'd all have a merryChristmas. Speaking of football, we love
football in the South. And speakingof Alabama, how about Bryce Young?

(36:37):
Big news this week the Carolina Pantherspromoted the number one quarterback, well number
one pick, I should say two, the number one spot. So he's
now the number one quarterback. That'sright. The inedible has happened in Charlotte.
Carolina Panthers coach Frank Reich told thereporters this week that Bryce Young has
been elevated to the first team.Raich says that Bryce has taken the snaps

(36:59):
with the ones all week. Itwas something that at the beginning general manager
and himself kind of earmarked the timewhen they thought that would be the best
move, kind of mapping it outtalking with staff when would be the right
move to make him the number onequarterback. Now, Andy Dalton's not much
for a competition. If I hadto say so, I'm a big Cincinnati
Bengals fan. Don't miss Andy Daltonat all. Quite frankly, I'm glad

(37:20):
that he's gone. So he didn'thave much competition trying to beat out Andy
Dalton. But this is just thenext step and what's gonna believe I believe
gonna be a great career for BryceYoung. A lot of people talk about
his height. He's not a bigquarterback, but he is one of the
best playmakers on the field and hemakes some of the best decisions vision wise.

(37:40):
The Panther's decision to make Bryce Youngquarterback one guy as well, it
was all foregone conclusion. I mean, you drafted the Heisman Trophy winner with
the number one pick, so it'sno surprise that he's going to be the
first team quarterback. We all knewhe would be starting on day one.
Anyway, Bryce Young just says,well, I'm grateful for the opportunity I
have to be able to come hereand be a part of this organization.

(38:02):
It's a process, and I'm gratefulto be accepted by any team and go
through that process. Congratulations to BryceYoung on what was inedible him being the
number one quarterback. But there issome competition flaring in New York. What
do you mean, Well, you'vegot the Giants in the Jets battling over

(38:27):
who can be the best team inNew York. But right now they're battling
some adversity. The Canadian wildfires havebrought this smoky haze into New York and
it's put a little bit of abutcher, a little bit of a slice
into their typical routine. Smoke fromthe Canadian wildfires has spread across the Eastern
Seaboard into the United States, andthis forced the New York Giants to cancel

(38:51):
practice this past few days. TheGiants organized team activity, which was scheduled
to be held indoors, was scrappedlast minute because of the air conditions.
That's right, this slight haze hasmade its way inside the field house.
WHOA, the team had to calloff practice. The air quality index and
East Rutherford was one hundred and ninetyeight at ninety am. Wow, that

(39:14):
is considered unhealthy. An A QUItwo hundred above is very unhealthy. So
veteran players were excused early Thursday bythe team and we're out of the building
by mid morning, while rookies remainedfor meetings. Now, well, how
does that make sense? You tellthe veterans to leave because of the smoky
haze, but then you tell therookies to stay. I don't make no

(39:35):
sense. But yeah, these Canadianwildfires, they've wrecked havoc on the Northeast
all week. It caused the NewYork Yankees in Philadelphia Phillies to postpone home
games. It forced a National Women'sSoccer League game to be called off,
and it forced a w NBA gameto be called off. Send our prayers
to people in the Northeast, especiallythe ones in canad That's even worse because

(40:01):
you're right there up under it.I told you guys, I'm a big
Cincinnati Bengals fan, big fan haveBen since I was a kid. Saw
the logo on TV, I said, I'm gonna root for that team one
day, and I did. JoeBurrow when he was at LSU, I
didn't like him finalities at Cincinnati.I love him. He's one of the
best quarterbacks in the NFL right nowled them to the Super Bowl in his

(40:22):
second season, has led him toTHEFC Championship Game two years back to back.
At that ACL injury, he's ina contract yere, But Joe Brow,
did you know that he can swinga baseball bat too? That's right,
quarterback Joe Brow can do more thanjust lead the Cincinnati Bengals to back
to back AFC Championship games. Thefirst overall pick in the twenty twenty NFL

(40:42):
Draft showcased his baseball skills this pastWednesday when he took bat in practice at
Great American Ballpark. Beautiful stadium.By the way, me and my dad
went to Great American Ballpark in thesummer of two twenty one, same year
the Braves won the World Series.We watched him play in Cincinnati. Has
some skyline chili as advertised. It'sa beautiful park. Love the big truck

(41:07):
in the outfield. Nobody ever seemsto hit that. But anyway, Joe
Burrow went to Great American Ballpark andCincinnati with a few of his teammates,
and he showed his power. Helaunched four home runs during baton practice.
Now he took about one hundred swings. Well, let's not talk about that,
right, Let's talk about the fourhome runs. And you know,
Burrow called it a day after pullinga pitch off the top of the cage.

(41:29):
He's from Athens, Ohio. He'sin in his fourth year and he's
quickly become one of the top quarterbacksin the league. A lot of the
talks this season have been about howmuch money are the Cincinnati Bengals is gonna
have to pay him to keep himlong term. But Joe Brow has been
very outspoken about how he wants histeammates to get paid. So we'll see
how things go and we'll see ifhe can take the Cincinnati Bengals to another
AFC championship and better yet, anotherSuper Bowl. I sure hope so,

(41:52):
and I sure hope that extensions comingin the coming days because I've been refreshing
Twitter every single day as we getready to those things down. I want
to talk a little bit about theNational Hockey League finals, the NBA finals,
and then some soccer news just toclose things out really quickly. We
don't talk about hockey or soccer aroundhere, and we really won't. That's
not going to be on this formathardly at all. It's gonna be a

(42:15):
lot of football. Really, Ijust wanted to kind of touch on everything,
but it will be a lot offootball and a lot of baseball.
Those are my two favorite sports.We have the Atlanta Braves, you have
Alabama, Auburn, UAB, JacksonvilleState, South Alabama, and then of
course you have the pros Atlanta Falconsand whatnot. But the National Hockey League
Finals are taking place game Force tonightat seven pm Central time. There will

(42:37):
be no sweep in the Stanley CupFinals. Game three saw the Florida Panthers
not of three two overtime win overthe Vegas Nights. And here is the
call where the Florida Panthers tied thegame late in the third period on a
goal that sent this game to overtime. Flight to the class. Don't you

(43:02):
just love that the score? It'slike in golf when you hear go.
You know, here's the call whenthe Florida Panthers won the game forced overtime,
then won the game better what safe? That's right? Carter, I'm

(43:23):
not even gonna try to pronounce hislast name. Hit the game winner as
they defeated the Golden Knights of LasVegas three to two. This game force
to night at seven PM feels likea must win game for the Florida Panthers
in my opinion, you don't wantto go down three one. I tell
you. Las Vegas has not beenaround very long. A couple of years

(43:43):
now. I remember when they cameabout same year my Capitol's won a championship.
This team has done nothing but winsince getting added to the National Hockey
League NBA Finals. Miami Heat DenverNuggets played last night. The question is
going to be for the Miami Heat, can they continue to bounce back.
We've seen the Nuggets kind of takecontrol at different times in this series,

(44:06):
and the Heat have been able tokind of bounce back. Can they continue
to bounce back and make another runto win another championship? Or the Dinver
Nuggets win their first NBA championship ever. Now I'm a big Houston Rockets fan.
We're not good, but I wasa Nuggets fan when I was a
kid. I remember the first jerseyI ever received from my parents was a
Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets jersey. Man, I missed that thing. Got it

(44:27):
for Christmas. I don't know whyI switched to the Houston Rockets. But
that's what my brothers speed got meon and I've been a fan ever since.
But I sure hope the Denver Nuggetswin their first NBA championship, just
because what an incredible story that wouldbe. Now, the Miami Head have
a lot of friends in the MiamiHeat fans, I'll be happy for them
as well. But man, whowould have expected the Denver Nuggets in Miami
Heat to be playing in the NBAChampionship when it started? I sure didn't.

(44:52):
I thought it was gonna be thePhiladelphia seventy six ers, and I
sure thought they were gonna be playing. Well. I didn't think it was
gonna be the Different Nuggets. Ithought it was going to be the Golden
State Warriors, And boy was Iwrong, way wrong. Interesting news this
week. One of the best soccerHe's not one of the best. He
is the best soccer player in theworld. Lionel Messi is coming to the

(45:12):
United States of America. That's right. He opted to play for Inner Miami.
It seems that not everyone is asinterested in getting a huge pay day
from the Saudis, because this pastweek, the thirty five year old international
soccer superstar Lionel Messi announced that hisnew home team will be in South Florida.
The deal he was reportedly offered bythe Saudi League was said to have

(45:34):
exceeded one billion dollars. Saudi offeredhim one billion dollars. While the details
of Messi's deal with Inner Miami andMajor League Soccer haven't quite been released fully,
the contract is reported to be unprecedented. Before yesterday, the highest paid
player in the Major League Soccer madea guaranteed eight point one five million annually

(45:58):
playing for the Chicago Fire. Sourceswith knowledge of Messi's decisions say the Saudis
were never really in play and thefinal decision came down to the MLS in
Barcelona. Not a big soccer guypersonally, but when he comes to Atlanta
to play, I've got to gosee the best player in the world play.
How could you not? That's right, Lionel Messi gonna play for Miami.

(46:20):
Well, you're gonna get ready todrive this thing home and finish up.
So again, I want to thankyou guys for listening to news Radio
one O one nine, Big Waxthe pit Stop. Hope that you're able
to come in, get filled upwith what you needed sports knowledge wise,
and get set back on the road. We'll keep an eye on how this
NIL transfer portal thing shakes out.Does the Congress make a move, Well,

(46:43):
that's to be determined. We'll talka little bit more about the quarterbacks
in the NFL who are showcasing theirswings on the diamond. Jalen Hurts did
the same for the Philadelphia Phillies.We'll see how things continue to progress between
Live and PGA Superregionals. Some teamsare gonna be go to the Men's College
World Series in Omaha, Nebraska,while others season will come to an end,

(47:05):
and then of course we'll have anMLB update. Make sure you do
your All Star voting vote. SeanMurphy, that's my pick catcher, best
catcher in the game in my opinion. Right now, he has played absolutely
out of his mind. Did theHeat win another championship? Or did the
Denver Nuggus win their first NBA championship? What about the Florida Panthers, Do
they win another Hockey Stanley Cup orthe Las Vegas Nights going to win.

(47:27):
We'll have all that next Saturday onthe pit Stop on News Radio one.
O one nine Big Wax again.I'm your host name with Pitts. I
want to thank you for tuning in. Tell your friends. I can share
on social media, let people knowabout the show. We'll have guests interviews
every single week with local guests totalk all kinds of things, including high

(47:49):
school football which is getting closed rightaround the corner. So that's gonna do
it again for another time. Thankyou for listening to news Radio one oh
one nine Big Wax