The Pittstop 07/15/2023

Join Namath as he recaps the MLB All-Star Game, Pat Fitzgerald being fired from Northwestern, Brittney Spears being slapped by Victor Wembanyama security, and more.

Episode Transcript

(00:14):
Saturday, July fifteenth, and you'relistening to the pit stop on NewsRadio one
O nine Big Wax. I'm yourhost, name of Pitts, and it
is an honor to be back withyou guys. This week. We're going
to talk about everything that has tookplace over the past week and all different
genres of the sports world. We'regonna talk to the MLB All Star Game
that took place last weekend. We'regonna talk to the trending topic in NCAA

(00:35):
football. That's right, Northwestern headcoach Pat Fitzgerald has been fired after hazing
claims. We're gonna talk about VictorWimba Yamba in the Britney Spears accident or
was it an accident, Well,we don't know. That's to be determined,
but there's a lot of different storieson both sides. But there's a
lot to talk about. But first, I want to start the show like
we do every single week, andthat is with congrats and condolences. And

(00:59):
let's go ahead and give out ourcongratulations for this week, and it goes
to former NFL Star quarterback Philip Riversand his wife Tiffany, who will welcome
their tenth a child. I'll tryten children. Let that sink in.
Rivers retired from pro football in twentytwenty one. He played seventeen seasons in

(01:23):
the NFL. He's now a highschool head football coach right here in the
state of Alabama, down south atSaint Michael's Catholic and Fairhope, Alabama.
Rivers told al dot Com when theyhad a seven on seven this past week
in Daphne that they were expecting aboy this fall. That gives them ten
children. They have nine children currentlywho range in the ages from four to
twenty one. He currently has sevengirls and two boys. So I gotta

(01:48):
tell you it's gonna be a littlebit harder for Philip Rivers if he wants
to have a football team. Imean, it had to be a primarily
female football team because again he's gotseven girls. But if he wanted to
be a head softball coach, I'lltell you what, He's almost a full
team right there. But ten children. I mean, this guy is gonna
have a full team. But again, we want to send it congratulations to
former NFL star quarterback Philip Rivers andhis wife, who will welcome their tenth

(02:09):
child. And again he coaches highschool football right here in the state of
Alabama. He's right down South SaintMichael's. They had only won just five
games since twenty seventeen before he tookover, but they have been successful and
what's a very tough region in SouthAlabama. And so again, congratulations to
Philip Rivers and his wife Tiffany onexpecting their tenth child in October. Our

(02:34):
condolence this week is a sad oneand it's a guy that has been fighting
a battle for quite a while andhas just not seemed to be able to
win it. And that is DickVitel. He's an ESPN analyst known for
college basketball and he now says thathe has vocal cord cancer. I mean,
this guy has just not caught abreak. He has been constantly dealing
with some type of cancer or heoriginally was diagnosed in twenty twenty one with

(02:59):
lafoma and it's just been months andmonths and months of surgery and Dick Votel
can just not seem to catch abreak. And so our condolences go to
him this week. He's a longtime ESPN college basketball analysis. He said
Wednesday of this week that he doeshave vocal cord cancer. He's gonna need
six weeks of radiation to treat it, and he says he's gonna fight like

(03:21):
heck to be ready to call gameswhen college hoops tips off this fall.
But our condolence this week goes toDick Votel, eighty four years old,
sad dealing with vocal cord cancer issue, is going to be on voice rest
for at least six to eight weeksas he's recovering from a procedure he had
done on July eleventh. And thisguy's a legend. He's been with ESPN
since nineteen seventy nine, the yearthe network launched. He called ESPN's first

(03:46):
college basketball broadcast. And again he'sbeen battling more than just this vocal cord
cancer that's popped up. He's beenbattling many things for quite a while now,
and so we sent our condolences tohim. But while we're talking about
college basketball this week, there wasa meeting held where the D one Men's
Basketball Committee discussed expanding March Madness.And I'm just gonna start right here.

(04:08):
I'm gonna give you some information andI've got a lot of thoughts about this.
So the NC DOUBLEA. Division oneMen's Basketball Committee spent some time this
week talking about a possible expansion ofthe Division one Men's Basketball Championship. They
had a three day meeting and thisis where they talked about expanding the field,
which is currently sixty eight teams,and they just, I mean,

(04:29):
they feel the need to add moreteams. What more is there to say.
The last time the tournament expanded wastwenty eleven, and that was before
the championship game. The field wentfrom sixty five to sixty eight. So
you know, I just don't know. I don't know about this. I
have my thoughts about this, andI just feel like it would be best
for them to keep it like itis. I think the way March Madness

(04:50):
is right now is perfect. Ireally believe that. I don't think expanding
March Madness is going to make itbetter. I only think it's gonna make
it worse. Like I understand theconcept of having some of these teams that
just miss out, that gets snubbed, but here's the thing, you have
to win your conference tournament. Now. I do think the regular season should

(05:11):
have something to do with I don'tthink it should be based on one tournament.
You know, all you gotta dois get hot in one tournament.
Now, that is what makes theMarch Madness bracket so incredible as you don't
know, it's about who can bethe hottest team at the right time.
So if I had to make alittle adjustment, I would say that the
regular season shouldn't matter more. Everythingshouldn't come down to the tournament. But

(05:31):
these teams earned that spot in MarchMadness, just like all these other teams
had an opportunity. They missed outwhile the other one executed. So I
don't see the need to expand theMarch Madness Brackett. I think that it
is perfectly fine the way the tournamentis right now. I just don't Again,
I don't see a point in expandingit. You have a chance all
season long to prove that you're worthyof playing in March and then nothing.

(05:57):
Even if you don't live up tothe hype during the regular season, you
have an opportunity in your conference tournamentto make that run, to show that
you deserve to be in March Madness, to be in the tournament. If
you can't go on a run towin your conference tournament, what makes you
think you're gonna go on a runin March Madness and defeat a lot of
other conferences and a lot of otherteams to win a national championship. I'm
just not here for it personally.I think March Madness has completely find the

(06:20):
way it is right now, andso my thoughts would be to keep it
like it is. But a bigtopic, let's transition. We're gonna stay
in the NC double A world.But let's transition to the biggest news over
the past week, and that isat Northwestern University, they fired head football
coach Pat Fitzgerald after hazing claims.That's right. This is a major American

(06:41):
university, guys, this is notsome small university. This is a major
American university. They fired their headfootball coach because of an investigation into allegations
of what was known as widespread hazing. Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald is accused of
witnessing and taking part in sexual punishmentrituals. He of course denied knowledge of

(07:03):
any form of hazing, but hewas dismissed after an independent, independent excuse
me investigation. Despite hundreds of supportivemessengers and messages from other people, he
was still let go. Mister Schillsaid that the head coach, mister Schill
is the president of Northwestern, saidthat he was ultimately responsible for the team's

(07:26):
culture and that he had the opportunityto learn what was happening within the team
and that he didn't do that.Fitzgerald released a statement to ESPN saying again,
he had no knowledge whatsoever of anyform of hazing and that he would
have took the necessary steps to protecthis rights in accordance with the law.
So, you know, this isa tricky one that a lot of people

(07:46):
have different views on. He initiallywas suspended before he was fired, So
initially he was suspended without pay,and then he was fired. He described
the ritual as one where multiple upperclass elisman would pin down a younger player
and mount him inappropriate That was reportedby the Daily Northwestern newspaper, not Pat

(08:07):
Fitzgerald himself. They say that it'sdone under the smoke and mirror of Oh,
it's team bonding, but no,it's sexual abuse, a former player
allegedly said. Multiple other former athleteshave come out since the initial report car
abate or excuse me, basically agreeingthat the hazing did occur and that it

(08:28):
was even a little bit of racism. There's allegations of racism. I'm just
gonna be honest with you, guys. I could side with the school here
hazing. It's bad, you know, it shouldn't have happened. But I
can also see a form of Fitzgerald'sside where everybody knows if you join a
fraternity or soroar, do you haveto go through some type of hazing at

(08:50):
some point. What I'm not gonnado is make an uneducated opinion on a
situation that I, quite frankly,don't know enough about. I am going
to say that I don't agree withFitzgerald, and I don't agree with Northwestern
University, and quite frankly, Idon't have an opinion on this because I'm
not educated enough on it. I'mnot gonna sit here and say that he
did do this because we don't knowthat he did this. I'm not gonna

(09:11):
say that he didn't do this becausewe don't know that he did do it.
I mean, he might have doneit, but I do know that
I think they should have took alittle more time to actually investigate this situation
before making the decision to fire him. I do think the firing was a
bit quick. But again, justlike the Brandon Miller situation that happened,
I think you need to let thosesituations play out. I think when it

(09:33):
comes to college athletes and college coaches, it's a really unique opportunity. Unfortunately
a lot of them are bad circumstances, but it's a really unique opportunity as
a school and as a city tomake these to make the right how do
I wear this, to take theright amount of time, to make sure
again, you're setting an example andeverything you do for these college athletes,

(09:56):
you're supposed to teach them how tobe men in this world, how to
be women in this world. Andso I get the trigger pull firing because
there's allegations against him. But whatif he didn't do it? What if
all this comes out, everything happens, and he ends up being completely innocent
and he got fired and lost hisjob. But again, as I've told
you guys before, I truly believe, as a believer in Christ that you

(10:18):
don't have to let your emotions validateanything. I've dealt with situations before,
things have been said about me thataren't true. You don't have to get
on social media and run everybody downyou don't have to try to explain yourself.
You've just got to continue to clingto the cross, trust to God
who's in control, and know thatyour emotions don't have to validate anything because
the truth will always be set free. And I'm telling you, I see
now where I'm at now in thispoint in life, and I know that

(10:39):
God rewarded that faithfulness to him.God rewarded not letting my emotions validate anything
in the moment, but being consistentand seeking Him in his wisdom. So
that's my thoughts on the Northwestern hazingsituation a little bit different than a lot
of people. I'm just gonna behonest with you, guys. I'm not
as educated on it as some peopleare, so I'm not gonna make it
uneducated opinion on it. But Ido think this situation is quite interesting and

(11:03):
it's one that I saw coming.And that's what the University of Georgia.
An ex Georgia's staffer, has nowsued the University of Georgia and is suing
New Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jalen Carter afterbeing injured in what was a fatal crash.
A lot of you remember there wasa bad car crash that happened months
ago, and a woman who survivedthat car crash that ended up killing That

(11:24):
car crash did kill a Georgia footballplayer and killed a recruiting staffer. But
another one has filed a lawsuit accusingnumerous parties of different things. Of course,
according to court records that were obtainedby USA Today Sports, Victory of
Bows, who's a former recruiting analystfor the school, filed the lawsuit in

(11:45):
Gwynette County, Georgia. So amongthe defendants in this case are new Philadelphia
Eagles rookie defensive lineman Jalen Carter.Coincidence, new guy just got millions of
dollars is now being sued. Whydidn't this lawsuit take place a couple of
months ago after the wreck? Whydidn't this lawsuit take place, you know,
before he was drafted by the PhiladelphiaEagles. Now, I'm not saying

(12:09):
this girl doesn't have a case,and I'm not saying that what she's doing
is right nor wrong. I justthink it's a bit fishy that she's now
suing him after he signed the money, and a lot of people, again
similar to Brandon Miller, think thatit won't be long until he has a
follow lawsuit against him because of whatit took place. But you know,

(12:30):
we'll see again. Police said thatit was a parade that took place on
January fifteenth that celebrated Georgia's national championshipback to back. A Ford expedition was
driven by Lacroix, who was travelingaround one hundred and four miles per hour
before the crash. It was theresult of a street racing incident, and
Bowles was a passenger in the backseatof the suv. She's now trying to

(12:52):
make some money. I think it'sa fishy lawsuit. I don't think it
should go anywhere. Personally, Ido have to send my thoughts and prayers
to Lacroix or excuse me not Lacroix. Lacroix was the driver, but two
Bowles, who was a part ofthis. I know she had a tragic
accident that of course is probably messedwith her mentally. I know I still

(13:13):
deal with things from when I gotin a car accident back in two nineteen.
But when it comes to money,people will do some crazy things.
Maybe she wins this lawsuit, butI just think it's a bit fishy.
She waited till now to file itafter the guy has signed a rookie contract
to make millions of dollars. We'llsee where it goes, all right,
I want to keep talking about collegefootball real quick, and then we're gonna
talk about the MLBA All Star Gameand talk about the second half. But

(13:35):
I want to talk about fifteen teams. I came up with a list of
fifteen teams that I think you couldmake a case for to make the college
football playoffs this upcoming season. AndI'm gonna break it down by a conference,
and I want to start with theACC. There's three teams that I
think you can make a case tomake the college football playoffs. Now,
I'm not saying these teams are goingto make the playoffs, let me be

(13:56):
very clear about that. I'm sayingyou could make a case that they can
make the playoffs. And let's startwith Clemson. Dabo Sweeney has gotten this
program to a point where the Tigersare going to be in playoff contention just
about every single year. Now.They did lose Trevor Lawrence, okay,
and they haven't been great since theylost him. But we're gonna see new
quarterback. They've got will Shipley comingback. I think Clemson you could make

(14:18):
a case to be one of thefour teams to make the college football playoffs.
The next one is Florida State.Everybody knows the Seminoles are a popular
pick to make the playoffs this upcomingseason, and rightfully so. They bring
back a lot of talent on bothsides of the ball. They have Jordan
Travis, who's one of the bestquarterbacks in the country, probably going to
be one of the Heisman favorites headinginto the season. And meanwhile, on

(14:41):
the defensive line, the Seminoles gotto boost one projected first round picked,
Jared First, decided to come backfor another year. So Florida State went
ten and three last season. Extremelytalented. The last team is well one
that I'm gonna say you can makea case for, but probably the furthest
from making the playoffs is North Carolina. Of all the teams that I just
mentioned in Florida State, North Carolinaprobably has the lowest chance in making the

(15:03):
playoffs. The tar Hills do nothave or well, they do have one
big asset, I should say,which could be the difference maker for them,
and we all know that's star quarterbackDrake May who a lot of people
thought might would transfer, but peopleinside the program knew that was not going
to happen. He's a superstar,and it's gonna come down to if he
can carry them to the playoffs.He's truly one of the best players I've

(15:24):
seen in college football. He's oneof the best quarterbacks in college football.
So it's really gonna come down tocan he carry them or not. Let's
move to the Big twelve. There'sonly one team here, It's Texas.
We say this every single year.Texas could make the playoffs, and it's
still gonna take major improvements from themthis season, especially from quarterback Quinn Ewers.
I probably said that wrong, buthe was a high school phenomen He

(15:46):
showed flashes of being promising. Hewent to Ohio State, transferred to Texas,
had a really good season, wason track to beat Alabama, and
Austin got injured. But they alsogot back most of their receiving corps Xavier
work who led Alabama up Jordan Whittington. They got dynamic transfers in Isaiah Nayor
and Adie Mitchell. So this team'sgonna be very scary in the passing offense.

(16:08):
And again, everybody's got all eyeson that trip to Tuscaloosa, and
how can cool Aid McKinstry and theAlabama defense slow down this Texas offense.
Let's move to the Big Ten.I can make a case for three teams
in the Big Ten, the sameBig three every year, Michigan, Ohio
State, Penn State. This couldvery well be Jim Harbaugh's best team at
Michigan that he's ever had. Likethe Wolverinons return two of the top running

(16:32):
backs in all of the country.Imagine having two of the top running backs
in all of the country. You'vegot Blake Kram and Donovan Edwards, both
who are gonna feast on the ground. Okay, now we look at Ohio
State. Now, the offense isgonna be elite. Now they are losing
C. J. Stroud, butthey've got dynamic weapons that are gonna make
the quarterbacks job easier. They havethe two best wide receivers in the nation

(16:52):
and Marvin Harrison, Jones and Amicaalong with two star stud running backs in
Trevion on Henderson and Mayan Williams.So again, the only question for Ohio
State, similar to Alabama, isquarterback, but we'll see if Kyle McCord
can get the job. He seemsto be the favorite right now. And
lastly's Penn State. Don't sleep onPenn State. I'm telling you right now,

(17:14):
this team might be a year away, but they easily have a case
to be a playoff contender. Andthis easily, they easily have a case
to be the top team that JamesFranklin's ever had at Penn State. They've
been creeping towards relevancy for a fewyears now, and so again they get
started running back Nicholas Singleton and kJohn allenback. You're gonna make a case
for them. Let's move to thePAC twelve. I'd make a case for

(17:37):
four teams in the PAC twelve.Now we're talking about making it, guys,
and there at number four whoever thisis. But I'm looking at USC,
Utah or Washington. Okay, thePac twelve again, they got a
handful of teams here, and Oregonis one of them. And I'll tell
you why. It really comes downto bow Knicks. I never thought i'd
say that, but bo Nix,like, if he can come back,
and I think he's a Heisman Trophyfinalist. I'm going ahead throwing that out

(18:00):
there right now. I think he'sgonna have a great year. He's gonna
build off the last year. Ithink he's got to be the key for
organ Of all the Pac twelve teamsin the contention, USC's obviously got the
best odds, They got the bestshot, right Why Well, they got
Caleb Williams. He's the best playerin all of college football and he's only
getting better. So anytime you bringback a Heisman Trophy winner, your team's
most likely you're gonna be set upfor success. Doesn't mean they're gonna make

(18:22):
the championship. Didn't happen for BryceYoung, but you've got an opportunity.
Then I look at, uh,you know, this next team in Utah.
I mean, it didn't help whenquarterback Cam Rising towards acl and the
Rose Bowl in early January, andhis status is kind of up for the
air when it comes to the beginningof the season, which is not a
great sign. And they play Floridaearly and Baylor. But let's quit talking
about the negatives and let's talk aboutthe positives. Why they have a chance.

(18:45):
This is still a very good team. Okay, running back Michael Bernard
and Jaquinn and Jackson are gonna haveto carry the load. But they're probably
the two top running backs in thePac twelve and they're on the same team.
So Utah's got a case. It'sgonna have to come down to that.
Though they return a lot defensively,they're gonna be a really good defensive
team. And then Washington this isa sneaky good team. They've got Michael

(19:10):
Pennox junior, the Indiana transfer atquarterback who decided to forego the draft and
come back to school. He's gotRome and James McMillan with him, who
both had a thousand yards receiving lastyear. Sec Let's Alabama Georgia Tennessee LSU.
Now, on paper, this mightbe the worst Alabama team of Nick
Saban, but that's only on paper. Every time you count out Nick Saban,

(19:32):
he seems to have a few tricksup his sleeve, and he always
gets his team to the playoffs aftermissing it a season ago. It's a
proven fact he's always made the playoffsa year after he missed it. So
there are still question marks to beaddressed, quarterback being the biggest one.
The receiving corps is fairly weak comparedto previous years. But somebody's gonna have
to step up on offense, andI think you're gonna see that happen.

(19:52):
I think the defense is going tobe strong. You've got Koolaid McKinstry,
who's one of the best cornerbacks incollege football. You got Dallas Turner,
who's one of the best edge defendersin college football. So again, the
defense is gonna be really good.For Alabama Georgia, it's simple. They're
the best team in college football.They got the best players. They're bigger,
they're stronger, they're faster. It'sjust simple. They went in the
trenches, they're dominant on the line, their defense overwhelms opposing offenses, and

(20:15):
they've got Brock powers. Nothing moreI need to say LSU. I mean,
look at Brian Kelly's first season atLSU. He shocked everyone. The
fact that they beat Alabama and wonthe SEC West was a huge deal.
Now, on paper, the Tigersshould be even better this season, as
they returned most of their starters,including another Heisman candidate, Jaden Daniels.
But again that's on paper. Andthen Tennessee this might sound crazy, but

(20:38):
this year's Tennessee team could end upbeing better than last year's. I mean,
they lost a lot of talent,but they also brought back a lot
of key contributors and some say thatJoe Milton might even have the strongest arm
in all of college football. Sowe'll see what happens, all right,
guys, we talked about MLB.The All Star Game took place this week
in the National League won the MidsummerClassic. Here is the final call as

(21:00):
Craig Kimball strikes out Jose Romerez witha fastball, given the National League its
first win since twenty twelve. Withthe three to two win, two on
two out and a two two pitchfrom Meres swims the misses, Kimbell slams
the door. The National League's finallyback on time. It's first All Star
Game wins since two thousand and twelve. That's right, the National League's nightmare

(21:25):
is finally over. They snapped anine game losing skid in the Midsummer Classic
with a three two win over theAmerican League All Star Games. Das from
Colorado was named the MVP. Thehome Run Derby took place the night before,
and it was Vladimir Guerrero, whooutlasted Randy Arose Arena from Tampa to
win the Home Run Derby. Here'sthe final call. I don't think he

(21:48):
did it. He did not doit. Onne Guerrero Junior will hang on
and win the twenty twenty three TeamMobile Home Run der four years after he
set a single round home run Derbyrecord only to not win the title.
Vladimir Guerrero bestowed the same fate onsomeone else and added to his family's rich

(22:10):
legacy. We're talking the son ofHall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Junior. Well,
he talked about how much winning HomeRun Derby meant to him and the
bragging rights that he now has overhis Hall of Fame MLB father. I
told him that we won, soI told him, if I win the
Derby, I got the Derby andthe MVP Sholes. I got a little

(22:32):
bit more than you. So that'swhen I fitted you at Michael him and
we did it. Guerrero joined hisfather, who in two thousand and seven
won the Derby at the All StarGame in San Francisco. Congratulations to the
Guerrero family. We've got two minutesbefore we got to take a break for
news and weather on news radio oneon one nine Big Wax. But I
want to talk about the Dodgers andPadres that are getting set to play the

(22:53):
regular season series in South Korea nextyear. That's right, the Padres and
Dodgers are going to open the seasonup in the South Korea. This Seoul
series will mark the first international MLBseason opener in five years, and the
ninth overall played outside of the USin Canada. The last time they played
overseas to open the season was twentynineteen when the A's and Mariners played in

(23:15):
Tokyo. Now we all know aboutthe London series in different places, but
South Korea, I'm sure the fansare going to show up for that one,
all right. Second half of theLB season starts now. Last night,
the Atlanta Braves opened up a serieswith the Chicago White Sox. I
want to talk about the Braves fora minute. The Atlanta Braves were baseball's
best team during the first half ofthe season. They went sixty and twenty

(23:37):
nine. They built an eight anda half game lead in the NL East.
But how can they continue to bedominant in the second half. Well,
I think it starts with their secondhalf X factors, Max Freed and
Kyle Wright. They've missed all ofthis season basically, and Atlanta has still
been good. They need them back, they need them healthy. Michael Harris
the second he's the reigning NL Rookieof the Year. He started cold,
he picked it up. They needAj Mentor to be one of the best

(24:00):
set up relievers in baseball. Tradedeadline. When it comes to the trade
deadline, the Braves don't need tomake any blockbuster moves. It's a deadline.
They just simply need to add acloser. Rossio Iglesias. He's not
the closer. Let's be real.He's the setup guy. They gotta find
a closer, and so I thinkthat's the biggest need right now is the
bullpend. I'm targeting relievers with controlbeyond twenty twenty three so that you don't

(24:22):
have to worry about it in theoff season. Obviously. I look at
Kansas City Scott Barlow. That's thebiggest name that comes to mind for me.
If you want to reunion with KennellyJensen, but I just don't know
if the Red Sox will sell him, and then maybe you go to Detroit
and get a guy like Jason Fully. But I always have a hard time
wanting to go to those really badteams because you just don't know how they're
gonna be. The Braves make thepostseason if well, they're gonna make the

(24:44):
postseason no matter what. So evenif they played five hundred the rest of
the way, they're still gonna finishwith ninety six wins and coasting the playoffs.
Nobody's a better team right now thanthe Atlanta Braves. All right,
we gotta take a break for newsand weather on news radio one on one
nine Big Wax. Yeah, that'sright, it's the pit stop on news

(25:07):
radio one oh one nine Big Wax. I'm your host, name of Pitts.
We want to welcome you back infrom the break. We were just
talking Braves baseball before the break,and I gotta tell you, I am
a huge Braves fan. I'm excitedto see how the second half of the
season's gonna play out for the AtlantaBraves. And I gotta tell you,
there's an interesting story that developed thisweek in the sports world, and it

(25:29):
happened in the NBA. It waswith he just became the number one pick
Victor Wimbay Yamba. So Victor WimbaYama was let's just say he was in
Las Vegas getting ready to play somebasketball for summer league, because that's what
rookies do. When Brittney Spears wasstruck by his security So how does Britney
Spears and Victor Weimbe Yamba end upin the same place and how does she

(25:52):
end up getting slapped? Well,San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wimba Yama said
Thursday that he believed that Britta Spearsgrabbed him from behind a little weird as
he walked into a restaurant at aLas Vegas casino, and that security detail
he was with pushed the pop staraway when Bayama says he wasn't told that
it was Spears until hours later,and then he never actually saw her.

(26:18):
Well, Spears, of course,says differently. She filed a report with
the Las Vegas Police. She saidit was super embarrassing. She denied grabbing
Wimba Yamba in the butt. Shesaid she only tapped him on the shoulder,
which he's seven five, I meanshe's I mean, I don't know
shoulder. I don't know if shecould reach his shoulders, so probably was
his butt. Not the point.But the point is Britney Spears. Yeah,

(26:38):
she was slapped, pushed away fromhis security. They backhanded her in
the face without even looking. Theyjust didn't even check who it is.
What are my thoughts on this?I'm just gonna be honest with you.
I sigh with Victor Wimba Yamba.You're Britney Spears. I get it.
Your celebrity, Like I get it, you are a celebrity, but you
can't just be walking up to aguy who was just a number one pick
in the draft and think he justknows who you are. The guys from

(27:02):
Paris, he's not from America.He may not even know who you are,
Britney Spears, and you just walkup trying to touch his shoulder which
was probably really his butt because he'sseven five, And then you just expect
them to be all apologetic. Imean, I'm sure they were apologetic,
but come on, the point isit's Victor Weinbiyama, You're Britney Spears.
Where's your security? Like this shouldhave never even happened. So it's quite

(27:27):
an interesting story, and I justTMZ was the first to report it and
TMZ. I gotta tell you theyused to not be so reliable. They've
been pretty reliable lately. I meanthey were the first ones to break to
Kobe Bryant news and a sad story. By the way, Kobe Bryant,
can you believe it's almost been acouple of years now since he passed away?
But yeah, it's just it's justcrazy story. Victor Wembayama slapped what

(27:49):
he says, in the butt.Britney Spears says in the shoulder. I'm
signed with Victor Weinbiyama on this one. Believe it or not. You gotta
be I mean, you can't justwalk up to the number one pick and
think that he's just gonna be like, hey, Britney Spears, the guys
from Paris, France. He's noteven from America. I mean, come
on, you gotta you gotta,you gotta know better. There's a time
and place. Brittany and you,my friend, are not in the right

(28:14):
place. So hey. Speaking ofNBA, though, James Harden, the
guy had recently said that he wantedout, and you know that he wanted
to do something somewhere else, tryto win a championship. His desire is
to get traded from the Philadelphia seventysix ers, and he right now,
he says that desire has not changed, even though he's had a couple of
weeks to think about it. Joeel embiid, well, he's disappointed with

(28:40):
James Harden's trade request, but hedid say that no matter what, he'll
still be friends with him forever.Disappointed, but then they're getting Also understand,
you know, his business. Youknow, people make decisions, and
you know, and and I'm moreappreciative, appreciative of the way he's handled
the whole situation. You know,we're gonna be boys forever. They're gonna

(29:02):
be boys forever. Corner Joe Embidno matter what happens, it's not gonna
change their relationship. James Harden iswanting to force his way to the Los
Angeles Clippers. That's right. Heeffectively would like to win a championship because
he is going to go down.It's probably one of the greatest to never
win a championship. With Charles Barkley, he's effectively calling the ten time All
Stars, or excuse me, effectivelycalling the ten time All Star bluff at

(29:26):
this point would be a little bitextreme because he did force his way out
of Houston. He did force hisway out of Brooklyn. He's famously shot
two of eleven from the field inthe playoffs. He's not a playoff player.
He used to be my favorite player. I'm not even ashamed to say
that. I'm kind of glad thathe didn't end up back in Houston this
offseason like some we're saying could happen. But the circumstances are a little different

(29:48):
for the thirty three year old thistime around. I will say that.
So we'll see he wants to bein LA with the Clippers. He's gonna
try to force himself to the Clippers. But again, we've seen how James
Harden, Russell Westbrook play. Something'sgot to give there, and right now
the Clippers resigned Russell Westbrook, KawhiLeonard, Paul George. We'll see how
things play out, but I willsay this offseason did give hard in a

(30:11):
little bit of a reality check.He eventually triggered his thirty five point six
million dollars option and made it knownthat he wanted to be somewhere else.
So we'll see. He's a formerMVP. The Sixers might be banking on
him, So I don't know ifthey're gonna get rid of him that easily
or what. But we've seen howthings played out for the Houston Rockets and
the Brooklyn Nets, and if you'rePhiladelphia, you better get the best package

(30:33):
you can get and you better getit quick. Another player that's trying to
force himself out from his current situationis Damian Lillard. Damian Lillard is what
the Portland Trollblazers now. He hasbeen loyal to Portland. He stayed with
them, he trusted them. Hesaid he would do whatever it took to
win a championship with Portland. Hedidn't want to be the guy to force
himself to another team, But nowhe wants out and where does he want

(30:57):
to go? Well to the teamthat's made the final last year and two
of the past four years, theMiami Heat. Supposedly, this past Thursday,
the Miami Heat made an official tradeoffer to the Portland Trailblazers for Damian
Lillard. This is a deal thatwas centered around Tyler Hero three first round
picks, and but the thing that'sholding this up is that Portland's supposedly has

(31:19):
no interest in Tyler hero, andso that makes you need a third team,
maybe even more depending on how thatgoes. So three first round picks,
which are valuable assets, are projectedto be towards the end of the
first round. So I'm if I'mPortland, I've always been on this side,
even though people don't agree with it. I would just hold off,

(31:40):
hold off. If he doesn't showup, he doesn't show up, he
doesn't get paid, period. I'mnot gonna send the guy where he wants
to go. Like I've never sidedwith the athletes on the Hey, you,
we're gonna send you where you wantto go. Like, he signed
a new contract last season. Ifhe wanted out, he should have wanted
out a year ago. And yousay, well, they lie to him.

(32:00):
They lied to him, They saidthey weren't gonna rebuild. Okay,
it's been a year. What changedfrom last year this year? Some injuries
you traded? Maybe yeah, Imean yeah, you got c. J.
McCollum and how that played out orwhatever. But the point is he
signed a contract, a max contracton top of that a year ago,
and now he's gonna force himself out. Where's he want to go to the
team that made the finals? Lastyear, that's made the final two of

(32:22):
the past four years. Oh,I want to be loyal. I don't
want to go to a team thatyou know is a super team. Okay,
I know what people are gonna say, Well, how is Jimmy Butler
and Bam out of BAIO a superteam? Well, they made the playoffs
two the past four years. SoI'd send him somewhere like Cleveland. You
know, I got some good guys. I mean, I'm not gonna see
him to a bad team. I'mgonna respect his wishes. He has been

(32:42):
loyal, but I'm not gonna seehim to the team that made the NBA
finals last year. I'm not gonnasend him to Boston. I'm gonna send
him somewhere like Cleveland, New Yorkto play with the Knicks, you know,
somebody like that, where, yes, he's got the capability of winning
a championship, but it's not gonnabe with the Miami Heat, and it's
not gonna be with the Boston Celtics. To two teams that have dominated the
Eastern Conference. You could even sayMilwaukee. I wouldn't even send him there

(33:05):
because again, I'm gonna send himto a place where he can win,
but I'm not going to send himto those places. And you go,
what about James Harden. He forcedhimself from Houston to Brooklyn or Philadelphia.
Well, you know what, henever won a championship. He got what
he deserved. I don't think theDame X. Let's just say the Dame
experience is gonna win a championship inMiami. But also don't like Mami at

(33:25):
all, and I'm not afraid tosay that. So I'm always going to
go against them when it comes toanything. But I will say they know
a little thing or two about winning, and they just keep keep doing it.
They never stop. So another teamthat knows a lot about winning is
the Kansas City Chiefs. Interesting developmentthis week is a Chiefs football super fan
is charged with seventy thousand dollars inbank theft. That's right, he got

(33:50):
caught in California. Kansas City Chiefsmain heype man Xavier Bopadar maybe or maybe
it's Bubbud or anyway. He's knownby fans as the chief A Hollicks and
he is the chief a Hallock ofthe Hollicks. He's attended nearly every game
home and away. He's given thehefty price of football tickets. He's led
this high flying lifestyle, which he'sattributed to successful warehouses in which he's managed

(34:15):
across the Midwest, but the moneythat funded his travels or federal prosecutors say
it appears to have come in partfrom a more illicit source. Mister Chiefs
A. Hollick is accused of committinga string of bank robberies across at least
six states over the last year,which included Iowa, where he was accused
of stealing seventy thousand dollars. He'stwenty nine arrested in Sacramento, California,

(34:40):
and his federal agents have charged himwith one count of bank theft, one
count of transporting stolen property across statelines, and we're gonna see what happens.
It came four months after he fledprosecution in Oklahoma in connection to a
different bank robbery. That robbery wasone of seven that he's accused of committing
or attempting between April of twenty twentytwo in December of twenty twenty second.

(35:04):
Again, I don't make comments aboutstuff until all the facts have been brought
out, but at this point Ithink it's safe to say, mister Alhollock,
you were in trouble and you mightassume my friend might be seeing some
prison time. Somebody that deserves whatthey got is Quinnon Williams. And what
I mean is he deserved to getninety six million. Quinnin Williams this week
for the New York Jets, signeda massive contract which has now given him

(35:29):
a monstrous ninety six million Quinnon Williamswill be next in line to take advantage
of getting paid by using his marketto get what he deserves. The Jets
are preparing right now to open uptheir summer training camp, which will take
place next week, and the weightis over. He got paid royalty all
up front sixty six millions, guaranteedanother thirty million after that. Williams and

(35:52):
the Jets have a massive four yearcontract. He's look he's deserving. He's
now the second highest pay defensive tacklein the league. This is based on
the twenty four million annual average ofhis salary, which is only behind the
best defensive player in an NFL,which is Aaron Donald the Rams. Williams
is entering his second year of athree year deal which is going to be

(36:13):
worth ninety five million. So againI don't know. Excuse me, pardon
me. Aaron Donald is the onethat's entering his second year of a three
year deal ORD ninety five million.But anyway, the Jets handed Williams what
was the largest guarantee in franchise history. It topped the fifty one million and
guaranteed that was given to C.J. Mosley. See the comparison between

(36:35):
these two. They both went tothe University of Alabama and now look at
them. They're getting paid. Socongratulations to Quinnin Williams. He deserves it.
He established a career high in sackslast year or twelve. He had
twenty eight quarterback hits. He hadtwelve tackles for loss. He was a
premiered player on a top five defensein the league. Though New York only
had seven wins, the Jets defensewas dominant. Williams was the centerpiece of

(36:58):
that. The unit finish spurts inthe league for fewest points allowed, fourth
in total yards allowed, third andpassing guards allowed in sixteenth and rushing yards
and it did not hurt the rookiesauce Gardner lived up to every bit of
hype. He was named the NFL'sdefensive Rookie of the Year, and this
offseason, the Jets added to theirdefense. They signed defensive lineman Al Woods

(37:19):
and Quentin Jefferson. They traded forsafety Chuck Clark and ed rusher Will McDonald
from Iowa State, and Clark actuallytours acl and an Organized Team Activity practice
and will be out for the season. But the most important move they made
was for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Who'sgonna put the Jets in the spotlight now
that they're gonna be on HBO's HardKnocks this summer. But again, the

(37:40):
Jets are gonna be a really gooddefensive team. Adding Aaron Rodgers on offense
is gonna open up the offensive game. Gonna be a really good season to
watch the New York Jets if you'rea fan of New York. And I
actually got to go to MetLife lastyear for the first time ever and watched
the Bengals play there. And it'sa beautiful stadium and I love when they
go jay E t s Jets,Jets, Jets, that's pretty cool.

(38:02):
I'm not gonna lie, but hey, did you see what happened this week?
Speaking of the NFL? Speaking ofcool stories, Tomar Hamlin. Not
a cool story what happened to him, but a cool story on what took
place. This week at the Espies, Damar Hamlin was presenting an award to
the training staff who saved his ownlife. And here's what I mean.
We're gonna talk more about this,but I want to play some audio really

(38:24):
quickly. Here's DeMar Hamlin as hetears up presenting Bills training staff with the
Pat Tilman Award. Please welcome thisyear's recipient of the Pat Tilman Award for
service the training staff at the BuffaloBills. Damar Hamlin was brought to tears
at the twenty twenty three Espies thispast Wednesday when he honored the on field

(38:45):
medical team who saved his life afterhe suffered a cardiac arrest in January when
he was playing against the Cincinnati Bengals. He cried on stage Wednesday as he
presented the Pat Tillman Award to thetraining staff who saved his life life.
Nathan Breski, who is the headathletic trainer for the Buffalo Bills, accepted
the award on behalf of the emergencyresponders and other members of the training staff

(39:08):
who helped provide aid after Hamlin's medicalemergency. Some of those responders did stand
on stage behind him prior to acceptingthe video or the awards. Excuse me,
Hamlin appeared in a video that featuredhim reflecting on his medical emergency.
So again, this is a reallycool story that developed as Damar Hamlin ended

(39:30):
up giving the Pat Tilmann Award tothe Buffalo Bills training staff. And again,
if you're not familiar with what happened, there was a moment where a
tragic injury to Damar Hamlin united Americaand united everybody prayer was trending. I
mean, things were looking like thiscountry might have been reuniting in that moment.

(39:51):
It was back when January second,they were playing Monday night football against
the Cincinnati Bengals. When Hamlin collapsedon the field after making a tackle.
They had to do CPR. Theyhad to basically resurrect him and transport him
to my ambulance to the University ofCincinnati Medical Center. It was announced on
April eighteenth that he learned that hiscardiac arrest was due to commotio cortes.

(40:15):
The American Heart Association definds this isa rare cardiac arrest immediately falling a blow
to the chest. He was transferredto a hospital in Buffalo eventually before he
was discharged, and he says atthe time that he is planning on making
a comeback to the NFL. Manthat takes strength, that takes guts,
that's scary. I'll tell you somethingI wasn't a fan of at d ESPs.

(40:36):
Lebron James. Here's what he says. He says he isn't retiring.
Anyone's surprised, not me. Idon't care how many more points I score
or what I can and cannot doon the floor. The real question for
me is can I play without cheatinghis game? The day I can't give
the game everything on the floor isthe day I'll be done. Looking for
you, guys, That day isnot today. A lot of people are

(41:00):
cheering, I'm not really cheering.The guy comes out on a press conference
last at the end of this pastseason and says he's thinking about retirement.
Maybe he was thinking about retirement,but it's Lebron James. Everybody knows he
ain't retiring. He's waiting till Broniegets in the league. So he officially
announced that he's returning to the Lakersfor his twenty first season. But again,

(41:20):
I wouldn't. I wasn't believe inany of it. Now, he
did get the sp Award for thebest record breaking performance. Everybody remembers when
he passed Kareem this past year onthe NBA's all time scoring list. Excuse
me, I had to burp.But anyway, the thirty eight year old
superstar sparks speculation about his future againafter they were swept by the Denver Nuggets,
and he says he was serious aboutit. He's still serious about it.

(41:44):
Blah blah, blah blah. Idon't believe it. Personally, I
don't buy into it. Everybody knowshe wants to be where Bronnie James is
at. He wants to play atleast one season with his son. His
son's gonna be a college freshman thisyear at USC. He's one and done.
He's gonna be in the n theNBA next season. Where he ends
up at is to be determined.So this offseason, the Lakers made a
lot of moves. They returned themajority of its corps. They added Gabe

(42:06):
Vinson. Regardless of what happens,they're gonna be an interesting team to keep
an eye on next season. Sotwenty three SPS, they're over. The
awards have been given and so yeah, it was a great night. If
you watched, it was a greatevent. There was some I mean speaking
of Let's talk about some of thetop moments real quick before we move on
to my last topic, which ishigh school football to close the show.

(42:29):
But let's talk about some of thetop moments. The best team was awarded
two well, none other than theKansas City Chiefs. They were named the
best team deserving they took home athird Lombardi Trophy second and four years when
they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles thirty eightto thirty five and Super Bowl fifty seven.
They finished with a seventeen three record. That's the most total wins in
franchise history. For one season,they had seven Pro Bowlers and they continued

(42:52):
to dominate the NFL. The bestplay was included by the Minnesota Vikings and
what was one of the most reallyNFL season games. It was the minnesote
of Kings who truled the Buffalo Billslate in the fourth quarter and it needed
to convert a long fourth down tokeep the game alive. That was when
Kirk Cousins threw a pass to JustinJefferson that seemed certain to be an interception.

(43:15):
Jefferson used one hand to secure theball to make what was the best
catch of the NFL season, andit was a big moment in what was
an eventual Vikings win. Angel Reese, LSU basketball star, was named the
Breakthrough Athlete and she said that anothernational championship is on the way. That's
right. What's known as the BUYUBarbie was the breakout player of the year.

(43:35):
She had a great season. Let'sall be honest. I still think
Caitlyn Clark is the best player inwomen's college basketball. Angel Reese talks a
little too much, but I guessonce she won a championship, you can
do that. She averaged her careerhigh twenty three points a game. She
won a national championship in her firstseason with LSU after transform from Maryland.
She used you can't see me inthe ring knee gestures against I was Caitlyn
Clark that went viral, but itwas her star power in her play that

(44:00):
brought them an ultimate ultimate excuse me, ultimate championships so deserving. I guess
I mean, it was a big, big moment for her for sure,
So congratulations Angel Reese for that.All right, let's go ahead and talk
about Carmelo Anthony, who was alsoat the Spy's He was honored by the
Banana Boat Crew, which is afamous group of lebron James, Duane Wade,

(44:22):
and Chris Paul and they all paidrespects to their fellow member Carmelo Anthony
for what he accomplished in the NBAas he announced that he was retiring.
The Jimmy V Award, which isa Perseverance Award, was given to Chicago
White Sox pitcher Liam Hendricks. Thethree time NBA MLB All Star, announced
in January that he would begin treatmentfor non Hodgkins li foma, and four

(44:45):
months later he made his return afterhe was in remission, and he was
very honored to be given the award. He hopes his award raises awareness for
cancer research and during his speech,he echoed the famous words of Jim Valvan
who gave this powerful speech thirty yearsago, and that's too don't give up,
don't ever give up. That's whatWilliam Hendricks said. Much deserved.

(45:07):
Other awards given out best College AthleteWomen's sports much deserved. Caitlin clark I
was women College Basketball. Best Athletewith a disability, snowboarder Zach Miller.
Best NFL player Patrick Mahomes of theKansas City Chiefs. Best MLB player Shohei
Otani of the Los Angeles Angels.The Best NHL player was Connor McDavid of

(45:29):
the Edmonton Uhlers. The Best NBAplayer was Nicola Yokich of the Denver Nuggets.
The Best w NBA player was ajoh Wilson from the Las Vegas Aces.
The best UFC fighter, John Jones, Best boxer Clarissa Shield's, Best
soccer player Lionel Messi, Best GolferScottie Scheffler. Those are some of the
other awards that were given out toend the night on what was a great

(45:52):
SP's night. All right, let'stalk high school football and let's talk Calhoun
County football. To start, weall know that the prep season is about
to begin. There's been a lotof seven on sevens that took place.
I want to talk about the JacksonvilleGolden Eagles to start. This is a
team that has been very successful thissummer and seven on sevens and rightfully.

(46:14):
So they returned probably the best quarterbackin the area. I'm gonna I'm gonna
say, yeah, Oagles is thebest quarterback in the area, no doubt.
He's been phenomenal. He's committed toplay college football at Troy, and
they it's gonna be I think I'mgonna go on to them and say right
now that I think Jacksonville is goingto be the team to make a run
in the South. I think Annison'sgonna be good this year, but I

(46:37):
think Jacksonville is gonna be the teamto be out of this region. I
think Handley is gonna be good.But again, I think Jacksonville is gonna
be the team to beat in thisregion. But again, as always,
in some fort some form of order, Hanley, Anniston and Jacksonville and then
Mumford at four. I think that'show it's gonna go. That's how it
typically goes, and I don't seethis year being any different. But again,

(46:58):
when you got Ogles at quarterback,if you're a defense, I feel
bad for you. That's all Ican say. They did add Weaver head
coach former head coach Gary Atchley,who's now helping out with the wide receivers,
and he's gonna be the head softballcoach. So there's some movement this
offseason, of course, across theleague. Jonathan Miller, he went from
Sacks to Piedmont. They've obviously gotto replace Jack Hayes, which is a

(47:22):
tough task. I mean, hewas arguably the best player in high school
football last year. I really believehe was the best player. What he
did for Piedmont was broke records.Lots of them broke state records. And
Jack Hayes will be missed. Butit seems as if they're gonna turn to
left hander Cole Wilson. A lotof people have talked about him. He's
got a really big arm, butit's the decision making that he's gonna have

(47:42):
to improve on. So we're gonnasee when you break in a new quarterback.
It's never easy. But now Iwill say Piedmont has really really good
wide receivers. They've got really goodwide receivers, They've got really good speed.
But I think they're gonna go downthis year a step. Since Steve
Smith has gone a little. Ithink they're gonna go down a little.
I still think they're gonna be goodand I still think they're probably gonna win

(48:04):
this region, but now the planeview in Sylvania game are gonna be tough
games. I think it's gonna bea year before Westbrook Christian really starts knocking
with Steve. But I do thinkthey lost I think a six one possession
games last year. So if SteveSmith can just playing them, have them
playing a little bit more, Iguess conditioned in the fourth quarter, a
little more discipline, Westbrook Christian couldstart knocking this year. So you know,

(48:27):
I don't, I will see,but anyway, so we'll keep an
eye on that. I think Piedemontin terms of making the Super Seven,
if I had to make an earlyprediction right now, I'm gonna say that
they miss out this season. SaintJames repeats, My sleeper team's gonna be
Trinity Presbyterian out of Montgomery. Anniston. Well, they lose Cameron Sanlon and
ry Quis mcildery, but they replacetheir quarterback with a transfer from Sachs.

(48:47):
Gavin Doss, who's really good,tried to move to Huntsville last year,
end up coming back to Sachs.He's now at Anniston. Everybody knows about
They got a very very very veryvery good defensive back in Jane Lewis,
and he's gonna go play college footballfor sure. They've got five star talent
all across the field. Aniston's gonnabe as good as always and a pleasant

(49:10):
Valley young team that's gonna has startedsome really really young guys last year.
It's gonna be interesting to see howthey do. When it comes to Edawah
County Cousa Christian, I expect himto be a one A powerhouse this year.
I expect him to make a jumpfor the Super seven Westbrook Christian.
We'll see how things go with SteveSmith and his first season, but I
do think again they lost a lotof one possession games. We'll see coach

(49:32):
Alie Smith and the Gazan City Titansin six A. Again. I think
they'll have a successful season and puttogether some good strings of wins and be
consistent. So a lot of goodfootball. We'll talk more high school football
as the season approaches, as mediadays are ramping up right now, but
hey, guys, we gotta go. I appreciate you listening to the pit
stop on news radio one on onenine. Big Wax