Bernie Fratto Talks NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup & Ja Morant

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Don't listening to Fox Sports.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
Radio Radio.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
From the tire raq dot com studio. So Fox Sports
Radio here's Bernie Thrada.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Well that's right, you heard the man. It's that time
a week. My name is Bernie Fratta. We're coming to
you alive from the tyrac dot com studios Fox Sports
Radio here in Las Vegas. Tyraq dot com. We'll help
you get there an unmatched selection, fast free shipping for
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tyrac dot com. The way tire buying should be an

(00:41):
absolute corncopia extravaganza of topics. Tonight, of course, we've got
the NBA Finals. We will have the most comprehensive coverage
of what should be a fantastic Stanley Cup Finals starting
here in Vegas in about twenty one hours. No check that,
try eighteen hours between Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers.

(01:05):
We'll break it all down for you. Gambling lou Loof
and Akara joins it joint just at eleven fifteen. Is
the Lord Stanley's Cup the most difficult trophy to win
in sports? Yes? I will explain why that, plus many
other things. Okay, I mean, we have a famous person
that turned eighty. John Morant's got some issues. Jimmy Garoppolo's

(01:27):
got some issues. Nick Saban's at it again. Throw some
love to Luton mentioned being a soccer team. You were
bought for seven dollars twenty years ago and the original
owner left at fifty five days earned Vegas party, by
the way, two hundred million dollars richer. By the way,
Bernie's trivia game resumes at midnight eleven forty five. The
phone lines we'll open. We covered all and much more,

(01:50):
but we start with this attention Miami. Did you get
the license number of that truck last night? You know,
I've got a bone to pick here with a few
million people, and here's how I will start. You know,
the late great Muhammad Ali once got word in New

(02:12):
York that an old folks home was about to go
under for lack of funding, and it bothered him and
he wanted to help. So he was more than willing
to pony up some funds to subsidize the old folks
home so that it wouldn't go away. And he told
his agent and told his handlers. He goes before we
finalized the deal, Like can I just go take a
look at it. I want to walk inside, take a

(02:33):
look around. But done deal, I'm going to do it.
So sure enough they took a trip bent Town, Manhattan.
Ali walked in with his handler, and no sooner does
he entered the property, an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair
wheels up and says, oh my god, look at this.
Look who's here. It's unbelievable, the greatest, the greatest of

(02:53):
all time. Look it's Joe Louis. And precisely that moment,
Ali put his hand on his agent's arm. Stop, let
him go, leave him alone. Don't correct him. Don't correct him.
He's excited. I don't want to ruin his excitement. The
truth of the matter is the gentleman in the wheelchair

(03:15):
had the right guy. He was the greatest. He just
had the wrong name. For whatever. People don't want to
give the Denver Nuggets their flowers. I keep hearing this
same aircheck over, and well, not every champions fascinating, you know.
I remember the Kansas City Royals and eighty five. It
was Okay, I get it, I get it, But who

(03:35):
says they have to be fascinating? How about if they're
just newsworthy. You see, I don't recall any of the Royals,
any of their players, breaking any of Wilt Chamberlaoom's records
that were sixty years old. You know, there were many
national figures, highly respected people that predicted the Lakers would
win the championship. They are the illustrator. Look that one up.

(03:57):
Mike Frotello, he said they were going to win. Plenty
of people around that are supposed to be respected said
the Lakers will winning. Not only did they lose, they
get swept. That's not newsworthy. The reality of it is,
I thought, I want to hear that. You know, Denver's
the small market, so it was Milwaukee. They got their
flowers with Giannis. The bottom line is the Nuggets. If

(04:19):
you watch the game Thursday night, the Nuggets are overwhelming.
The margin of error for the Heat in this series
is so small that I'm just holding my fingers a
centimeter apart. You know, I'm you know, omons to the
metric system for starters. They cannot. The Heat cannot, within
reason physically guarded Nicole Yoki. Forget the fact that Yokik

(04:41):
has other worldly offensive skills. He just produces results. What
a concept. He may not glide and fly, and he
is graceful the way you want him to be. He's
not particularly a spectacular running jump athlete, which some people
are enamored by, although he's faster than you thin it
can try guard him as strong as an ox. I'm
telling you this dude is he's stronger than Mongol in

(05:02):
blazing saddles. But nobody that anybody on the heat roster
runs at Jokick is big enough, tall enough, skilled enough
to prevent this guy from getting a shot off, much
less obstruct his ability to do something with the ball
as he prosecutes the best offense in the NBA. They
toyed with the heat. Jokik only shot the ball twelve

(05:23):
times Thursdaday still managed twenty seven points, fourteen rebounds, ten assists.
He's a triple double machine. He's a center and he
averages triple doubles. Oh yeah, not for nothing. Jamal Murray
twenty six points, three hut of nuggets also scored in
double figures. And what's the rest thing? People tell me
you too much? Rest played nine days? Did they look

(05:46):
like a team who'd been rusty after nine days? We'll
get to that later in the hockey matchup. I think
the resting is way overblown. I covered three Red Wings
Stanley Cup Finals teams, so we'll see, okay, but I'm
not buying it. So the Nugget going to be able
to score in this series early and off anytime they want.
The only way the Heat finds their way to an

(06:07):
improbable title would involve some kind of extreme defensive discipline, which,
if I'm being honest, the Heat have excelled on defense
this postseason, to be fair, but they've also combined that
with very hot shooting. Their wing players have been out
of their mind, having you out of body experience is
Caleb Martin, Max Strews, Duncan Robinson. Unfortunately, Thursday night they

(06:31):
were combined two to sixteen from three. Jimmy Butler only
scored thirteen points, so there's your margin of error. They
were down by twenty four at one time, lost by eleven.
Almost kind of got a cover. That was crazy guy
coming in for a layup. What does it matter? The
thing is, though Miami did get within single digits late
in the game and they started to gum up the
passing lands a little bit for Denver's offense, got a

(06:52):
little bit of a rhythm from behind the arc. Not really,
but too late. So now Miami has forty eight hours
to figure it out. Can the Heat rebound? I don't know.
Here's why Yoki proved again he's the best player in
the NBA period. Sorry about that, Kendrick Perkins. He's your MVP.
Joki is your MVP. He just simply had no answer

(07:14):
for Joki none one oh four ninety three and uh again.
You want a double team and knock yourself out. He'll
find the open man, He'll make a brilliant pass, He'll
set up a teammate. Bam Adebayo had a very difficult
time dealing with yok But it was even worse when
when Adebayo was on the bench because Spoolstra had to

(07:36):
turn to Cody Zeller, who actually was a very good
player in college, and he toyed. He just toyed with
with Cody Zeller night, It'd be tough enough for the
Heat if Yoki was the only guy I had to
worry about. But the real problem is he does get
plenty of help, and part of it is the way
he sets up the offense. But Jamal Murray twenty six
points tennis is so that made Murray and Joki. It's

(08:00):
the second pair of teammates to have at least twenty
five points in ten assists in an NBA Finals game
since Magic Johnson and James Worthy did it back in
nineteen eighty seven, and that was the team that won
in eighty seven and one in eighty eight. Might have
threepeated half the roster hadn't got heard, but Aaron Gordon
he chipped in as well, sixteen points, seven to ten,

(08:20):
Michael Porter Junior thirteen rebounds, blocked a couple of shots.
This is what you call a total team effort. Scary
thing is it could have been worse for the Heat.
Interestingly enough, Denver Thursday night had their second worst three
point shooting nut of the playoffs and actually only shot
twenty nine percent for behind the arc. And you know,

(08:41):
they had kind of an uncharacteristically uncharacteristically lackluster performance from
the parody and they got good looks. But the one
thing they did do is make about sixty two percent
of their two point shots, which made up for their
three point issues, if you want to call it that.
So you combine Denver Stott defense and the Heat's terrible

(09:05):
shooting and that's quite a parlay. And there you have it.
There's a silver lining somewhere, but I don't know where
it is. The bottom line is Miami they would did
go six for twelve in the fourth quarter, and the
Heat were the best three point shooting team in the postseason.
If they can recapture some of that to try to

(09:25):
get back in the series, you're saying there's a chance.
I don't know. I don't know. I don't think so
they may sweep. It's tough to sweep, but we'll see
the other deciding factor. Again, just to put a capper
on this, an exclamation point was the Heat didn't exactly

(09:45):
get to the free throw line a lot. They attempted
two shots from the line over the course of the
entire game. And after the game, Jimmy Butler again who
only scored thirteen points, quote told his teammates, we've got
to be more aggressive. We got to attack the rim
a lot more, myself included. Easier said than done. The
bottom line is, there's no question the Heat, with all

(10:06):
their accolades, with a great job eric' spolster, has done
their outstanding effort at staving off Boston and not blowing
the three to zero lead. They've met their match and
then some we shall see what happens on Sunday. Actually,
they had seventy two hours to figure it out, not
forty eight hours. I want to remind everybody. Tonight's show

(10:27):
brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Progressive makes bundling easy
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ATV and more all your protection in one place. Bundle
and save at Progressive dot Com. Coming up, Before the
playoffs started the Stanley Cup Playoffs, no one expected the
Panthers to go anywhere. Yes, they were the President's Trophy

(10:50):
winners last year and they made a big trade. Meanwhile,
the Golden Knights have been sensational, but this series will
be a test of wills and styles, and we're gonna
break it down for you. Coming up, I'm Bernie Frattle.
We're coming to your line from Las Vegas, Fox Sports Radio,
tarat dot com Studios. Keep it lock. You'll listening to
the Bernie Frattle Show on Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (11:11):
Hi, this is Jay Glazer and you may know me
for the world of football or fighting or even shows
like HBO's bawlers. Well, you don't know is for my
entire life, I have lived in something I refer to
as the gray depression anxiety. So now I'm coming out
with a new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with
Jay Glazer, where each week, while we talk about mental health,

(11:33):
I hope to describe it, give it words. Listen to
Unbreakable with Jay Glazer on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
We're back on the Bernie Frattle Show Fox Sports Radio,
coming you live from the Tarak dot Com studios here
in Las Vegas at this time. Let's welcome and a gentlemen.
You've heard him on my show many times. He's a
fan favorite. He's expertise is Stanley Cupp and College World Series.
So what better time to have our guy gambling Lou
Lou Finakaro Lou, How are you, buddy, Arnie.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
I'm great. I totally appreciate you bringing me back. It's
a great time of the year. There's a lot going
on and I'm ready to tear into it with you.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yes, I'm glad the Golden Knights ended up getting that.
You know, they had to have that six games, so
we could break down the full Stanley Cup finals, and
I covered four of these in Detroit, So we're going
to dive right in, and I'll definitely want to get
your prediction at the end, but I want to start
by leading the witness lou very quickly. As I look
at this Florida Panther team after falling behind three to

(12:39):
one to Boston, they're eleven and one since Babrowski's out
of his mind, and they beat a gauntlet of three
teams that for me feels like they had a much
tougher path than the finals than the Golden Knights. To
taking nothing away from the Golden Knights, your thoughts on
that premisempletely.

Speaker 4 (13:00):
Concur It's my opinion that in the playoffs, hockey is
won with goaltending defense and then oh, by the way,
if you can score, that's fine. Look at the big
scoring teams. Leafs are gone, Oiler's gone, and so we
have a situation where Florida had to play the Canes.

(13:21):
The only defensive team better than them the Boston Bruins.
So I agree with you that the path for Florida
has been more difficult than that of Las Vegas.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
So let's dive into some of the matchups. How does
VGK negotiate this tight four checking game plan. You know,
Paul Maurice is going to bring.

Speaker 4 (13:44):
Bernie. As I assess it, it's going to be mandatory
for Vegas to stay five on five. Their penalty kill
is putrid, and offensively, when they're on the penalty and
the man advantage, they're only succeeding sixty three percent of
the time and by far the worst of the teams competing.

(14:07):
Obviously there's only two, but of all the Stanley Cup teams,
that's really their biggest area of concern. Now that being said,
the Knights are fully healthy, they have their full arsenal back,
and they have reduced their goals against in the playoffs
from the regular season, and they're scoring more goals and

(14:29):
we're seeing a cohesive Golden Nine team. But I think
the issues for these two teams don't necessarily lie in
the specifics. I think it lies in some of the intangibles.
We had a great discussion a few days ago about this.
I think rest comes into this quite a bit and expectation.

(14:52):
What do we think, what do we know about Bbrovski.
It's been my opinion that rest is a critical factor
here in that the Golden Knights have had four days
off Florida nine days off. Now, if the rest was
more equitable, there wouldn't be a big difference as far

(15:15):
as I'm concerned. But whenever you get a team that
has three or four days rest in the Stanley Cup
Playoffs against a team with more than seven days rest,
what you have is a situation where that first game
Florida is going to be skating in wet cement and
the Golden Knights minds, bodies, and legs still feel the

(15:40):
frenetics of a Stanley Cup playoff game. I feel extremely
strongly that this series starts with the Golden Knights in
a victory. I feel very strongly about that. Now that
being said, if Florida can escape Las Vegas one in one,
then I think it sets itself up for a long

(16:02):
series like the bookmakers are expecting, and profitability in this regard.
The way I'm attacking this series, Vernie is I'm gonna
there's these props that are available on DraftKings. I'm in Arizona,
although I'm in California. Now I can shop that menu

(16:22):
Las Vegas to win game one, But Florida to win
the series is a plus four hundred. I can't tell
you how much I like that. And that's a release
that I'll be giving to my clients.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
Interesting strategy. A couple things, lou, Let's just chop this
up for a second, because last year Colorado had nine
days rest and Tampa Bay are checked at Colorado had
nine days rest last year and the end of sweeping
Tampa Bay. So while I respect your opinion tremendously, I

(16:55):
feel like the resting is sometimes theoretical, but this is
not going to be a one game series anyway. I
think you've got a situation, Like you said, we could
be looking at a split and then let the you know,
let the let the games begin, as it were. What
are some of the matchup sort of angles you find
in this series that would you know, cause you to

(17:16):
lean one way or the other?

Speaker 4 (17:19):
Well, I mentioned the five on five. If they can
play five on five and avoid the penalties, I think
they stand a great chance. And to be honest, if
Brabrovski is the Verbrovski we've seen in the playoffs prior,
then I think that you're going to see a great
Florida team. I mean Florida's got the momentum, they got

(17:40):
the mojo, they have Lebroski. But you want to kill
a hot goaltender, give him nine days off. Now, I
know we talked, and you spoke with Chelios, and he's
surely a more reputable hockey authority than I, and I
yield to the fact that rest over the long run
is going to do Florida good. But over the short run,

(18:02):
I don't want to make it that it's all about
this nine days off. But it's all about this nine
days off.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
Fair enough, louse, So I didn't phrase the question properly.
On matchups I'm talking about, for instance, Matthew Kuchuk versus
Jack Michael or Aiden Hill, who's been outstanding versus Lebrowski.
Your thoughts on those types of matchups and how you
see this prevailing.

Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, I think it's I think it's going to be
mandatory that somehow, some way, whether that's Chandler Stevenson, I
don't think it would be Marciuzo, but more than likely
it's Barbershev. Barbashev's been the guy that's been shutting down
the score for the other team. It's more than likely

(18:48):
going to be him that is assigned to Chuck. I'll
say this also, what's not being mentioned enough is the
fact that this kid, Marciuzo has had a really, really
excellent Stanley Cotton season. Michael get a lot of the run,
but Marcizo came to Vegas on the expansion draft. He's

(19:10):
been there from the beginning. And oh, by the way,
he came from Florida.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
Correct, No one's.

Speaker 4 (19:15):
Talking about that, and I would, I would tell you
that if you have so, it's not a matchup situation.
But Marciuzo for the con Smyke Award. I think that'd
be a very interesting proposition at seven to one.

Speaker 2 (19:31):
By the way, I want to give William Carlson his
flowers as well. Eight five on five goals. And the
real question before I get your prediction is not many
teams the Vegas bottom six, they have been outstanding in
terms of their production. They have outscore their opponents twenty
seven to fourteen. What's interesting is Jack Eichel did not
have a goal in the Dallas series. Can that continue?

(19:53):
If Icha doesn't score, can that bottom sis continue? And
let's get let's get your prediction on the series. If
we could.

Speaker 4 (20:00):
Yeah, I think Vegas has been deep all year. They've
had to use those bottom six because for most of
the regular season those bottom six were top middle six
because there were so many injuries. And now you've got
a team gelling and playing really, really good hockey. So
I think Vegas all they got to do is make
sure it's five on five, to be quite honest with you,

(20:23):
and I really think that right now, my heart is
all about Florida, but my head says from the goal
out and the defensive team, the sounder, defensive minded team
has been Las Vegas, and I can't get away from
the fact that I sense and feel so much advantage

(20:44):
for them in this first game. I believe that you're
going to be looking in Game two with Vegas up
one nothing, and at that point in time there's going
to be a lot of decisions to be made. Mine
will not be made until after the second game, because
I'm that that wary of Vegas that said I am
gonna bet the Vegas winning Game one in Florida winning

(21:08):
the series. That's how I'm going to start the seven
game I hope Stanley Cup Final.

Speaker 2 (21:14):
And for the record, Vegas minus one thirty game one
minus one twenty for the series. Great stuff, Lou, Let's
continue on quickly. Wake Forest the number one seed overall
in college baseball. I'm following close my good buddy Larry
Sowrens and tenure major league pitcher is part of the
radio broadcast team. They beat George Mason twelve nothing today, Lou,
we haven't had a number one overall seed win the

(21:35):
College World Series since nineteen ninety nine. Gives your quick
rundown and taken things to look for in the College
World Series. Who you like?

Speaker 4 (21:43):
Oh man? I mean, you got some great, great matchups here.
You got a three and a four at one position,
ten and Samford playing each other. But to talk about,
you know, the major teams, Let's just say it like this.
The SEC is more dominant a conference in major college

(22:04):
baseball than they are in major college football. They have
ten teams in this tournament, of which eight belong. I
believe four should probably make it to Omaha. Wake Forest
ACC is one of four ACC teams in there, and
they have a target on their back, and I think
that they're set up decent in playing Maryland tomorrow to

(22:27):
win their regional. That said, this Alabama team's got something
going and I believe it's going to be Alabama that
gets out of their bracket to face wake Forest. I
don't believe it's wake Forest, Bernie. I believe it's an
SEC team.

Speaker 2 (22:43):
Fair enough. Interesting. I'm glad you mentioned Penn. They actually
beat Auburn today. Maybe it was a good game. I've
been watching this a lot and in a really good
observation in your observations on a rider were good. That
was a great game. I'm sure you saw that diving
catch at centerfielder made with a bases load in the
tenth inning. There's talent spread all the way around, Lou.
Great stuff. I know you're tied up with some stuff

(23:04):
in San Diego, but really appreciate getting you on and
enjoy your weekend and enjoy the Stanley Cup Finals.

Speaker 4 (23:12):
Bernie, Thanks so much for having me on. And enjoy
the sports weekend everybody, and we'll talk so okay.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
Thanks buddy. That is Lou Gambling Lou Loof and Carol
following him on Twitter at gamb Lou. You heard his
thoughts on the Stanley Cup Finals and he believes an
SEC team will emerge. What he was talking about if
Alabama gets out of their regional and they most likely will.
They would face off most likely Wake Forest in a

(23:39):
super regional game. Wake Forest plays Maryland tomorrow and Lou
feels the SEC top to bottom is probably the most
competitive conference. He's you know, he's not wrong. He's not wrong.
So this is going to be fun to watch as well.
One of the key storylines in the Stanley Cup Finals.

(24:02):
And by the way, is Lord Stanley's Cup the hardest
trophy to win in professional sports. We'll chop it up,
but first let's go to our guy, Kevin Wired.

Speaker 5 (24:12):
With the latest, Yeah, Bernie, some late baseball scores from
Friday night out in Los Angeles, the Dodgers beat the
Yankees eight to four. They jumped out to a six
to nothing lead in the first inning and never looked
back as Mookie Betts hit two home runs, Clayton Kershaw
picking up his first career win against the New York Yankees.
Orioles beat the Giants three to two. In San Francisco.

(24:33):
Padres fall to the Cubs two to one. In San Diego,
Diamondbacks outlast the Braves three to two. In NBA news,
Frank Vogel reportedly finalizing a five year, thirty one million
dollar contract to become the new head coach of the
Phoenix Suns, and in College Sports News, Big twelve commissioner
Brett Jomark says that the conference will pursue more expansion

(24:54):
if the opportunity presents itself, but they quote love our
current composition. In the NFL, the Chicago Bears announcing that
Arlington Heights is no longer its singular focus for a
new stadium after tax issues arose, the city in Naperville
launching its own bid to lure the Bears. Outfielder Aaron
Judge of the Yankees name the AL Player of the Month,

(25:17):
while the NL winner was Dodgers' first baseman Freddie Freeman.
The Dodgers beating the Yankees tonight, Rough found the doll
had author part authroscopic surgery for the hip injury that
had forced him to sit out the French Open in
that role in Garrow's top seed to Carlos Alcoraz, advouncing
to the round of sixteen in straight sets over the
number twenty six seed. Back to you, Bernie, all.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Right, thanks Kevin. So we are in Las Vegas certainly
waiting feverishly for the beginning of the Stanley Cuff Finals.
The Golden Knights an incredible success story. They were born
in twenty seventeen, opened up beating Dallas, never looked back
out to the Stanley Cuff Finals their first year, beat

(26:00):
Washington in Game one. Washington came back to win the
series in five. But what a credible accomplishment for the
Golden Knights. And here they are in year six and
you know they've got a chance for Stanley Cup again.
Interestingly enough, this will be the first There will be
a first time Stanley Cup champion in twenty twenty three.

(26:22):
So they're gonna be the Florida Panthers who were there
in ninety six. You remember John van Beiesbrook, the Beezer.
I happened to be in Florida when they played Colorado.
That Colorado team was just too good ninety six with
Joe Sachek and you know Adam Forstburg or Peter Forsberg
and Patrick Waugh, they knocked out my Red Wings. But

(26:43):
the Stanley Cup final set, Golden Knights Panthers are going
to go head to head. They're calling the Florida Panthers
run a Cinderella run. In the postseason, they swept Carolina
and the Eastern Conference Finals. Matthew Kachuk had two overtime
winners in the series, scored the series clinching goal with
less than five seconds in Game four, and let's not
forget that four overtime game in Game one. Interestingly enough,

(27:08):
the Panthers ended the postseason as the number sixteen team,
yet they knocked off three of the top four teams
in the league in the Bruins, Leafs, and Hurricanes. They
beat the Bruins in seven. They were down three games
to one. I remember it was in my hotel in
tuscalous Alabama. In Game seven. The Bruins were up with
a minute ago, and I said, well, they're gonna They're

(27:29):
gonna get this done. And sure enough, Kuchuk scores and
a minute later they go to overtime and Florida does
the unthinkable again. Remember they were President's Trophy champions last
year and they traded for Kachuck in July. So you know,
this is a team that looks very scary to me.
They remind this series reminds me a hell of a

(27:51):
lot of a series I covered in nineteen ninety five
between the Detroit Red Wings and the New Jersey Devils,
and heading into the final Scottie Bowman's second year. None
of us thought New Jersey had a chance. Boy were
we wrong. They killed us with their neutral zone trap.
Martin Brodor stood on his head. They were better in
every every category and they swept the Red Wings. This

(28:15):
series feels weird to me. It just I don't think
people are really underestimating this Florida team. But we'll let
a play out and we'll see what happens. But I
will tell you this is in a very interesting series,
and I want to give the Golden Knites a ton
of credit. They punched their ticket to the finals with
their win over Dallas in the Western Conference Final. They

(28:36):
only needed six games. They took out Dallas in Dallas,
I believe, by the way, I think the Golden Knights
are six and two on the road in the playoffs,
and I believe the Florida Panthers were eight and one
and they won eight in a roll on the road. Again,
they're scary, and we'll see if this rust thing really
rears its head. I think it's theoretical because I don't

(28:56):
want to go back in history. There's plenty of data
at to show either way, the hotter team, the better.
Team that gets it done. You know, there are other
factors here, okay, on who's gonna step up and who's
there's an X factor, Okay, there is a clutch factor,
and it's can you be great when the situation the
man's greatness. We're gonna find out which team can do that.

(29:16):
But one of the big storylines, one of the big storylines,
I believe, is the goaltending battle between Sergei Bobrovski and
Aiden Hill. Aiden Hill has been sensational and he's twenty
seven years old, so he's been around the leave for
a bit of time. Barsau got hurt in this in
Game two against Edmonton, and Aiden Hill stepped in. He's
been tremendous. And there's the ironies. When the playoffs began

(29:40):
over a month ago, neither Bobrowski or Hill were the
starters for the respective teams. Alex Lyon, I've been starting
in goal down the final stretch of the regular season
for Florida because Brabrovski hadn't gotten it done. And meanwhile,
Lauren Bersuis was you know, he was in net for
the Golden Knights. Then you flash forward both Pebroski and Hill,

(30:00):
they're not only starters for the you know, for the
respective teams. They're playing very pivotal roles, very pivotal roles
and getting their team to the Stanley Cup Finals. Bobrowski
has been absolute lights out. He took over the job
part way through the first round series against Boston when
they were down three to one. He's since gone eleven
and two in the playoffs, two point two goals against,

(30:25):
nine to thirty five save percentage. He's had at least
one postseason shoutout that I know of, and you know
he's on the short list Bobrowski for the consent offf
as well as Matthew Kachuck, who's been incredible. Now Aiden Hill,
he was dramatically thrust into the starting role in the

(30:45):
second round. Bersui went down with an injury in game Towo.
I think it was a groin injury, and since then
Aiden Hill, he's only lost two games. He's recorded two
shutouts in the Western Conference final. And he's never been
an established starter in six seasons in the NAH, yet
he finds himself in a critical pivotal role and he's
done a phenomenal job. I just gave you Bobrowski's numbers,

(31:07):
Hills are even better two point zero seven goals against
nine thirty seven, say percentage, and I would say that
both goaltenders they've absolutely outdueled their counterparts on the other side,
and because they've been elite. So I mean Bobrowski he
got the better of Lionet Soulmark and Jeremy Swaman, Ilia

(31:29):
Samson Off, Joseph wall look, Anti ran up it. Meanwhile,
Hill came up against three pretty good goalie Stewart Skinner,
Jake Ottinger. So look, it's a situation where as you know,
the golden knit are goaltending is what I would say
probably the most important aspect of a Stanley Cup final.

(31:50):
I've seen it many times. I don't care if you
want to go deep into the cookie jar and talk
about Ken Dryden, you want to talk about Patrick Waugh,
you want to talk about Mark Keen bro Door throughout
the playoff, John Sebastian Jaguar. All it takes is a
hot goalie and it cuts your heart out and Brebrowski
wants that goalie. Now nine days have gone by and
the theory is he said he's not going to be

(32:12):
as sharp. People will have lost that mojo. We don't
really know. Maybe we'll see. You have to And in
Florida is realigned as they've been on Brebrowski. They have
plenty of other you know, weapons and things that would
give you concern as it were, right, Stanley Cup is
the hardest trophy to win in all of sports. You

(32:32):
got sixteen teams at end of the tournament, and part
of the I think it's harder of the winning a
super Bowl, it's hard of the winning in a World Series,
hardly winning an NBA title, partly because the disparity between
the number one seed the number eight seed is you
know this, I'm holding my fingers a centime. You're apart.
It's that close, and NOBE gets to buy like you

(32:53):
get in the NFL, and you know it's it's it's
the duration of this series. It takes two months. You
may have to win up to twenty eight games before
you win the darn thing. And you know, like you
win a super Bowl, you gotta win four games to
you win the Stanley Cup. Finally you gotta win sixteen games.
And I know it's that way in other sports as well.

(33:15):
But the disparity because of the salary cap, because of
the way salaries are structured because of the talent and
the worldwide pool. And the other thing too, is it's
not just the bigger cities you find like you find
in the NBA and sometimes in Major League Baseball, you
have smaller market cities. Okay, everybody bagging on Denver, Well,

(33:38):
Denver and Colorado. They won the Stanley Cup last year
in Tampa Bay the year before, But the Anaheim Ducks
have won wh the Carolina Hurricanes have won one. You know,
So no matter what market you come from, no matter
what your situation was as you had before you get
into the playoffs, it's an entirely different environment. It's an

(33:58):
entirely different game of attrition. And there's also the injury factor.
The NHL is the only major professional sport that actually
allows fighting, so the players who participate, they may not
disclose their injuries, but the wear and tear, make no mistake.
The wear and tearing on an NHL player's body in
eighty two games is I think dramatically more than that

(34:18):
of any other sport. And that's not to diminish the
National Football League because there's high collisions, in tremendous physical
contact in the NFL, but come on, Major League Baseball
in NBA, they're not. They're barely contact sports, much less
collision sports. So the type of physicality you're going to
dure as a player, and the NHL is unlike any

(34:40):
other sport and probably more than any other sport, it's
truly a team game. You saw a situation in twenty
sixteen where basically Lebron James single handley got the Cavaliers
to the finals. But if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney
Crosby doesn't get the Penguins to the finals by himself

(35:00):
if he doesn't have quality teams, teammates like if Guinea
Malkin or Marion Hosa or Sergey Gonchar. You get the point, right, Celtics,
they would have won. It would have been their Big three.
You hear Big three, Big three. But in the end,
the team that wins the Stanley Cup will have done
it top to bottom with a team effort. Just look

(35:21):
what Lou and I just talked about a minute ago,
the way the Golden Knights and their depth have been
so sensational this year. I think, in fairness, the most
difficult trophy to win. It's thirty seven pounds. People want
to hoist it, and it just people go gaga when
they seed. I remember when it first came through Detroit
ninety seven, when the Red Wings finally broke through in Sweat, Philadelphia,

(35:44):
they were lined up for blocks to take a look
at it. And it's here in town now and it's
quite a sight. So best of luck to both teams.
It should be sensational, all right. Phone lines are open
eight seven, seven ninety nine on Fox seven seven nine, nine,
six six three six nine, Top of the Hour Midnight,
the game that Ethan works so hard to create, Bernie's

(36:06):
Backyard bunkin Bets, Bernie's Trivia Game. We head into week nine,
uh and I am looking forward to the top six
callers and seeing where things shake out. Eight seven seven
nine nine six six three six nine Full lines are open,
Get your spot. Midnight, We go to the lines and
we resume Bernie's Trivia Game. Coming up. A true icon

(36:30):
in the world of sports turned eighty on Tuesday. We
remember him. I'm Bernie Frattle. We're coming to you live
from Las Vegas, Fox Sports Radio, Tireck dot Com Studios.
Keep you locked. You're listening to the Bernie Frattle show
on Fox Sports Radio, The Bernie Fraddle Show, coming to
live from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio tyrach dot
com studios take up to two am Pacific five am Eastern.

(36:53):
Phone lines are open eight seven seven nine nine six
six three six nine eight seven seven ninety nine On
Fox Ethan will take your calls. Bernie Frattles Trivia game
resumes at midnight. So Tuesday, May thirty first marked the

(37:15):
eighty year birthday of a gentleman who Bear Bryant called
the greatest athlete he ever coached. You know, Joe Amath
has been called a lot of things over the years,
but now you can call him an octagenarian. Beer Falls,
Pennsylvania is where it all started, obviously, you know. He

(37:38):
played college football in Alabama and won a national championship
in nineteen sixty four. Became the first overall pick of
the AFL Draft in nineteen sixty five, taken by the Jets,
twelfth overall pick in the NFL Draft, also selected by
the Saint Louis Cardinals, he opted to go play for

(38:01):
Sonny Werblin and the New York Jets. Signed for four
hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars took him four years.
He led the Jets to the AFL title in the
biggest upset in pro football history. They were seventeen point
underdog Super Bowl three over the heavily favored legendary Baltimore Colts.
Nameth famously guaranteed to win and came through that legitimized

(38:22):
the merger. He became Broadway Joe. He was a crossover star.
He was a pop culture icon and in his life
he retired briefly when the NFL told him he had
to sell a steak in a bar that was frequented
by the mob. Eventually, Namath did sell the bar. But
he's a Hall of Famer. He's sixty seventh at all

(38:44):
time passing yardage. But when it comes to fame and greatness,
Nameth in his legacy is absolutely secure. His knees were
not friendly to him. He was an incredible athlete in college,
he couldn't run as well in the Pro. Had torn
hamstrings his final year with the Rams in nineteen seventy seven.

(39:04):
He was very pragmatic about the fact that how injuries,
uh you know, had really derailed his career. But name
it is a humble guy. More than people realize he's
a blend. He once said that if he hadn't gotten
knee injuries, he might have been killed in Vietnam instead
of playing football. So at any rate, the Jets to
this day have been searching for their next Joe Namath.

(39:26):
They hope they found him in Aaron Rodgers, who is
actually six years older than Joe Namath when Joe Namath
last played for the Jets in the mid seventies. Joe Namoth,
Happy birthday. I hope you have a lot more in you,
because it's great when you're around. Coming out Bernie's Trivia
Game eight seven seven ninety nine on Fox eight seven

(39:48):
seven nine to ninety six six three six ' nine.
Dial him up. We'll have a little fun. Keep it
locked right here. You're listening to the Bernie Frattle Show
on Fox Sports Radio Studios and Fox Scores. Here's Bernie. Well,
you heard the man. The Bernie Fratter Show keeps from
rolling right along. My name is Bernie frattlewor come to

(40:08):
you live from the tarrac dot Com studios Fox Sports
Radio here in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tyrac dot com. We'll
help you get there. An unmatched selection, fast free shipping,
free road hazard protection in over ten thousand recommended installers
tyrac dot com. The way tire buying should be. We
are up to week nine the game. Ethan works so

(40:28):
hard to create Bernie's backyard bunking bets. We are in
the final stretch run. It will go twelve weeks and
we will crown a champion. Phone lines are full. We
have our top six callers. So without further ado, Ethan
take it away.

Speaker 6 (40:41):
We got questions, we got crisis.

Speaker 2 (40:46):
Who will come out on top?

Speaker 6 (40:48):
We're calling on you. Let's see what you got. It's
gain time, it's showtime. It's Bernie's backyard bucks and bets.

Speaker 7 (41:00):
All right, all right, it's getting tight Bernie.

Speaker 8 (41:02):
We're excited for another week of Bernie's backyard funkin vets.

Speaker 7 (41:07):
Start off, we have the leader.

Speaker 8 (41:09):
And he's doing pretty well for staying in the league.

Speaker 6 (41:14):
We have.

Speaker 7 (41:17):
Ryan from Utah. Ryan, how you doing?

Speaker 2 (41:22):
I'm bad day. How you guys doing tonight? All right? Ryan,
persistence always comes out on top of you are the leader,
so let me go.

Speaker 7 (41:31):
All right, here we go.

Speaker 8 (41:32):
So trivia question for tonight is which individual player in
the NFL has the most Super Bowl rings of all time?
And if you get the number of rings he had,
you get an extra hundred points, then if you could
tell me the year, if you get another one hundred.

Speaker 2 (41:49):
Points, most rings is Tom Brady?

Speaker 7 (41:55):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (41:56):
Great, okay?

Speaker 8 (41:57):
And he has.

Speaker 2 (42:01):
Oh boy, five rings? Well he's actually got seven. Everyone
sings with New England and one with Tampa Bay. But
getting greaty, that's pretty good, I got.

Speaker 7 (42:12):
It, great stough.

Speaker 8 (42:13):
Brian's all right, So we're gonna go to your best bet,
which is going to be lucky you the NBA Finals
this weekend, which is on Sunday. The Heat will be
in Denver to take on the Nuggets for a five
Pacific eight Eastern start. Denver's currently minus eight and a half.
That's what I have it at. Will you be going
with the Nuggets minus eight and a half or with

(42:35):
the Heat plus eight and a half At the points.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
I gotta go with my hometown Serbian Jos and I'll
go with the Nuggets. Awesome. Yeah, this is really a
tough one because I don't know that Miami solved anything,
but I do believe in the zigzag and NBA betting,
and so I will hold my nose and grab the
eight and a half points. You'll get max effort out
of Miami, and much like Las night Thursday night, they

(43:02):
trailed by twenty four, but started to find the rhythm
in the fourth quarter and ended up losing by eleven.
So I'll hold my nose. Will not surprise me though,
if Ryan's correct and Miami gets handed or took us.

Speaker 7 (43:14):
All Right, you guys are split on that one.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
Ryan.

Speaker 7 (43:16):
We appreciate you for calling in and best of luck
on that game.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
All right, great night, Thanks Ryan, Thanks buddy, Thank you sir.

Speaker 8 (43:25):
All right, Next we have Elliott from Olympia.

Speaker 2 (43:29):
Hey, doing Elliott?

Speaker 7 (43:31):
I mean come on, oh sorry, sorry.

Speaker 2 (43:34):
Somebody typed out Elliott. So it's Emmett.

Speaker 8 (43:36):
Okay, hey that's my bat. Somebody did that. You know
that's ridiculous. Play mighty Mark. All right, here, come on,
here we go, Here we go, Emmett.

Speaker 7 (43:48):
We have trivia for you. The trivia the night for
you is going to be.

Speaker 8 (43:55):
Who which baseball player was referred to mister November.

Speaker 4 (44:04):
No idea.

Speaker 2 (44:05):
I'm gonna say Darry BOMs got no clue. Yeah, I'll
never forget where I was sitting. It's obviously Derek Jeter.
Maybe not obvious, but it was Halloween night two thousand
and one World Series against the Eurozone on Diamondbacks and
Jeter hits the I think he hit a dinger in
the tenth thing of Game four, if I'm not mistaken,

(44:26):
and that beating he became mister November.

Speaker 8 (44:28):
All right, I was gonna I was gonna give Elliott
a shot too, but it's fine.

Speaker 7 (44:32):
We'll move on to the to the to the MLB.

Speaker 8 (44:38):
The Rays will take on the Red Sox tomorrow during
the day for a ten ten Pacific time, one ten
Eastern start.

Speaker 7 (44:46):
It's currently at a pick them.

Speaker 8 (44:48):
We'll be taking the fourteen eighteen Rays or the home
team twenty nine to twenty seven Red Sox.

Speaker 7 (44:53):
It's Kelly for the Rays and Whitlock for the Red Sox.

Speaker 4 (44:58):
I'm gonna take a a very hot Tampa Bay raise.

Speaker 7 (45:02):
All right on the rais, Bernie.

Speaker 2 (45:04):
Yeah, Whitlock has been hit around quite a bit this year.
I gotta be honest with you, he's been. Tampa Bay's
just just that good, you know what. Boston's slight favorite
for a reason. I'm gonna go with the hometown Red Sox.
All right, good luck at good luck. I'm right for you,
But I gotta call him as I see him.

Speaker 7 (45:26):
All right, We appreciate you. Next, buddy, see you next week.
All right. Next, we have Nathan from Florida. Nathan you there?

Speaker 8 (45:34):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (45:35):
I alright, Nathan, you've called him before, right, keep putting
part of.

Speaker 7 (45:38):
This game before, Nathan. I think, so what four time caller?

Speaker 8 (45:43):
Uh?

Speaker 7 (45:43):
Yeah, something like that.

Speaker 8 (45:44):
All right, Nathan, here we go. What year was there
no MLB World Series? Could you remember?

Speaker 4 (45:54):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (45:55):
I think I do? Uh?

Speaker 7 (46:00):
Ooh so close?

Speaker 2 (46:02):
Well, I'll never forget. It'd only been in radio sixty days.
Bud Seily canceled the World Series. He canceled the season
August eleventh, nineteen ninety four. Yep, and there was no
World Series that year. Bumber. The Montreal Expos around their
way to win in one hundred games, and the Cleveland
Indians were having their best season in forty years. Nineteen

(46:22):
ninety four is brutal.

Speaker 7 (46:24):
All right, Well, Nathan, you'll like this bet. It's MLB.

Speaker 8 (46:28):
The Yankees will be in Los Angeles tomorrow for a
four to ten to seven ten Eastern first pitch. It's
currently at a pickup. Will you be taking the Yankees
or the Dodgers? Uh?

Speaker 2 (46:44):
The Dodgers? All right, I gotta go with the Yankees.
I love Garrett Cole in this spot. It's brutal to
hit in twilight and Dodger Stadium. The Yankees stunk it
up tonight pretty good. And you're coming back with Garrett Cole,
who's got an E or under three. So i'll take
the Yankees, all right.

Speaker 7 (46:58):
Now they're split.

Speaker 8 (47:00):
Thank you, Nathan, we'll see thank you.

Speaker 7 (47:03):
All right. Next we have Dave from Phoenix. Now Dave
is red hot, Dave.

Speaker 2 (47:08):
Yeah, I'm right here.

Speaker 8 (47:10):
All right, this guy, Bernie, I'm telling you here in
three hundred points last week.

Speaker 7 (47:14):
All right, all right, here we go.

Speaker 8 (47:16):
Your question of the week is, Babe, Ruth started his
career in what year? Now, if you can, you can
earn another one hundred points if you tell me the
position he played that year. And you can earn another
one hundred points if you tell me which team he
started with that year.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
Okay, I'm gonna say nineteen fourteen with the Boston Red Sox.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
And he was a picture. Wow, that's outstanding.

Speaker 7 (47:45):
That's great. It doesn't get any better than that, No,
it doesn't, it doesn't.

Speaker 2 (47:48):
Ruth was so good as a picture. He had one
hundred victories and a microscopic here in the postseason. Had
he never hit a home run, they say he would
have been in the Hall of Fame. Wow.

Speaker 7 (47:56):
Yeah, that was impressive. That was great. They appreciate that
that week, we like beyond impressive. Yeah, it was great.
All right, Onto the NHL.

Speaker 8 (48:06):
The Panthers will travel to Vegas for Game one of
the Stanley Cup Finals for five Pacific eight Eastern start.
Will be taking the Golden Knights or the Panthers money
line and to pick.

Speaker 2 (48:17):
Them, well, I'm gonna have to go with the home
standing Las Vegas Golden Knights to win Game one. And
by the way, are you guys aware that if the
Nuggets sweep, they become the first team in NBA history
to sweep both the conference finals and the NBA Finals.

Speaker 7 (48:34):
We are now, Yeah, yeah, great, stat appreciate that.

Speaker 2 (48:38):
For shure, I'm gonna I'm gonna. I'm gonna go with
the Golden Knights Saturday night as well. Although I do
think Flora is gonna win the series. I don't know.
I don't even have a reason or a handicap analysis.
I'll just I will jump on board with all the lemmings.
All right, good, good job, great job on the trivia.

Speaker 8 (49:00):
Yeah, that was great. Check the standings on Monday. We'll
have them out.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
Very cool, all right, great bye, all.

Speaker 7 (49:07):
Right, next week, got Mason the Millennial.

Speaker 2 (49:09):
Are you there?

Speaker 4 (49:11):
Oh yo?

Speaker 2 (49:12):
How are we doing on the fine Saturday? Where are
you calling from? Mason the Bay Area? Oh? Very nice?

Speaker 7 (49:19):
Okay, all right, here we go, Mason.

Speaker 2 (49:22):
From the Embarcadia. Let's go.

Speaker 8 (49:24):
All right, he earned one hundred points last time he
was on. But the question is who won the first
ever Super Bowl. If you tell me the year, you'll
get an extra hundred point. If you tell me who
they played against, you'll get another hundred.

Speaker 4 (49:39):
First, I'm gonna go with the Oak Raiders.

Speaker 2 (49:45):
Well, Ethan, it's there's a chapter in my book devoted
to this. The game was played in nineteen sixty seven
January in the coliseum. They had to give away tickets.
They were only thir thousand people. Green Bay won thirty
five to ten, and they beat the Kansas City.

Speaker 8 (50:00):
That's pretty good. That's pretty good, awesome stuff. All right, Mason,
here we go MLB on this Sunday. It's gonna be angels.
Will you there? Are you there?

Speaker 2 (50:14):
Stay calm everybody?

Speaker 7 (50:15):
All right, it's all good.

Speaker 2 (50:17):
Any any charge for the sound effects. All right, I'm
gonna work. Here we go the Angels.

Speaker 8 (50:23):
The Angels will be taking on the Astros. It's currently
had to pick them for Sunday. It'll be Griffin Canning
for the Angels and JP France for the Astros.

Speaker 7 (50:35):
Who will you be taking?

Speaker 4 (50:37):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (50:37):
You know.

Speaker 7 (50:39):
The angel Okay, right, it's in Houston.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
Yeah, I'm walking with the Angels.

Speaker 4 (50:46):
Man threw those cheaters.

Speaker 7 (50:48):
Okay, go ahead, Bernie.

Speaker 2 (50:50):
Yeah, I'm gonna go with the Astros.

Speaker 7 (50:52):
All right, we appreciate you for coming on.

Speaker 2 (50:54):
Thanks, good luck tomorrow, good luck?

Speaker 7 (50:57):
All right? Last week, have Poppy.

Speaker 4 (50:59):
Pop Hey, hey, Poppy here, I'm a guy.

Speaker 2 (51:04):
Awesome you better than your padres man. See that's what happened.
Do you have expectations? No good? No bueno? I know
pogis are no good and now they're charging it. You
don't bring Tim Flannery my buddy. Go ahead. Yeah, I'm
gonna tell you I have a pick on for tomorrow
in US seeing Vegas and the o Eggs.

Speaker 4 (51:21):
I really like.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
Daniel Santo's guys.

Speaker 4 (51:23):
And if you want to hear the rest of my pigs,
to check out my picks on YouTube.

Speaker 2 (51:27):
Picking with Poppy.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
Guys.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
All right, Poppy, all right, let's see how you're doing trivia.

Speaker 8 (51:32):
Yeah, let's see. Let's if you get the trivia right,
maybe I'll check it out. Here we go the giants one.
Oh wait, sorry, wrong, I was reading the wrong thing.
What was the horse's name that won the twenty eighteen
horse Triple Crown?

Speaker 4 (51:52):
Oh that's a hard one. I'm not a horse fan,
but I don't know.

Speaker 1 (52:00):
I have to go with it.

Speaker 7 (52:02):
I don't know, all right, Bernie, there might have been
a horse name.

Speaker 2 (52:05):
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it was Justify.

Speaker 7 (52:08):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
Oh, yeah, pretty sure was Justify. There hadn't been that
many triple Crown winners in the last forty five years,
you know, American Pharaoh in twenty fifteen, and before that
it was you had to go back to the seventies,
Seattle slew in that, you know that area there? All right, right,
what's our bet for Boppy?

Speaker 8 (52:24):
Poppy is a big one for You're gonna have to
get this right to, you know, keep staying in the
in the hunt here. Manchester City takes on Manchester United
tomorrow morning at seven am. Manchester City currently has eighty
nine points. Manchester United has seventy five points.

Speaker 7 (52:44):
Who will you be taking?

Speaker 4 (52:46):
Do you know what's playing at home? Is it Manchester
United at home?

Speaker 7 (52:49):
Or I think it's Manchester City.

Speaker 4 (52:51):
Well you know what, I'm gonna go with Manchester City.

Speaker 2 (52:53):
There's a better game, better called Little with Manchester City.
All right, I'm gonna have to stick with me and you. Sorry, Poppy,
but all good. Maybe you'll love best be on this one.
But good job and good luck to your padres. All right,
thanks for calling in. So we had Ryan from Utah,

(53:13):
em it not, Elliott from Olympia and Nathan from Florida,
Day from Phoenix, Mason the Millennial from the Bay Area,
and Pop from San Diego. Thanks guys for checking in. Yeah,
this game's been really popular, Ethan, So we are in
week nine. Tell everybody what happens from here on now
through week twelve and what the champion will win.

Speaker 7 (53:32):
Yeah, so here we go. We have three more weeks
after this.

Speaker 8 (53:35):
It'll be week ten, Week eleven, and week twelve, and
then Bernie and I will make a decision if they'll
be like a playoff round after that. But really definitely
try to call in because the winner will get Fox
Sports Radio gear. It is confirmed, and I will be
picking up the gear in the next couple of weeks
and it'll actually be coming to the studio. So if

(53:55):
you're interested and you're interested in some cool gear, definitely
keep calling in.

Speaker 7 (54:01):
And it's been a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (54:03):
I think it's been a lot of fun. I appreciate
everybody's participation. They've done a great job. These trivia questions
are not easy, you know, and it's tough. You got
the ticker going on in the background and you know
you don't want to miss it. But in some of these,
some of the guys that I mean, it's they've all
done well.

Speaker 8 (54:18):
So Berry, I had to give you credit, to be honest,
You're like, you must be in the ninety percent now
because you want one hundred today.

Speaker 7 (54:25):
Yeah, it's crazy.

Speaker 2 (54:26):
Well I damn well better if I'm hosting a national
radio show, know what the hell I'm talking about? Right,
I'm not normal. I got that rain Man memory. And
if you read my book, I've been in a lot
of I've had a really idiosyncratic life in terms of
the sporting events I've been to, the people I met,
the games I've covered, and just have a I just
seem to remember everything that I that I come.

Speaker 8 (54:48):
Across the book is good. I can't confirm that it
was ingreciated.

Speaker 2 (54:52):
Yeah, appreciate it, Yeah, dude, you from the chief seats.
It came out about a year ago and still seems
to be doing doing pretty good. And of course my
radio career ended, or checked that ended. Oh boy, my
radio career began very in a very conspicuous fashion. Friday night,
June seventeenth, nineteen ninety four, the very first night I
ever had a credential was obviously the knight of the

(55:15):
OJ Chase, and I was in the press box at
Tiger Stadium, and that was the first year they had
monitors in the press box. So instead of watching the
game on TV, which you do now, we're watching the
OJ Chase with no sound. We had no idea what
the hell happened, what was going on, what police Commander
David Gascon was saying, And of course I loved the

(55:36):
Circle of life. Right, So fast forward to twenty eighteen,
I joined Fox Sports Radio. One of our update anchors
David Gascon, the son of police Commander David Gascon. I
talk about that in the first chapter of my book. Right,
good job with the game Ethan and onward and upward.
We'll see where it takes us as we head into
week ten, and you'll have the standings out Monday. Is

(55:57):
that correct? Monday? All right? Season, we still got six
bets as well to solve, so there's still chance for
these guys to get some points. Want to remind everybody.
Tonight's show brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Progressive makes
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combining your motorcycle, RV, bote, A, TV, and more all

(56:17):
your protection in one place. Bundle and save it. Progressive
dot Com coming up Philly, pulls a coup in terms
of their new hire. Gotta believe Ethan is happy with
this one. We'll break it down in just a minute.
I'm Bernie fraddlew coming to you why from Las Vegas,
Fox Sports Radio, Tirec dot Com studios. Keep you locked
right here. You're listening to the Bernie Frattle Show on

(56:38):
Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 1 (56:46):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot Com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.

Speaker 2 (56:58):
Now we're back on the Bernie Frattle Show, Sports Radio,
Bernie Frattle Company Alive from the Las Vegas tirerac dot
Com studios. Here take you up to two am Pacific,
five a m. Eastern And before I dive into this
news out of Philadelphia, I think congratulations are in order
for the Sixers, who I believe may have won this

(57:21):
offseason's NBA coaching cycle by hiring a gentleman who won
a championship in twenty nineteen. They fire the doctor, the doc,
and they bring in a nurse. Let's start Tay what ethan.
You're a Philadelphia guy, You've got a vested entrance interest.
Are you happy with the hire of Nick Nurse?

Speaker 8 (57:40):
I am actually very happy with the hire. I think
that he's a great fit for the city. He's a
serious guy. I think the big thing about Philadelphia is
yet to earn your respect, and I think he understands that.
I think he knows how to win. He did it

(58:00):
in Toronto when he was not the favorite usually Philly's.
You know, it would be a similar type of team
to that Toronto team if they were ever win a championship.
You know, a team that's you know, probably maybe supposed
to win, but you know, not the favorite.

Speaker 7 (58:17):
So I like this. I think it'll be good for Joel.

Speaker 8 (58:20):
I think it'll I mean, we'll see what happens with
James and all of that, but I think that helps
the case for maybe him to stay. I think Doc
was a huge issue. I didn't like him when he
first came in Docs just you know, he just Hollywood
to me, He's just a Hollywood name. He won a

(58:42):
championship and you know twenty eleven was it or what
was it, twenty.

Speaker 7 (58:47):
Eleven, two thousand?

Speaker 2 (58:50):
He was in Boston, Yeah, right, and I wanted they
had a great defensive team. Tom Tabba was defensive coordinator.

Speaker 8 (58:57):
Was it was?

Speaker 2 (58:57):
Oh wait, they hammered the Lakers pretty good.

Speaker 7 (59:00):
Yes, So that's a long time ago.

Speaker 2 (59:02):
That can be a trivia question for next week. I
see people are paying attention. That's a good one.

Speaker 8 (59:06):
That's a good one. That's a good one, like where
your head's at. So yeah, I just I'm happy the
Sixers made this move. He's won a championship recently, hasn't
been like fifteen years, and he's holding on to this
thing like Doc.

Speaker 7 (59:21):
So I'm on it. I like it. I think the
Sixers are going to have a good season next year.

Speaker 2 (59:25):
I think, look and in froster Frank Vogel, who got
hired by the Suns, and obviously he'll bring a defensive culture.
He did win a championship with the Bubble. But wherever
Frank Vogel has been, his teams have ranked in the
top two or three in defensive efficiency off and number
one A little later in the show, if not tonight, tomorrow,
I'm gonna give Monty Williams his flowers. I think it's

(59:48):
a great hire by the Detroit Pistons got almost eighty
million dollars. I worked and lived in that market. I
think it's going to be a great job for somebody
because there's only one way to go but up. But
I agree with you Ethan, look in what I would
call a very stacked coaching market. Clearly this offseason, or
it's not the offseason yet, but you get my point.

(01:00:10):
On paper, Nick Nurse I think was the best coach available. Right.
Nurse never was never bad in his time with the Raptors.
That the bad season, I guess they were twenty seven
and forty five and twenty twenty. That was, you know,
when the team was forced to play in Tampa due
to the COVID protocols. But it was an aberration because
outside of that, he won two hundred games, lost in one

(01:00:31):
hundred and eighteen and won a title. That was a
very good Toronto team. But Nick Nurse brought him together,
so he assumes the rule in Philadelphia. It's a very
tense time in Philadelphia. They're gonna need someone like a
Nick Nurse. And yes, Joel Embiid is the MVP, but
he is in his prime and the seventy six ers,

(01:00:54):
for whatever reason, can't make it past the second round
of the damn playoffs. So the expectations for Nick Nurse
are clear, you know, get to the finals, win a championship.
This is Philadelphia, for crying out loud, there's I don't
know that there's gonna be much of a grace period.
And by the way, not for nothing, you know, not
that I have any inside information on this, but you

(01:01:15):
here that Nurse, his relationship with the players and the
front office personnel. It's something that people will watch, they'll
be focused on because even though the optimism is high
and this man is very capable, there's I guess a
backstory in Toronto having to do with when Nurse was dismissed.
But nonetheless, you do win a championship, and that seems

(01:01:37):
to be going around. You win a championship, you get fired. Right,
It's been four coaches they've been fired here recently. They
all won championships. So anyway, at the end of the day,
apparently there was dissension between Nurse and coaching staff and
management and some players that issued with Nurse. But he
got results, didn't he. So let's see what happens in Philadelphia.

(01:01:58):
And again, I think the consensus is Nurse. I'm pretty
sure Phoenix made a hard run at Nick Nurse. I
don't know what happened there, but I think if anybody
can produce results in Philadelphia, it'll be Nick Nurse. We
shall see. Speaking of results, does South Florida rule the
sports world? Let's talk about it coming up, but first

(01:02:21):
let's go back to our guy, Kevin Wired with the latest. Well.

Speaker 5 (01:02:24):
Today was elimination day in the Women's College World Series.
Alabama eliminated by Stanford to nothing and then Utah losing twice.
Washington beats him four to one into Oklahoma State, shutting
him out ate nothing to send the Ute home packing.
As for Major League Baseball, we had some late scores
from the West Coast Dodgers and eight to four win

(01:02:45):
over the Yankees as La had a six run lead
in the first inning. Mookie Bets hitting two home runs.
Clayton Kershaw seven innings, nine strikeouts as he picks up
his first career victory against the New York Yankees. Orioles
top the Giants three to two in San Francisco, Padres
fall to the Cubs two to one. In San Diego.
Diamondbacks out last of Raves three to two. Some other scores,

(01:03:09):
White Sox over the Tigers three to nothing, Twins shut
out the Guardians one nothing. Angels fall to the Astros
six to two. Big Anticipated Series Nationals beat the Phillies
they upset them eight to seven, and the Brewers beat
the Reds five to four. NBA News Frank Vogel reportedly
finalizing a five year, thirty one million dollar contract to

(01:03:31):
become the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns. College
Sports Big twelve commissioner Brett Yormark saying the conference will
pursue more expansion if the opportunity presents itself. NFL News
the Chicago Bears announcing Arlington Heights no longer Its singular
focus for our new stadium after taxis Who's arose? The
city of Naperville watching its own bid to lure the

(01:03:52):
Bears at the French Open. Top seed at Carlos Alcarez
advancing to the round is sixteen in straight sets. Raphaele
on THEA not playing in the tournament. He had a
hip injury and had Arthur scropic surgery to help fix that,
so we'll see when he comes back. Justin Sue leads
the Memorial by one stroke over Hideki Matsuyama. Back over

(01:04:12):
to you burning.

Speaker 2 (01:04:13):
All right, thanks Kevin. So you know, there are periods
of time when certain cities have their day in the sun,
literally and figuratively. I mean, the last decade has been
pretty good at the city of Boston, right The Red
Sox have done well, the Bruins have done well, Celtics
right on down the line. Obviously New England a couple

(01:04:34):
of Super Bowl championships. But right now, you think about
this for a second, is South Florida ruling the sports world?
Because for the third time in four years, let's take hockey,
the Stanley Cup could be heading to the state of Florida.
It's been over a week now, but when the Panthers
polished off the Hurricanes, it was a very dramatic four

(01:04:57):
to three win. Just before the game was about to
go over to they swept the Carolina Panthers. Carolina Hurricanes,
excuse me, A very good team, very good defensive team.
Florida finds himself in their first Stanley Cup Final since
nineteen ninety six. Right, Matthew Kachuk scores the game winner
and a power play there was five seconds left in
the game. That was the latest serious clinching regulation goal

(01:05:21):
in NFL iNHL playoff history. That is saying something, all right, Kuchuk. Obviously,
they got him in a trade last July with the
Calgary Flames, and he's done it for the Panthers this postseason.
He's leading the team in goals. He has nine goals
twelve assists. Only one player in the playoffs, Dallas's Rupe

(01:05:42):
Hans had more points than Kachuck twenty two to twenty one.
But clutch has been the middle name for Matthew Kuchuk.
He had three game winners in one series. Of course,
their goalie Serghia Bobrovski has been basically unbeatable the last
couple three weeks, and I gave you the numbers earlier.
So it's been a hell of a spring, not just

(01:06:03):
for South Florida's NHL team, but how about their NBA
team as well. They've had basically similar identical playoff runs.
The Heat are in the NBA Finals. They're down one game, yes,
but they made it as a number eight seed. The
Panthers headed to the Stanley Cup Final, which is about
eighteen I check that, fifteen hours away, seventeen hours away,

(01:06:26):
five pm Pacific on Saturday. It faces off maybe five
point fifteen. But the Heat they're in the NBA Finals
as a number eight seed, and the Panthers they're in
the Stanley Cup Finals as also a number eight seed. Now,
technically the NHL where the doesn't have eight seeds anymore
since the playoffs are split into four brackets. But Florida

(01:06:47):
had the worst regular season record the Florida Panthers of
any team that made the playoffs in the NHL, and
now they're four wins away from lifting the cup. Now,
this is what makes this story so interesting. The Panthers,
they needed a minor miracle just to make the playoffs.
They were in complete panic mode at the end of
the regular season. They lost three straight at the end
of March. Actually, their goalie at the time, Bobrovski, was struggling.

(01:07:11):
The Panthers benched him in favor of Alex Lyon, and
then they won in the regular season six of the
team's last eight games. And the only reason that the
Florida Panthers clinched the spot in the postseason is partly
because the Penguins lost to the Blackhawks and this was
not a good Blacksawks team this year in their second
last game of the season. So then Lions started the

(01:07:32):
first three games of Florida's first round series against the Bruins.
He hadn't fare so well ander Sergei Bobrovski, and the
rest is history. So much like the Heat the Panthers,
they'd been Giants layers. They upset the Bruins in the
first round. That was a monumental upset. Boston won more

(01:07:53):
regular season games than any team in NHL history, and
then they blew the three to win lead to Florida
and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who we know have notoriously
underachieved in the postseason, but they had a very good
regular season, and then they got blitzed by the Florida
Panthers four games to one. So then Florida goes on

(01:08:15):
to beat Carolina. So Carolina, Boston and Toronto. Florida has
now beaten three of the five teams they had the
best regular season ructors in league this year. Now, the
Golden Knights took care of Dallas. So you'll see the
Golden Knights and the Stars face it off, or check
that the Golden Knights and the Panthers face it off,

(01:08:36):
probably around five point fifteen Pacific on Saturday eight fifteen.
Star right here, t Mobile Arena, the whole Spoca's in town,
the media throng, you name it. Everybody's here. Even the
Luton soccer team, which I'm gonna talk about later in
the show, is here. Incredible story for them as well.
But should the Panthers, Florida Panthers prevail and win the

(01:09:01):
Stanley Cup, they will have beaten the fourth top five team.
No one has ever faced the Gaunt like this in
the Stanley Cup playoffs and prevailed. No One's ever faced
the Gaunt like this just to get to the Stanley
Cup finals. But Florida has done it. But you know.
And by the way, give it up to Vegas. They've
they've been very dominant in the playoffs. They beat the

(01:09:22):
Winnipeg Jets in five. They beat the Edmonton Oilers, and
the Oilers were a pretty substantial favorite minus one sixty.
They beat the Oilers in six, and they beat the
Stars in six, and they did it in fine fashion.
They skated the Stars out of the rink Monday ninety
The game was over before the seats were warm. So
this has been a season first, okay, season of first

(01:09:43):
By the way, the Denver Nuggets first time reaching the
NBA Finals.

Speaker 4 (01:09:48):
And.

Speaker 2 (01:09:50):
They had there as a franchise. They had ninety four
playoff win that's the most ever in NBA history prior
to making it to their first ever finals. First team
of the best record in their conference, first playoff series,
season of firsts. Let's not forget the Nuggets. They also
look to become the latest Denver sports team to bring
home the title. The Colorado Avalanche did it last year.

(01:10:12):
They swept the Tampa Bay Lightning. And oh yeah, the
Colorado Apps had nine days arrest last year. Seemed to
work on for them. If you're into NL lacrosse, the
Colorado Mammoth won it in twenty twenty two. And oh,
by the way, the University of Denver Pioneers they won
the twenty twenty two Men's ice Hockey Championships. So maybe

(01:10:34):
Denver and South Florida can duke it out for the
title of who is ruling the sports world? Currently? Speaking
of ruling the sports world, and I love this guy,
Nick Saban, but he's out again doing a little bit
of politicking. The SEC held its annual meetings this past week,
which means it's time for the tradition Nick Saban complaining

(01:10:58):
about how college football is changing this year, the topic nil.
We will bring you his pros and poetry coming up.
I want to remind everybody tonight's show is brought to
you by Discover. At the end of your first year,
Discover credit cards automatically double all the cash you've earned,
the cash back you've earned. That's right, everything you've earned doubled.

(01:11:22):
Seriously see terms and conditions. Check it out for yourself
at Discover dot com. Slash match. Come up, we bring
you the comedic stylings of Nick Saban. I'm Bernie Fraddlewick
Comedy Life from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio tirect
dot com studios here locked you're listening to the Bernie
Frattle Show on Fox Sports Radio. We're back on the

(01:11:42):
Bernie Frattle Show, Come to life from the Fox Sports
Radio Tireract dot com studio is here in Las Vegas.
Great job, Ethan, great John Mark, good stuff there. Top
of the r we're gonna dive into the Ja Moran thing.
It's flying under the radar, but the commissioner may some
very cryptic comments. I'll give you my thoughts. Top of

(01:12:03):
the hour. We're bringing the crew as well. All right,
Nick Saban, And make no mistake, I love Nick Saban,
and I mean that the year he was the head
coach at Michigan State. There was a couple of years
back in nineteen ninety five. I think the world of
Nick Saban. But it's that time of year. The SEC
holding itst Anuel meetings this week, which means here we

(01:12:24):
go Death Texas and Nick Saban complaining about how college
football is changing this year's topic the nil. Saban said,
I believe it was Tuesday Wednesday that while he supports
the players getting paid, the current NIL system only increased
disparity in college football. Then he said is this what
we want college football to become? There's always been to sparity, Nick,

(01:12:47):
come on, man, going back over one hundred years, this
stuff was probably happening under the table. And listen, I've
been to Alabama. I've been to the campus and see
what they got going there. If you think that, you know,
Vanderbilt has the same advantages as Alabama does when they

(01:13:08):
take the football field. Not that against Vanderbilt or a
finance SEC school or a fine institution, but you get
the you get the drift. Okay, there's never been a
level playing field in college football. But here's here's what's interesting.
Ten years ago, Saban famously made somewhat similar comments about

(01:13:29):
the disparity in college football. He didn't like the spread offense,
the tempo offense, and he really wondered, do we want
college football to see more points in a faster pace? Well,
come on, now, who's taken advantage of that? With the
dynamic offenses that Alabama has put on the field in
the last decade. Saba, No, he might be right, Okay,
but it doesn't really change that much. Okay. The richest

(01:13:52):
programs will always continue to attract the best recruits. The
richest programs will always can you to produce, buy and
large the best football teams. I know the sport could
use some guardrails, but you can't argue the game will
change dramatically, and perhaps it has already started, but I

(01:14:14):
haven't seen a correlation between schools with a ton of
NIL money and success. At some point, I'll revisit the
great nil program the Texas A and M put together
last year and the money they spent. How did it
work out? How did it work out? And again I
understand Saban's premise that nil was supposed to be stipends

(01:14:39):
money for players. You know, you're on the football team,
you're on the basketball team, you're on the baseball team.
You hop over to the local car dealership, hang on
for four hours, kiss baby, sign autographs, take pictures. They
slip your five hundred bucks or a thousand bucks. You
got a little, you got a little walking around money.
But this has become pay for play, free agency. And
if that's where this is gonna go, that's where this

(01:15:00):
is gonna go. There's nothing I can do about. I mean,
he had Quinn yours. Did he even finish his high
senior year in Texas? On his way to Ohio State.
You know, was gonna get a million dollars. Couldn't start
at Ohio State. Now he was back of Texas. You
get the drift, Okay. But Saban's complaint, though, it does
make you start to wonder. Saban's seventy one years old,
but I think he's a young seventy one. But is
he getting a little burnout by this? Okay? Is he

(01:15:26):
is Alabama maybe coming back to earth a little bit.
By Alabama's standards, they're in a little bit of a swoon.
They haven't won a title in two years. Those are
not Saban's standards. He already has filed complaints about the
proposed permanent opponent list Auburn, LSU, and Tennessee. The SEC
was considering adopting the nine game schedule. They voted against

(01:15:48):
it because they wanted money to come along. But like
Greg Sankie said, money, money follows, it doesn't lead. So
maybe the SEC should have adopted the nine game schedule.
But you know, they don't want to be each other up.
But it's the best conference in college football. Okay. But
out of that. Kirby Smart, a former disciple of Nick Saban,
Georgia looks like a newer version of Alabama, and it's

(01:16:12):
perhaps starting that Saban's dominance is fading. Georgia's won back
to back national championships. Do I think they'll do it
again this year? No, but I think Ohio stated to
be very good. I think it's gonna be very good Alabama.
But they'll all be good, you know, tendans. There's a
lot of good schools and Saban, you know, he was
complaining about the fact that it's the dynamic is changing

(01:16:35):
and he had his soapbox. Okay, at the end of
the day, this is probably just classic Saban, right, Remember
how he complained, like I said a minute ago, Remember
how he complained after he didn't like the way the
game was changing and all those spread offenses and you
couldn't get your defensive rotations down of the field. Well
guess what Saban did. He adopted those spread offenses and

(01:16:57):
he kicked everybody's butt. Okay, So the nil comments are
sort of just grousing and complaining, and maybe maybe is
this a signal to Alabama boosters that hey, maybe you
can shut you know, maybe you can shovel a few
shekels this way, keep them ready if if you want

(01:17:19):
Tuscaloosa to continue to be the per center of the
SEC and the epicenter of college football going forward. Right,
So here's the question. You ask yourself, how many more
national titles can Saban win? In sixteen years at Alabama?
He's won six titles, so he wins one every two
and a half years. I think he could win one more,

(01:17:43):
but that might be about it. There is a lot
more parody in college football, especially in the SEC. Brian
Kelly at LSU, you know he's got something to say Tennessee.
He's got to find program. Georgia isn't going anywhere. Auburn
is always going to be a pest and so look,
it's kind of I get a kick out of Nick Saban.

(01:18:03):
I was actually in a scramble eightsm or whatever the
hell it was back in nineteen ninety five. It's the
most intense guy I've ever been around in my life.
And I say that with the utmost respect. You want
to be successful in life. If you look at guys
like John Wooden, you look at guys like Augie Grito,
you look at guys like Nick Saban, They're focused on
the process. Success is a process oriented endeavor. The results

(01:18:28):
are directly related to your process and your commitment to
that process. No one can deny that Nick Saban has
been a master at that. This upcoming season is going
to be a lot of fun because there is a
lot of parody in college football. What might not be
fun is the news Jah Morant could be getting soon.
We'll talk about it. I'm Bernie Frattle. This is the

(01:18:49):
Bernie Fraddle Show. Keep it locked. You're listening to the
Fox Sports Radio. That's right, you heard the man. Bernie
Fraddle Show keeps rolling right along. My name is Bernie Frattle.
Or it coming you alive from the Las Vegas tirac
dot com studios, a Fox Sports Radio. Tiraq dot com
will help you get there. An unmatched selection, fast, free shipping,
free road hazard protection, and over ten thousand recommended installers

(01:19:13):
tyraq dot com the way tire buying should be well.
The Commissioner, Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, makes very cryptic comments
this week about John Morant and having more information and
they'll deal with it after the playoffs. I don't know
why he would bother to do that unless he's softening

(01:19:35):
you up for a blow. And another thing happened under
the radar. About ten days ago, Nike removed the latest
edition of the JAW one, the Hunger Colorwave, from their
website after the Grizzlies suspended jaw on May fourteenth, again,
second time seen on Instagram live flashing would appeared to

(01:19:57):
be a gun and it are. These are tough times
for John Moran, and he clearly needs to figure things
out before he further damages his career. He's young, he's
twenty three, He's got time. But I want to give
you some thoughts about what I think should happen. Let

(01:20:23):
me start by sharing his story. You know, Bill Cosby
wrote a book many it was decades ago, called Fatherhood.
It was an outstanding book, and I think Bill Cosby
knows a thing or two about fatherhood. He raised four
children and in the book he tells a story about
how he caught his son in a lie and it
really bothered him, and he took his son out back
and he stressed to his son, I think his name

(01:20:46):
is Annis, that you you don't lie, you don't lie
in life. And I'm greatly disappointed that I caught you
in a lie. And I cannot tell you how upset
I am. And I said, so, you're not gonna hit me,
are you, Dad? He goes, no, I'm not going to
hit you, but I just want to let you know
how upset I am, and that I don't want you
to lie anymore. And then they turned to walk in

(01:21:08):
the house and Bill Coffee whack him on the back
of the head, and his son was shocked and he
was upset, and he turned on says Dad, I thought
you said you weren't going to hit me. He said,
I lied. How does it feel to be lied to?
And this is how I feel. Maybe the commissioner feels,
and the NBA feels that after that short eight game

(01:21:30):
suspension where he sort of took a couple of weeks
off to clear his head, so to speak, and they
said all the right things. Here you are again with
act number two. And this is becoming a story as
old as time. You take a young, gifted, talented athlete,
talented individual, and because of a god given skill set,
they're elevated to a plateau in life where their character
can't keep them. This is America. You're free to screw up,

(01:21:53):
make a damn fool of yourself, cost yourself millions of
dollars entered Jah Morant. I don't feel sorry for him,
but I do have a feeling. Moran is trying to
serve two masters. He's trying to climb two mountains at
the same time. He plays basketball. He's a human highlight reel.
He's incredibly talented, never won a damn thing that I
know of. But Moran also has a personal life. He

(01:22:17):
has friends and they bond over things probably you and
I can't relate to. I'm not judging John Moran, so
he perhaps those folks Moran associates with mean a lot
to him, and I get that. It's it's kind of
like Matt Damon and Goodwill Hunting. They were there before
he met Professor Jared Lambeau. Now, Moran is not going

(01:22:38):
to win a Fields Medal, and at this point, I
don't think he's gonna win an NBA title anytime soon
because he's got real issues, and no matter what happens here,
Moran has a real choice to make. He life is funny.
It's all about choices. You stack up good choices, things
usually work out. You start to stack up bad choices
usually doesn't end so well. So you take Moran's friend.

(01:23:00):
It's clearly they're a big part of his life. He's
beholding to them, he respects them, there's mutual love. These
are things we can relate to. But Morant needs to
be suspended for a year. You heard me, Here's why.
Keep in mind during that time, Jahn Moran could he
can decide take him away from basketball. He can decide

(01:23:22):
where his values truly lie. In one year, he'll be
twenty four. He'll start his whole life ahead of him.
By the way, Moran has earned thirty one million dollars
in his first three years in the NBA, and if
that's all he ever makes in his life, he should
be sent for three lifetimes. I know you're not supposed
to count anybody anybody's money, but I just did because
this is much more than about money and involves a

(01:23:42):
human life. And for all the fake outrage out there
and all the fake platitudes like I feel sorry for him.
I hope he gets some help. Morant needs to help himself.
Life is like golf rule number six. You're responsible for
your own ball and your own score. Adam Silver doesn't
remove him from basketball for a year, then he must

(01:24:05):
have his own agenda in mind, not Moran's. And I'll
tell you why. A few saturdays back when you saw
that Instagram photo and it made the rounds quickly on Twitter.
I don't care what John Morant was thinking. The truth
is he probably wasn't thinking. Remember it had only been
sixty days before the NBA suspended Morent in March after

(01:24:26):
he was seen on Instagram live brandishing a gun inside
a Denver's Trip club and that was during the Memphis
Grizzlies road trip. Now the team, the league, they weren't
real happy they hit Moran, who's, by the way, his
five year, one hundred and ninety four million dollar contract.
The extension is kicking in later this fall. Well, could

(01:24:49):
that be in jeopardy? Nike has a twelve million dollar deal.
Could that be in jeopardy? Everyone is watching Moran sort
of this dual character. He's a very stimulating player. He's
a nightly highlighted real He's an inspiring story. By the way,
Moran has made it to the big time. He wasn't

(01:25:10):
recruited heavily out of high school in South Carolina. He
just went to a small high school and ended up
going to Murray State. But he's fast forward. He's a star.
He's got the potential to make hundreds of millions of
dollars in career innings. But with that counts responsibility to
who much is given, much is required. The NBA has
made it clear. They have said they are not going

(01:25:33):
to tolerate images of players glorifying guns. Now, don't get twisted.
Moran is a US citizen. He has the right to
own a gun, just don't flash it on Instagram live
in public. That is a condition of employment. The NBA says,
if you want to do that, then go find your
own life. But if you want to comply by the rules,

(01:25:55):
like ninety nine percent of the rest of our league,
you can have an NBA career. And that's where this
whole argument lies. Marant said he understood. He said he
took full responsibility, or at least that was the public
relations message at the time. He said he was going
to take some time away and this is his march
to get some help and work on learning better methods
of dealing with stress and overall well being well. Whatever

(01:26:18):
help he got, it didn't work, because that fateful Saturday
a few weeks ago, Morant back on Instagram Live with
what appeared to be a gun in his hand. Again,
a condition of employment. Just don't do that and you
don't have an issue. The response swift and sure, immediate.
The Grizzlies has suspended him indefinitely. Now that's another suspension,

(01:26:42):
more loss money, the shoe deal, potential jeopardy, a ton
of embarrassment, the league and a lot of his peers
doubting him clearly speaking out this time much more so.
And I would say, when you start to line up
people with self inflicted wounds and self inflict humiliation, this
might be one of the more ridiculous and easily avoidable.

(01:27:04):
How hard is it not to get filmed with a
gun in your hand? Apparently too hard for Moran. So
since then Moran has been mocked, He's been scolded. Whether
he deserves to be made fun of, I don't know.
But this isn't just an active immaturity. This is just
flat out stupidity. Now, there were plenty of executives and
coaches and players that stood by Morant in March. They

(01:27:28):
went to bat for him. They put the credibility on
the line. And that's why I draw the bill cosby analogy,
I think they felt their trust was abused and they
relied to and for what again, let me repeat myself
because some people get this twisted. The Second Amendment assures
John Morant to have a right to his own firearms. Okay,

(01:27:51):
they have no power over an employer though setting the
standards for behavior. What does that mean is that if
your employers we don't want to be associated with gun culture,
we don't want weapons in the workplace, then that is
the right of your employer. You don't like it, don't
work there, that's their right. The NBA is a sought

(01:28:12):
after job. It's a precious job. It's a privileged job.
Now Moran earned his way into the league, but he's
also managed to get in trouble with by the way,
not even breaking the law to the best of my knowledge.
But what you have to understand is the NBA does
a better job than any of their leagues promoting their stars.
It's a lead based on stars. Every player, to a degree,

(01:28:36):
is an ambassador of the NBA. They're an ambassador of
the business that the NBA is. And people will come
to an arena and buy a ticket with hard earned
money just to watch Moran play. But those same customers
can be easily turned off with those images. And you
know that that's at least how the NBA calculates it.

(01:28:57):
And they're the one holding the per strings. They made
the they made the standard clear. They do a line
in the sand. There can't be any doubts about what
was and what wasn't expected, and what was acceptable after
the suspension in March, and yet Morant, for some reason
couldn't resist basically the same action at the first chance

(01:29:18):
he could get All right, now, is Moran a young guy? Yeah,
yes and no. But at twenty three, you're a grown man.
You're old enough to know right and wrong, the basics
of how the world works. He went to college a
couple of years, been in the NBA four years now.
He's not the you can't give me the babe in
the wood routine on this one. Morent has basically morphed

(01:29:39):
into his own corporation. He's got agents, he's got lawyers,
he's got advisors, he's got trainers and doctors. Those people
Team Rant is designed to create the you know, the
structure to keep him mentally able, physically able, and legally
you know, adept so he can get on the court

(01:30:02):
where he makes his money. And you know, he's also
got a pretty good support system from the Grizzlies, his employer,
because they've invested in him, they've invested in his continued success.
So this is not some clulest kid out on an island.
This is not some young teenager that's playing for some
college football college basketball program with an nefarious coach. It'll

(01:30:23):
win it all costs. Moran has to be focused on
the long term, not just himself, but everybody around him
as well. And I really can't blame the friends that
Morent hangs around with. I'll tell you why, And yeah,
they're doing him no favors. But if you're John Morant,
you go back to your hometown or just about anywhere
you go, you're going to be the alpha dog of

(01:30:46):
your group because you're the star athlete. You're the multimillionaires
for lack of a better term. The other people their
hangers on. And if Morent's not capable of standing up
for himself and doing the right thing, which isn't always
the easy thing, then he's looking at a serious issue.
So even Kwame Brown about a month ago, cited the

(01:31:07):
hip hop star. He says, I'm gonna call you NBA
dumb boy, And now you got Kwame Brown cracking on you.
So whatever Morant is chasing, whatever is causing him to
barrel headfirst and do the oblivion and controversy in trouble,
whatever's pushing him away from what is potentially going to
be a brilliant future, he better figure it out now.

(01:31:31):
The NBA hasn't announced its punishment or the NORTH he
has said its long term punishment. Is it coming? Well,
what do you think Adam Silver was alluding to the
other day. It's cryptic. I don't even know why he
opened his mouth, but in opening his mouth, I just
don't think it was a preview that it's going to

(01:31:51):
be good news. He says, he's dealing with more information
and trust me, major league teams, employee security and investigators
beyond belief to know your shoe size, what you had
for breakfast, where you're sleeping here, You're going the metadata
that exists these days. If you don't think they got
the goods on him, whatever, it may be, well you
got something else coming. But again, it's cryptic. We don't

(01:32:12):
know what Adam Silver is gonna say. But I will
tell you that the only way for Jahn Morant to
figure out his life is to do this. Remove him
from basketball for one year. Perhaps it's rehabilitation, not punishment,
because then he can see what his life will look
like if he doesn't have the game he loves in

(01:32:34):
his life front and center. He's going to see what
it looks like to have that taken away, and he's
going to see that if he just follows simple conditions
of employment, he can resume at age twenty four and
have a ten year career or more and maybe even
a championship someday. The only way for him to know that, though,
is if it's taken away from him. If you want

(01:32:56):
to play a game, slap on the wrists. Did it
work last time?

Speaker 8 (01:32:59):
No?

Speaker 2 (01:33:00):
There have been other players suspended for a year. Calvin Ridley,
he'll be back this year with the Tampa Bay Bucks.
That was crazy. What he did was far less egregious,
and he missed a year. He's gonna be okay. Alex
Karris and Paul Harnan back in the sixties missed the
year for betting. There have been other year suspensions. A
Rod went away for a year, came back, finished his career,

(01:33:23):
seems to have righted the ship. The key behind a
year removal will allow John Morant to see what unfolds
in front of him and living color what his life
looks like without basketball. And it's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt.
It's gonna hurt in October when teams are going to camp.
It's gonna hurt, November when the tip off. It's gonna hurt.
On Christmas Day, it's gonna hurt. After the new year,

(01:33:43):
it's gonna hurt when the playoffs start. But it will
hold a snapshot, a picture up to him. It will
force him to look in the mirror and decide what
does he want to do with his life, what does
he want his legacy to be, And he'll know exactly
the tangible, visceral feel what it's like to experience no
basketball after having experienced basketball for the last six years

(01:34:05):
at the highest levels. Now again, the NBA hasn't announced
the long term punishment, but if they do, this time,
Morant needs to turn his downtime into a positive. He's
got too much to offer, he's got too much to lose,
and he's got a lot of people trying to help him,
trying to save him. Anything less than a year to me,

(01:34:26):
as a fugaysy coming up, I'm gonna bring in the crew.
I'll bring an Ethan, I'll bring in Kevin and see
what they say. I'm Bernie Frattle. We're come to you
live from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Tarreck dot
Com Studios. Don't go away. You're listening to the Bernie
Frattle Show on Fox Sports Radio. There are back on
the Bernie Frattle Show, Fox Sports Radio, coming to you

(01:34:46):
live from the Tarak dot Com studios here in a
Las Vegas and we are talking about Ja Morant. The
commissioner had some cryptic comments this past week. Not sure
why he would bother opening his mouth right in the
eve of the NBA Finals. Perhaps he's softening the blow.
I am on record that Jeral Morant needs to sit

(01:35:09):
for a year. It's not punishment, it's rehabilitation. He needs
to understand what life looks like without basketball, and he
needs to understand the choice he wants to make. Because
the condition of employment is pretty simple. Don't be flashing
guns in public. You can own a gun. The Second
Amendment gives you the right, but the condition of employment

(01:35:30):
was The NBA does not want those images. It makes
it harder to sell tickets. So let's bring in the crew,
because I want to ask him two questions each. First,
how do you interpret the Commissioner's comments? And what do
you think will be the resultant decision here in a
couple of weeks? And irrespective of what you think the

(01:35:52):
decision will be, what do you think should happen? Kevin,
Let's start with you. You're familiar with Commissioner Silver's comments
this past week.

Speaker 5 (01:35:59):
Correct, Yes, And I agree with you that the way
he has spoken of it seems to imply that it
would be a significant punishment, because why wait till the
end of the finals if it's going to be something minor.
So I think he wants to have the focus and
attention right now be on the NBA's marquee event, the
NBA Finals, and then once that's over, get around to

(01:36:20):
actually doling out whatever significant punishment they might have in
store for him. So yeah, I do agree that it
probably will be significant. Whether it's a year, whether it's
half a season, it's not going to be just eight
games like it was this past year.

Speaker 2 (01:36:36):
See, I think even if it's half a season, that's
just not going to get it done. That's just my opinion.
What would you do if you were a commissioner, you're
going to get to where the commissioner hat what would
you do?

Speaker 5 (01:36:45):
I would say half a season would be the minimum,
but definitely a full season again to not just just
to punish him and make him kind of suffer the
consequences for his action, but to at least try to
teach him and get him to behave in a more
responsible way, because that's really been the issue is regardless

(01:37:08):
of the gun debate going on in America right now,
the fact of the matter is he acted irresponsibly and
for pr reasons. It's easy to understand why the league
wouldn't want to have that associated with them. So I
think it's going to be a very clear message that
he has to behave and carry himself in a much

(01:37:30):
more responsible way once he does come back. So I
do definitely see it being a significant suspension.

Speaker 2 (01:37:38):
So would you give him a full year, half a
year or it.

Speaker 5 (01:37:42):
Would depend on how he has acted in private discussions
and interviews with the league and how he has seen
his past actions. If he's remorseful, I mean half, It
depends on how remorseful and how understanding he is of
the situation.

Speaker 2 (01:38:01):
We said that last time and sixty days later he
did the same thing.

Speaker 5 (01:38:04):
Yeah, so I would say I would lean toward more
of full suspend, full season suspension than.

Speaker 2 (01:38:10):
And again I just so people are clear, I'm not
looking to bury the guy. Okay, he'd be twenty four,
come back and his whole life ahead him. Calvin Ridley
was suspended for a hell of a lot less a
Rob's been suspended for a year back in the day,
Paul Horning, Alex Carris. This is not unprecedented. This is

(01:38:30):
a little different situation though, and I think people should
understand the dynamic. The good news is he's still young,
but he's old enough to know better. So that's why
I took the position I took, all right, Ethan, So A,
what was your reaction to the Commissioner's comments and your interpretation?
B what do you think the commission is going to do?
And see you get to put on the commissioner hat?

(01:38:52):
What would you do?

Speaker 7 (01:38:54):
Yeah, I mean it's pretty simple for me.

Speaker 8 (01:38:57):
I think, you know, commission was just sending a message
to everybody saying, you know, this isn't going to be
tolerated within the league. You know, I think he's going
to make an example out of Jaw. I hate to
say an example, but it is an example for the
rest of the players into the guys coming into the

(01:39:19):
league that you know, this is not going to happen again.
I think he's going to get the year just because
where we're at in today's society and how serious gun
violence is. You know, I just think that that's what's
going to happen. And what was your other part of
the question.

Speaker 2 (01:39:37):
What would you do? Let's say you're the commissioner.

Speaker 8 (01:39:40):
I would I would give him half a year, okay,
because you know, I'd hate to see the guy out
for the entire year. But with like I said, everything
going on in today's world, I think he's going to
get that year.

Speaker 2 (01:39:54):
Would you hate to see he is to make a
third mistake? Yeah, And what you know, would you bet
a finger that he'll He'll not make a third mistake
the rest of his life.

Speaker 7 (01:40:04):
I don't think. I don't think I'll make a third mistake.
I don't.

Speaker 8 (01:40:07):
Especially if he gets that year, I think he's going
to have to do a lot of rehabitabilitation and stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:40:12):
So you know, yeah, well, it'll be interesting to watch, guys.
I would just say this that I'm slightly curious as
to why the commissioner would make that public statement in
the eve of the NBA playoffs. How calculating was it?
What was he really trying to do? Is there something
hitting the gender here? He's trying to soften everybody up

(01:40:34):
for a blow. They're just he said he doesn't want
to talk about it, but then he talks about it.
What's the point of talking about it? So he don't
want to talk about it. So it's that's why I
use the word cryptic, And it's a bit of a distraction.
I want to say. Now, you know, I don't think
these NBA playoffs are going to be one for the ages.
It feels like Denver's going to handle this thing in shoulder.

(01:40:55):
So now I'm I'm more interested in seeing what happens here,
just from the the journalistic standpoint of it. And I mean,
this young man's a star, he's an exquisite player, is
a human highlight film. But we all have to comply
in life, and if you don't, if you don't want
to comply, then you go somewhere else and play by

(01:41:15):
your own rules. And at some point you have to
answer to somebody. So we shall see coming up one
of the greatest stories. Chris talked about it last week.
Chris is off tonight, but I'm going to give Luton
their flowers. Can you imagine thirty years ago you buy
a soccer team for seven dollars, the original owner only

(01:41:40):
lasted fifty five days. But last Saturday the English Championship playoff,
which is unlike any other event in sports, within ninety minutes,
a big promotion and two hundred million dollars, a far
cry from seven dollars and fifty five days thirty years ago.
Tell you all about it. Coming up first, go back

(01:42:00):
to our guy Kevin Wyer with the latest.

Speaker 5 (01:42:02):
Yeah, we had some baseball action, plenty of it on Friday,
the Dodgers and Yankees. That was the big series everyone
anticipating this week in La getting the first of the
three games, Slate beating the Yankees eight to four, Mookie
Betts hitting two home runs, and Clayton Kershaw getting his
first career win against the Yankees. He went seven innings
and struck out nine hitters. Ortels beat the Giants three

(01:42:25):
two in San Francisco. Padres followed the Cubs two to one.
In San Diego. Diamondbacks over the Braves three to two.
White Sox shut out the Tigers three nothing, Rockies over
the Royals seven to two, Twins with a one nothing
win over the Guardians. Angels fall to the Astros six
to two, Rangers over the Mariners two nothing, Blue Jays
shut out the Mets three nothing, Pirates over the Cardinals

(01:42:45):
seven to five. Nationals beat the Phillies eight to seven,
Marlins shutting out the Athletics for nothing, and the Brewers
over the Reds five to four. It's elimination day in
the Women's College World Series and at Stanford taking out
Alabama to nothing, ending the Crimson Tide season and Utah
losing twice too and their season. They fell to Washington

(01:43:07):
four to one and were shut out by Oklahoma State
eight to nothing. In NBA, Franke Volgel finalizing a five year,
thirty one million dollar contract to become the new head
coach of the Phoenix Suns. In College Sports, Big twelve
commissioner Brett your Mark saying the conference will pursue more
expansion if the opportunity arises. In the NFL, the Chicago

(01:43:29):
Bears announcing Arlington Heights no longer it's singular focus for
a new stadium after tax issues arose the city in
Aprilville launching its own bid to lure the Bears. Tennis
news Roland Garros French Open, top seeded Callos al KaAZ
advancing to the round of sixteen and straight sets. Raphael
Nadal missing the tournament because of hip injury. He had

(01:43:52):
arthroscopic surgery today to help repair that. And at the
memorial Justin Sue leading Hideki Mattuyama by one stroke. Back
over to you burning all right, thanks Kevin So.

Speaker 2 (01:44:05):
Last Saturday, it was a monumental day in the English
Championship playoff. In the world of soccer, as I mentioned Lutontown,
who's been around for a long time, but they've been
more abund for the better part of three decades. They
found themselves in ninety minutes, a promotion to the Premier
League and about two hundred million dollars in found money.

(01:44:29):
Incredible and I would be able to remodel their stadium,
which is the smallest stadium. It's dilapidated, it's you have
to walk through someone's backyard to get to the stadium
and only holds ten thousand people. Imagine three decades ago,
this is a soccer club that was sold for seven
dollars to an owner who only lasted fifty five days.

(01:44:50):
But last week the trajectory of that club, the trajectory
of soccer changed, changed people's lives, players' careers. The game
was an absolute tree again Lutontown and you can google
what their stadium looks like and see pictures they playing
home games on a c You know, it's smaller, much
smaller and much more dilapidated than your average high school

(01:45:12):
football stadium in Texas or anywhere they haven't played. Luton
hasn't played in England's top tier league since nineteen ninety two.
But somehow they get to the shootout and a penalty
shootout and the defeat Coventry Club they secure a promotion. Okay,
this is like the Wrexham dream story. This is the
story of Wrexham dreams about so Luton, which plays in

(01:45:36):
a town about an hour north of London. They had
been playing in the fifth tier of the English pyramid
just nine years ago, but they started to climb the
ladder ever so slowly. And when you look at this
team in total, it's like a Disney movie. The stadium
it's really kind of a gem, but it's old and

(01:45:58):
it's small. It was built on a street called Kennilworth
Road back in nineteen oh five. It only see ten
thousand people and it's right in the middle of a
neighborhood of a bunch of old homes that are really nondescript.
That they got these great colors, and that's the older
type home that you see in London that has a
great amount of character to it. They're just there's something

(01:46:22):
special about the way these structures look right. And then
there's the US MNT connection as well. A gentleman named
Ethan Horvath. He was their first team goalkeeper this season.
He was on the World Cup squad last year, stepped
in to help the US to a National League final
well for Mexico. In twenty twenty one, he plays for
Luton the captain Tom Locke. Here, he basically collapsed, had

(01:46:45):
to be transferred to a hospital ten minutes into the game,
but the team rallied win went for the gipper as
you were, They celebrate from his family. They all go
to the hospital after the game. He can't make this
stuff up. So I know they're already saying that lut
On will be heavily favored to go back down after
one season in the Premier League, but they got a

(01:47:07):
fighting chance. It won't be impossible to stay up. All
three teams that rose from the Championship this year, Fulham,
Bornemouth and Nottingham they all manage to avoid relegation this year.
So with the additional resources and the additional support, maybe
Luton can hang around for a while. Anyway, is slice it?
What an incredible story In ninety minutes they go from

(01:47:29):
rags to riches. These are the kind of dream stories
that you love and never get tired of hearing in
the world of sports. Coming up, it all starts here
in about fourteen hours, fourteen and a half hours, Lord
Stanley's Cup, the most coveted trophy in all of sports.
The Florida Panthers. Can they continue their role? Can the

(01:47:52):
Golden Knights. We're going to have something here where a
team for the first time will be crowned Stanley Cup Champion.
Let's break it down and give you some final thoughts
about this matchup between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas
School of the Knights. Coming up. I'm Bernie Frattle, We're
company live from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio tirack
dot Com studios. Keep it locked right here. You're listening

(01:48:14):
to the Bernie Frattle Show on Fox Sports Radio fire
wrapping it up on the Bernie Frattle Show comedy live
from the Tirak dot Com studios here in Las Vegas, Nevada,
Fox Sports Radio for go any further. I want to
thank my broadcast team back in Los Angeles. They'd been
with me since eleven pm Pacific on Friday night. It

(01:48:34):
would be Mark Ramsey, our technical producer, Kevin Wyatt on
the updates, and Ethan Miller turning all the dials keeping
us glued together. And great job, great teamwork, guys. We'll
be back on these airwaves Saturday night, eleven pm Pacific,
recapping Game number one between the Vegas School of Knights

(01:48:54):
and the Florida Panthers and what promises to be a
very exciting series. They will be a brand new, first
time ever Stanley Cup champion this year. Florida got to
the Stanley Cup Finals in ninety six, they lost to
the Colorado Avalanche, and of course, the Golden Knights in
their inaugural season got to the Stanley Cup Finals in

(01:49:18):
twenty eighteen, one game won and then got rolled by
the Washington Capitals in five. But it was an amazing
year and this year's been pretty cool too for both teams.
You know, Yogi Berra once said it's hard to make predictions,
especially about the future. But if you're gonna put a
gun to my head, I feel Florida wins this series.

(01:49:40):
But I'm not gonna go into these granular reasons why
I would just say this. Before the playoffs started, no
one expected the Panthers to go anywhere near as far
as they have. They had an up and down regular season.
They barely snuck into the playoffs. They got a late
push and the Pittsburgh Penguins collapse, and the next thing
you know, the Panthers the enters an eight seed. Who

(01:50:02):
do they get to play the best regular season record
setting team of all time, the Boston Bruins, and they
promptly go down three to one of the series. They
looked like Florida was in line for another early playoff exit,
but that's not what happened. Panthers changed goalies. Sergey Bobrovski
takes over. He's been unconscious. The Panthers clawback from the

(01:50:24):
series deficit three games to one. They win Games seven
and overtime. They completely stun the Bruins. They stunned the
hockey world. After that, they thrash the Toronto Maple Leafs,
follow up by sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes and one of
the most impressive runs in recent memory. To cap off
that run, though, they're going to have to go through

(01:50:45):
the Vegas Golden Knights, and Vegas has been on a
very impressive run of their own. They finished as the
best team in the Western Conference in the regular season.
They've not even faced an elimination game once in the playoffs.
And yes, the Panthers are underdogs. They're slight underdogs to
once again win a series, but they seem to like
it that way. Well. That said, there are three things

(01:51:07):
to consider as to why the Panthers could win the
Stanley Cup Final. One, Matthew Kuldchuck, the clutch factor in
his first season in Florida, has been off the charts.
Matthew Kulchuck has emerged as one of the very best
players in the league. He said career highs this year

(01:51:29):
in the regular season with forty goals and one hundred
and nine points. Now, compare that to the star that
Vegas has well, one of the stars Jack Eichel. He
hits sixty five points in the regular season, but Jack
Eickle has been pretty good in the playoffs, even though
he didn't score a goal against Dallas in six games.
He's done a lot of good things. But Kachuck has
been that much more clutch. Kud Chuck is a Hart

(01:51:51):
Trophy finalist, and even though you know that pales in
comparison to what he's done through the playoffs. K Chuck
he leads to Panthers with nine goals in the playoffs
in twenty one points. He's come up huge when he
needs it. Talked about that series against Boston, Game seven,
They're in Boston, the Panthers trailed by a goal with

(01:52:13):
about a minute to go. Who scores Kachuk Unreal just
knocked Linus Olmark off his game. He was clearly, you know, flustered,
and Boston ends up getting overturned and that keeps the
Panthers seasons alive. That really starts what has been a
complete magical run since then. Okay Kachuk also scored overtime

(01:52:37):
winning goals in games one and two against Carolina. Remember
game of Game one was a four overtime contest and
you talk about a marathon. Oh my goodness, what was
that game? Six hours something like that. Then Matthew Kuchuk
broke the Caroline's back and broke their hearts. In Game four,

(01:52:58):
he scores the series lynching goal in the final five
seconds of the game. And that's not even really highlighting
what Matthew Kuchuk's biggest strength might be, and that is
ability to get under his opponent's skin quietly. Matthew Kochuk
is one of the best agitators in the entire NHL.

(01:53:21):
He's able to go to opponents into making mistakes they
might not otherwise. And you've got some other strong agitators,
Sam Bennett, rat Coo Gudis the Panthers. They're a frustrating
team to play against. They're a very difficult team to
play against, much like the Golden Knights, who are very
well coached with Bruce Cassidy. They're very well coached with
Paul Maurice, and they will bring a fierce for check

(01:53:42):
that's helped those agitators. In addition to the clutch play
has helped Florida tremendously in this run. They are eleven
and one since going down three games to one. They're
eight and one on the road. There're eight no one
in the road since going down three games to one.
If Kuchuk comes up big again, it feels like the
Panthers are going to be in very good shape to

(01:54:03):
win this series. The number two reason Sergey Bobrovski. Their
goalie is on absolute fire and it's a redemption. A
redemption is good for the soul. These are the playoffs
that have been incredible to watch before you know and remember,
Bobroski got a seventy million dollar contract and he took

(01:54:23):
a lot of heat for it. He was not living
up to it. He was not playing up to the
potential they thought when they gave him that massive contract,
and a lot of folks thought that was holding Florida back.
It wasn't even the starting goalie head again into the
playoffs Alex Lyon. He had a late season run that
got him the nod, but it was only after Lions
started to struggle against Boston in the first series that

(01:54:46):
they went back to Bobroski to give him another chance,
and he's made the most of it. Pebroski hasn't just
been one of, if not the best goalies in the postseason,
he's completely taken the NHL by storm. In the thirteen
starts he's had, he's eleven in two on nine to
thirty five save percentage, two point two goals against the average.
He's also saved nineteen point seven goals above expected. That's

(01:55:10):
by far the most of any goalie in the playoffs.
He may have two Veslan Trophies under his belt, but
even now he's playing the best hockey of his career,
the best hockey of his life when it matters most,
and it's telling with cut with Matthew Kachuck's heroics. Even
with all of the things Kachuk has done, Sergey Brabowski

(01:55:32):
is the favorite to win the cons My Trophy, so
if he steals one or two games, he will cement
his name in NHL Playoff floor. The third thing is
this is really kind of one of those group think
echo chamber statements that you cringe when you say, are
they a team of destiny that pops up too much?

(01:55:53):
This might be a case where it's justified because the
Panthers run has been almost unbelievable, to the point where
it feels like it's fate is guiding them to the
Stanley Cup. Okay, they've drawn comparisons to other teams at destiny,
like the twenty twelve La Kings. By the way, the
team barely snuck into the playoffs, like I said, as
an eight seed, beat the President's Trophy winners in the
first round, kept plotting their way to the finals. No

(01:56:16):
one gave the team a chance to heading into the playoffs,
but they still managed to win regardless, by the way
that King's team back in twenty twelve they won the
Cup two similar dynamic with the great goalie. If the
Panktherers keep playing like that, they will as well. Now
I don't think it's gonna be easy. You talk about
teams of destiny, like the old Miracle on Ice team

(01:56:36):
from nineteen eighty, Well they wore a team of destiny
that game against the Russians, the famous game in February
nineteen eighty. The Americans trailed one nothing, and then they
trailed two to one, and then they trailed three to two,
and they were outshot by the Russians thirty nine to sixteen,
but they won the game. They were a team of destiny.

(01:56:58):
Then they had to beat Finland. Everybody forgets and they
trailed that entire game as well. So we all know
that the Stanley Cup comes down to your stars, it
comes down to goalies, and it comes down to X factors.
The Golden Knights have shown they are a deep team
with four lines. They're extremely well coached when you've got

(01:57:19):
a bottom six that scores goals. Bruce Cassidy is confident
he can roll with four lines and he's a great
coach with a great defensive system. We shall see what happens.
I can't wait. We will be back on these ear
waves Saturday night, eleven pm Pacific to break it down
among many other things, as we also preview Game two

(01:57:40):
of the NBA Finals as well. Him Bernie Fratto, see
you Saturday. In the meantime, keep it locked up next
to great Anthony Gargano on Fox Sports Radio.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Bernie Fratto Talks NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup & Ja Morant