06/12/2021 - FOX Sports Saturday with Steve Hartman and Geoff Schwartz - Fox Sports Radio

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports RADIOLIV and DRE once again
on a fabulous Saturday. It is Hartman and Schwartz with
you from the Fox Sports Radio studios. Jeff, to say
that we have a busy couple of hours would be
the understatement of the century. So I feel like we
got to get right into it. By the way, as

(00:21):
I was talking to uh t J and LaVar before
coming on today, we got all into about this college
football playoff proposed expansion. We will get to all that,
but first of all, Jeff, I want to start with
little baseball to are you ready for a little baseball today? Jeff,
I know you. I mean I'm watching Dallas Baptist in
Virginia playing a Super regionals. I think I'm pretty much

(00:42):
psyched the base alright. So this was quite a week
from Major League Baseball, and it's going to only get
more interesting. I didn't say better, I said more interesting
in the weeks ahead. So this was an unbelievable week
for Major League baseball. As full disclosure email that indeed,
Major League Baseball is full on investigating and ready to

(01:05):
penalize pictures that are using any kind of sticky substance
to get a better grip on the ball, which the
hardiest throw it creates more spin on the ball, which
they think has a lot to do about the historically
low batting average bant A average as we see across
Major League baseball. And of course it really came to

(01:26):
a head this week with Garrett Cole when he was
asked a prescott's point blank, do you use spider tack?
That's what they've been talking about, this spider tack? And
he looked at whoever asked the question with that look
of why are you asking me that when you already
know the answer. I use it, and so is everybody

(01:46):
else using it right now. So I gotta get a
couple of thoughts in, Jeff, And obviously I want to
get your feedback on this. I talked to a number
of baseball people this week, like, how do we get here?
How do we get to the point where all of
a sudden they've decided to crack down on pitchers and
substances they have on their fingers to get a better
grip on the baseball. And here's what I was told
in census wise, everything in Major League Baseball is an

(02:10):
overreaction to an overreaction So baseball was suddenly in their
post pe d era seeing diminishing home runs, and everyone
seemed to agree. People like to see home runs. So
when Major League Baseball, and this was a key moment
in the history of Major League baseball, took control of

(02:31):
the manufacturing of the baseball's, what did they do. They
immediately juiced the baseball, so the ball is flying out
of the ballpark. Pitchers are like, wait a second here,
suddenly we're defenseless. We gotta figure out a way to
balance the act. So they started using more and more
sophisticated means to grip the baseball better, thus creating a

(02:54):
little more balance. So what happened this year? Oh, I
don't know. Baseball decided, all right, things are getting ridiculous.
Let's take a little juice out of the baseball. So
you still have the pictures used in the tech on
their fingers to get this incredible spin on the baseball,
but the baseball is not as juice as he used
to be, So all of a sudden, you don't have

(03:15):
the balls flying out. Runs her down, batting averages down.
So now all of a sudden, baseball, fully aware of
what the pictures have been doing, forever they want to
crack down. Oh no, no no, that that's that's cheating. Really
when the pictures they're doing something along these lines, and
they're talking about the idea that they can go to

(03:35):
the mound eight times in a game per team to
investigate let me see your cap, let me see your glove,
let me see what's going on here, which would only
extend the length of these games. So this, again, at
least from what I've talked to Jeff, is baseball's non
stop cycle of over compensating from a previous mistake, and

(04:00):
that is how we've gotten to where we are right now.
This is exact same timeline as a steroid era. Right,
you have a strike interest down allow steroids. Remember steroids
were quote unquote illegal, but didn't test for steroids, right,
so it did not matter if they were illegal or
not because baseball did not test. They did not test
for steroids. We saw a bottle of Andrew in McGuire's

(04:22):
locker during the season, No one cared, right, We cheered
the home runs, We and chew you know, the the
the season McGuire and so Sun then obviously bonds um
you know, to to to a whole new level Congress
gets involved, and then more becomes of it. Right, Remember
baseball punished a couple of players, both of Barry Bonds.
You still can't get in the Hall of Fame. And

(04:44):
that was really it, right, I mean, players were still
using the still getting caught, but they really didn't address
it like we thought they'd addressed it. And it still
that the same situation here where they're gonna go after
a Trevor Bauer, Garrett Cole, I mean Trevor Bauer in
the first start, after they decided, you know, made this public,
they're they're going to now search for spider tax. His
spin rate was way down, he lost control of two

(05:05):
or three pitches and he hadn't done before um And
and you know Bauer has in the past that you know,
you know what, he finds ways to mess with the ball.
But this is not a new thing. By the way,
I had Paul Duca on a podcast I was doing
this week, a longtime catcher in the Big Leis. He
was talking about how it captured. They would he'd scuff
the ball for his picture, he'd rubbed the ball in
the dirt, or he would he would sharpen his his

(05:27):
clip on his um on a shin guards and kind
of like cut the ball before he threw it back
to the picture and like it's it's what baseball has
always been. And and the reason why hitting is down
is because of the philosophy of baseball, not really because
the baseball's you know, the philosophy of baseball now is
not you know, hit it to the right side, hit it,
you know, hit it in the five six hole. Right,

(05:48):
it's not. It's not that anyway, right, home run or bust,
and it is win is and that's what baseball has become.
So I would argue it's more of a philosophy of
baseball while there's not as much hitting as as otherwise.
But I as a fan, I want to be entertained
and I don't care if this scuff up the baseball.
It don't bother me. Um maybe you know, look again,

(06:10):
you could argue integrity the game. I guess fine, But Steve,
if I didn't know this was a thing, I would
I would not even care. I continue watching baseball. Got
the Giants Nationals game on right now. I got the
college game earlier. I think that as sports fans, we
put up with a level of cheating in the game

(06:32):
that we're okay with. I mean, we know that it's
gonna happen at some point. You can't just say that
there's never ever and it happens in the fairies. But
baseball has been this way forever, right, steroids, greenies and petamines.
What it is, Jeff cheating. It's a cheater sport. It's
been a cheater sport from the very beginning. By the way,
I was talking to a buddy of my, Mariey Brown.

(06:53):
He works with Forbes Covery Major League Baseball, and he's
a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and
they're in are just essentially telling the history of the game,
and they collectively have decided to ban those that tested
positive for p e d s from ever be considered
from the Hall of Fame. And so when you have
all these guys, so I said, well, let me ask

(07:14):
you this more. Let's say, and I'm just using and
I'm not accusing him of anything, but I'll use in
an example. Let's say Max Scherzer, who's already a Hall
of Famer right three Cy Young Awards, He's got a
ticket the Hall of Fame waiting for him. What happens
if Max Scherzer suddenly is caught and he suspended for
ten days because he gets caught using something on his

(07:37):
fingers to help control the ball or create more spin
on the ball. Does that mean he also is now
off the list of anyone being considered? Are are those pictures?
Knowing that up to nine of the pictures are using something?
But if you're one of those pictures that gets accused
suspicious of are actually caught and you've had a Hall

(07:59):
of fame, care does that mean you're out of the
Hall of Fame as well? And his answer to that
question was maybe was some of my compatriots, it could
well be a problem. And I'm like, are you are
you kidding me? The steroid era, It's something I grew
up watching, right I was, I was twelve years old.

(08:19):
I'm a Giants fans of Barry Bonds and my favorite
player as a as a kind of an older you know, teenager,
you know, younger baseball team, Jason Schmidt, kind of those guys.
But but like you know, as Bonds rose to prominence,
I was big Bonds guy. You know. The thing with
baseball writers that I just have trouble with is they
profited from the steroid era. They cheered the steroid era.

(08:42):
It brought baseball back to prominence. Baseball did not test.
I mentioned that twice. Now it's important because I think
that's the intent of the league is important when we
talk about the steroid era. Right, if baseball did not care,
If bud Sea League is in the Hall of Fame,
who knew this was happening, did not care, then why
are we still punishing Barry Bonds? And and to me
that the steroid area has always been And maybe it's

(09:03):
the same with the spider attack, Right, Jacob Degram is
good because using spider attack, so be it if he's
not so freaking good, right, like, it does not it
does not change some of these elite players. And for me,
for Barry Bonds, for example, he had four hundred home runs,
it was at four or eleven and four and or third,
six stolen basis. I have these memorizes because I make
this argument so often. Before he started taking steroids, right,

(09:23):
he said season he was pissed, he had a great
year and all the attention on the McGuire and so
he said this is ridiculous. And he said, well, McGuire's
seventy will never be broke. How is anyone ever gonna
do that again? And Bonds is like, are you kidding me?
And then he was hurting two thousand he started making
his run weardly enough you he only had over fifty

(09:44):
home runs of one season and that was the seventy
three year um. But but like so Leland steroid areas as,
I say this, if you're if you're a Major League
Baseball Hall of Fame voter, is you know, I think
we can tell whose career was only a Hall of
Fame career because the steroids, right, and his career was
already all a fame career and it was accelerated because

(10:04):
of that. And I know people say, well, cheating is cheating,
but but yeah, we don't know who you steroids in
that era, right, can I can I stop you for
a second here, I would love to hear from you,
as a former professional athlete, how do you define cheating?
Because I've talked to our buddy rich Armburger, he was
an offensive lineman. He said, well, technically I was cheating

(10:27):
on just about every play because I'm hanging on for
my for my life out there. So if you're going
by the strict letter of the law as far as
the rule books. I guess technically I was cheating on
almost every play. But how do you define cheating? Well,
I mean it just depends in a situation. I think
it's not a defined answer. But I think that you
know that everyone has trouble with and same with players.

(10:48):
When when a team like the Astros, right, they cheat
and they win a World Series because you know, because
of it? Right If if a player like Barry Bonds
is cheating and he breaks a record because of it, right,
that that's where it kind of gets into the point
of Okay, that's maybe a little too far or not acceptable,
but you're right. I mean, you know is is you know,
quarterbacks rub up footballs, right they you know, they deflat footballs,

(11:11):
which I don't think. I'll still don't think Tom Brady
did that. But nonetheless, like you know, there's a little
bit of an advantage here and there. Right, you steal signals?
Is that is that cheating? I guess I don't know.
I mean that they're out to see can you steal them?
Can you not? That's what spoy. It was so silly
because everyone the signals were out in the open. You
could steal them. It wasn't what the Patriots did anything
different than anyone else was doing. So to me, it's

(11:32):
just about are you getting an advantage? So people wantked
me at the time because I I'm very strongly in
favor of putting these baseball players in the Hall of
Fame that you staid. They say to me, well, how
would you feel if another player you steroid you played
against you? It's a great question. And my answer is
is that I can control what I can control. Right,
so I know I didn't use UM. Maybe I should

(11:53):
have ended my career. It probably would have been as
herd as I was UM. You know, take that back,
I would have recovered faster. I thought about that before.
What if I did? What if I use some h
gen faster? And that's how Margaret Wire got started. He
got tired of being hurt all the time, and he
realized that this was a great healer for you. And
that's what people don't get about the performing hncing drugs.

(12:13):
It doesn't like make you a better hitter. It makes
you be able to train at a higher level, and therefore,
obviously your sport. You'd be better in your sport, right,
you know, the wear and tear of your sport is
easier to handle. The recovery processes here to handle. So
my whole thing is that is that the player I'm
playing against, I would think I would kick there by
anyways that they're on steroids. But they have to live

(12:36):
with that decision that that's their decision to put down
their body. It's their decision to to to break the rules, um,
and they have to live with that decision. I don't.
I didn't break the rules, um, and I have deliver
with that. So to me, it doesn't really it doesn't
bother me because again, when I'm watching sports, when I'm
watching football, when I'm watching baseball and watching basketball, to me,

(12:56):
I want to be entertainer and the staring era was
supremely entertaining. You cannot say it was not. And as
we see baseball now, if you're trying to get younger
viewers to watch baseball and some more diversity you know,
in the game, and more people watching the game, you know,
one nothing games. I like him. I used to pitch
in high school. Most people don't like him, right, they

(13:17):
want to see some hitting. So, um, there has to
be a medium for for baseball here. Everyone using spider
attack do you want to or not? And then you
have to find a way to get some more hitting.
But I argue Steve, it's a philosophy of hitting now
more than anything else. By the way, there's one other
aspects amazing how some hitters Pete Alonso even talked about
this from the Mets. I want the pitchers to have

(13:37):
something on their fingers because it helps them control the
ball better, get the balls too slick. We saw get
hit in the face. We saw Harper get in the face.
I don't want guys so on hundred miles an hour
if they don't have a good grip on the ball.
So some of the hitters are actually saying that I
don't mind if they have a little extra grip on
the ball to help them control the ball. And remember too,

(13:58):
I mean Peter Alonso saying that as well, because I
would imagine his pictures using it as well. Right. So
of course if players and we've seen players kind of
telling each other, which is interesting because their pictures presumably
are using themselves. Right, So if they're using spider tack,
I'm sure the pictures are like, hey, Josh, shut up,
shut up, I'm using it. Also, it's how it's how
I'm pitching, so well, stop telling them. And it's funny

(14:20):
when you see the videos. But I mean it's like
it's it's on the inside their glove. It's it's in
you know, it's like on the it's on the thumb
of the glove, on the chess protector of the catcher.
There's a different places they can put this stuff, and
it's look at. I just want to be entertained. Um,
I know people think it's crazy. I'm outrage more are
you outraged? Not at all? And then the majority of

(14:43):
people I talked to you throughout the week on my
radio show, I asked the question do you care? Some
people said, Hey, instead of m OB, give me x
LB where anything goes. I would watch all day long
as opposed to the product I'm seeing right now in
Major League Baseball. All right, So well, this is a
story that's gonna be taking root over the next couple
of weeks. We just run to bring it to light.

(15:03):
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dot Com. Okay. On the other side, one of switch
gears completely want to get into some college football and
the proposed expansion of the college football Playoff. What is

(15:28):
it that works about that and what could be a
concern coming up next? Steve Harbin and Jeff Schwartz. By
the way, the read I had right before the break
is a tease for the next out. How's that I'm
gonna I'm gonna put a spin on that Ron Burgundy
moment where I read things that are in front of
me without radium through ahead of time. All Right, we

(15:50):
got we got a lot of things going on, Jeff,
And one thing that is of big interest to you
and I because I've said this time and again, I
love all sports. It's people understand this about me. But
if you were to ask me what is your number
one sport, there's no hesitance. It's college football. College football
has everything I love about sports. It has a history

(16:14):
because I'm a historian by nature, be it has unlike
what I feel is a bit of a homogenized look
to the NFL, college football remains very regional and there's
a certain personality to college football that varies from sections

(16:35):
of the country, no question, West Coast is different, the South,
different from the Midwest, different from the East. I love
all that tradition, tradition, tradition. I can't get enough of it.
So college football is my number one. And from the
day they announced that they were going to go to
a four team playoff, I said, now, you're just doubling
the trouble. I knew that it was not going to work.

(16:57):
And the reason I knew it wasn't gonna work was
out of radically, you're leaving out one of the Power
of five conferences. If you only have four schools and
have five Power of five conferences, I said, this day one,
what's gonna happen? And what happens if two of the
four teams are from the same conference. Well, that's happened
as well. So it hasn't worked. We've had seven years

(17:18):
twenty eight schools, and twenty of the twenty eight have
either been Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oaklahoma, or Notre Dame.
So from the get go, I've said, you need to
expand the playoffs. So now all of a sudden, they're
talking about a medium is gonna go on later this week,
in Chicago where this committee is gonna get together about
an expansion. Not from four to six or four to eight.
We're talking about a four to twelve college football playoff.

(17:42):
And the format is very simple. You have ten FBS conferences,
there's the Power of five and the Group of five.
And of course the Group of five never has had
a chance to get into this playoff. Well now they're
guaranteed at least one slot because six conference champions are
autumn attics figured the Power five conference champions, and then

(18:03):
one from the Group of five. And then of course
you've got six at large schools that will probably be
four out of six out of the SEC almost every
single year. So I want to get your quick thoughts
right now about what's good or bad about the expansion
of the college football playoff. Yeah. So, um, what is

(18:23):
the first time I thought back to you real quick?
What what is the goal of the playoff? Like? What
what do you think the goal of the money? Okay,
so beyond money money, Like, like what is the like
when you when you heard a four team playoff? What
is the goal of the playoff? To make money? As
simple as that, admit it was a money generated by
ESPN you double up the games and so you make

(18:45):
more money. I was hoping you were going to say
to find a champion, because that's obviously well, that's not
what I mean. Theoretically, that's that's a good line, but
that's not why we're talking about expanding the playoffs. No,
we're not talking about that. I just want to make
it very clear. We're expanding the play off, to your point,
for money and exposure. We are not explaining the playoff
to find a different winner. So you mentioned that, you know,

(19:06):
twenty eight have been the same four schools since the
start of the tournament. I was fine with the four
team playoff because I didn't want the playoff to be
a participation trophy tournament essentially. Right, Oh, we're in the playoff. Um,
But to your point, I will watch all of this.
I will enjoy Florida going to Wisconsin in the first round.
I will enjoy all of it. But it's not going

(19:28):
to change who wins, guys. It will not change you
wins Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State. Hopefully my Ducks at one
point can be in that conversation. Oklahoma. You know, maybe
every now and then you get one other team in
l S U in a in a super season, right,
ends up kind of climbing to the top there. Um,
it's not going to change that, But what it will

(19:48):
do is it will provide more excitement at the end
of the season. Right, if you win your conference championship game,
you're you're you're in a plaoff. Even if you lose
that game, as a possibility, you're both the playoffs. Right,
The winner of your conferen champions and tee the loser
of the SEC championship game is going to be in
the playoff. You have four SEC teams every year. Um,
but would you have a problem if of the twelve teams,
six of them or five of them at let's say

(20:09):
five of them are SEC teams every year. If they're
the best teams, they're the best teams. Well, I mean okay,
but then by the way, that by the way, that
still is to be determined by committee. See, the committee
does not relinquish its power over which schools actually get
into this playoff. Correct. And now it makes obviously the
rankings five through twelve, which we had really have been

(20:30):
like whatever, It obviously makes those more important. Um. You know,
so look, the dream of a group of five school
winning the title. Guys, just just get over that and
ain't gonna happen. But you know, once every ten years,
a twelve seed Cincinnati will be the five seed Oklahoma.
Right every now exactly, they're not. They're not. They're not

(20:52):
win the next game. And I don't even argue in
this in this format with the top four seas getting
a by they have even greater to vantage than the
old tournament with because they get they get to sit
at home. All right. On the other side, I want
to get because we're we gotta find out what's trending
right now. But I I want to take another look
at what possibly could happen with the expansion of the playoffs. Look,

(21:14):
I'm with you. You expand these games more more college
football is always good for me, always, always, always, always
more better. More matchups against teams that I actually have
an interest in scene matched up against each other is
always more interesting. But there could be a huge curveball
on the other side. Right now, though, let's find out
what's trending. Let's bring on the one the only Mr

(21:37):
David Gascon. David, what is happening? Not much? Not much, Jeff.
You don't think anything outside the power five is winning
a national title. Are you telling me that Cincinnati Bearcats
are winning four straight games against top ten Power five
conference teams? Well, that's what they would have to do. Yeah,
so I'm not saying that they will. But are you

(22:01):
Are you telling me that Central Florida? Are you telling
man Diego State? Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
I'm just saying in the game of football. We see
it right now in the NBA, But in the game
of football, you guys know as well as anybody out
there that these are quarterback driven leagues, and God forbid
an injury happens to a star quarterback. No, no, don't,

(22:21):
don't spoil this because I'm gonna straight weeks. Hold on,
hold on a lot of gas. Be listening on the
other side, because I'm gonna take what you're saying and
spin Jeff's head in a second. Right, Just wait till
I hear that you, wait till he here's this spin.
I do. I do love the fat that would get
more teams in it, just for the simple fat that

(22:41):
will get some of these teams from the outside, you know,
the Mountain West Conference, the MAC wherever it may be,
at least one of one of those schools every year
will be in the in the play Hey, could you
imagine if we get a guy like Jared Patterson in
a in a college football playoff game, you will get
seven touchdowns in a game, but you never know. I
think he's gonna make the point really quick though, that
he might not even playing that game. The gambling comes

(23:03):
into So, guys, NBA tonight Clippers and Jazz Mike Colley
is not playing this ball game. Clippers down the whole
to nothing in this series. Tip off time is an
eight thirty Eastern college baseball and Notre Dame in Mississippi
State right now fighting Iris, leading for three. It's a
super regional from Starksville. Earlier today Vanderbilt going to Omaha.
They beat East Carolina four to one was the score.
Arizona and Ole miss Later on tonight, Nationals to nothing

(23:27):
over the Giants. That game right now is in the
home half of the fourth inning. Yankees and Philly is
about to get things underway from Philadelphia. Bright to you guys,
all right, David, thank you very much. All right, So
I think you already have a clue, Jeff, where I'm
going with this. So let's let's take a look at
the potential schedule right now. Let's say you're Georgia. I'm
gonna use George as an example, and you lose the

(23:48):
SEC championship game to Alabama, but you're safely in the playoffs.
And let's say you're the five seat or whatever. I
don't know how the one. Once they picked the six
conference champions and the six at law, they'll start over
with the seating. But let's just say they don't four
have to be have to Power five conference and their boys,

(24:08):
all right, exactly, all right. But let's say Georgia is
the five seed. Okay, so they're gonna have to play
an extra game. And let's say Georgia has a Matthew
Stafford who is going to be projected to be the
number one pick in the NFL draft. And this guy
has already played thirteen games, and he's looking at the

(24:28):
potential of four more games a seventeen game schedule, and
he says, you know what, I wish you guys all
the best. And then all of a sudden, you get
a domino effect where a lot of quarterbacks are saying,
at the very least, I'm gonna have to play three
more games here potentially or four more games. Yeah, I'm

(24:49):
not gonna do that, not if I'm projected to be
a top ten pick in the Up County NFL Draft,
because I'm not gonna take that risk. So all of
a sudden, you go into the playoff and you've lost
a bunch of year mark keep players, quarterbacks, running backs,
offensive lineman, defensive players who simply say, oh, by the way,
I'm not getting compensated for all these extra games you're
asking me to play, So I'm just not gonna play

(25:11):
those games. And that could be a disaster for a
college football playoff if you robbed the playoff of I
don't know all the top players who opt out because
they're going into the NFL draft. Your thoughts, you used Georgia.
It can happen this year with j D. Daniels we're
talking about is possibly being one of the top quarterbacks, right,

(25:32):
you know, he's he's putting a full body of work.
You lose a close game to Bamah, I don't can
they play? Yeah, they play bamac champion the game and
then and then you just say, hey, you know what
I've had in my career, and don't we saw last
year by the way that for the most part, opt
outs did not hurt these top guys. Didn't hurt other
guys surely, but didn't hurt the top guys. Did not
hurt the top games or if you can play, you

(25:52):
can play. You don't need those for extra games. And
how many games did Jamaar Chase play last year at
l s U. Yeah, pen A sewell Zy later and
they were seven and a half guys because one guy
someone played half a season. It was like seven and
a half guys draft the first round who didn't play
last year. Um, you're exactly right, You're a hundred percent
right on this. We're gonna see guys sitting out. Even
people have said, well the playoff because it's gonna Yeah,

(26:14):
they're gonna say out guys because they know they're worth
and we're not getting We're not closer the system to
pay the players native and likeness will take hold fairly soon.
And I hope the players can see money, more money
from being in a playoff and being you know, being
exposed possibly to more opportunities like that. Um, but if
we're gonna have a playoff that's bitted out to all

(26:36):
the networks, and they're gonna make billions of dollars. The
players gotta see some of it, Steve, they see some
of it. If you're gonna play four extra games, you
guys might. Now I'm not saying they're I don't know
how you with. I don't know how you pull it off.
But name and the likeness I think will will help.
One thing too, that that I want to push back
on sort of as you did with the players, and

(26:56):
people think, oh, they're gonna play now, is the idea
of exposure? Right? People say, well, this will help the
pactolve conference. Who I cover for a living. I'm you know,
I'm an organ guy. You're brewing like you. We follow
the conference. They're gonna get more recruits now because of
this slow down there. We have to win these games. Okay,
no one's gonna come to Oregon because we're in the playoff.

(27:17):
They'll come to Organ if we win three playoff games, right,
they'll come to Organ. If we beat Ohio State in
week two, they'll go to u C. L A. They
beat ls U in week one, they recruits exposure. Now,
you you guys, I can look up any recruit on
huddle right now from the twelve year on the highlight film. Okay,
like I can see their film, I know who they are.
Exposure is not a thing anymore. Right, you're on all

(27:37):
these networks, you're on social media. No one needs exposure, right,
What they need to want to go to your place.
If you're a top level recruit, the chance to win
a title, right, And yes, getting into a playoff can
help that, but a twelve team playoff is not helping that.
Maybe eight team playoff helps that, maybe six team playoff
helps that, but a twelve team playoff doesn't help anyone

(27:57):
out rest recruit any more kids unless unless you win
those games, right, unless you win those games. So you know,
this year, if if Oregon, Washington, USC, Arizona State, whoever
it is, it's in the playoff and they win a game,
or let's say you know both Pac twell teams win
a game. That's how you get recruits in there. And
you can argue, well, they won't have those games went

(28:18):
without a playoff, fair enough, But guess what we have.
You know, we've had the Rose Bowl. Like you know,
that's a pretty important game, at least for people out west.
It is um And by the way, Steve, are are
you accepting the Rose Bowls. Like the Rose Bowls done well.
The Rose Bowl is done the way I grew up
with the Rose Bowl. I mean, I mean that is
long past, but but I mean, like the idea of

(28:40):
like the Rose Bowl is never gonna be a big,
big ten pack twelve anymore. No, And there was a
magic to that back in the day. And remember their
resistance and joining the BCS until they could actually and
then USC Texas happened. Everyone's like that, that's fine. Well
I went to the first BCS championship game at the
Rose Bowl. It wasn't that game. It was four years

(29:00):
earlier when that Miami super team blew out in Nebraska
and Eric Eric Crouch I was at that game. Look
Like I said, I always like more college football, but
I see a lot of potential headaches. I want to
also go from a player's standpoint here, Let's say, okay,
let's say you're not an elite quarterback. Okay, but you
are a guy that your alignment or somebody that thinks, hey,

(29:22):
maybe I have an opportunity to expand my game and
play at the next level in the NFL. And let's
say you go to Alabama and you're a four year starter.
I'm looking at the schedule here. If Alabama were to
get the four straight championship games where you're playing like
sixty four games in a four year career of college,
is that a problem? Is that too much for a

(29:44):
college level player? I know you got youth on your side,
but how much wear and tear are we talking about?
I'm trying, like, I mean, there's always the knock Obama players, right,
they come in the NFL and a little beat up. Right,
you play so many games like lineman at defensive lineman
who kind of face old because they were I mean,
it's not it's not hard to find sixteen games too
much for a college kid. Okay, so the physically no, right,

(30:12):
physically not really, they're young enough they were cover fine.
But everything else right, Mentally, they're still in college, right,
they still have college courses to take. They're still going
out as much as you might laugh, because that's not
why they're there. They still have to go to class, right,
They still have to to do the homework. You know.
They also want to have social lives. Like when I'm
in the NFL, I have a wife, I have kids, Like,

(30:32):
I don't need to have social life anymore. But in college,
you know, they're not they're not married, they don't have kids.
They want to have a social life, so they want
have a social life. School sixteen games, that a spring ball,
which spring ball probably it's not gonna be very much
anymore if you if you make it all that way,
I mean even you know, even the NFL, if you
win the Super Bowl, your spring practice is very taper down.

(30:52):
Um you know, so yeah, I mean it's it's from
a mental standpoint for the players, it's gonna be much tougher,
and it's gonna be much tough for again if you
don't have a chance to win. And the thing about it, guys,
is that, well you might think that UCF has a
chance to win the title, the players know they're not
gonna win the title. They might win a game, they

(31:13):
think they could beat whoever they're playing around one, but
deep down they know they're not gonna beat you know,
let's just use organ and beat Organ and then beat
comes in and then beat a Hasta may beat Alabama.
I go back, I go back. I was at that
Boyse State game. I was there when they beat Oklahoma
in that Fiesta Bowl. Wasn't a great Oklahoma team. It
was an unbelievable game. The reason I was there is

(31:35):
one of the boys, the state players was a friend
of ours. I've known him since he was eight years old.
His family was in Trench. We told him, hey, if
you guys get to the Fiesta Ball, I'm gonna pack
out the wagon bring the kids. Were all going to
go to the game. We saw one of the most
memorable games in college football history. But I remember after
that game because boys, you know, it was thirteen and oh,
you know, they want to take on the big boys.
And I'm thinking, what if you had had a playoff?

(31:56):
Now this is before there was a playoff, obviously, and
the next game they get blown out like to ten
by you know, Alabama or something like that. Would that
take away from that win? And everyone's like, of course
it would, because that wind stands alone. That's how their
season ended. And any argument about, you know, any legitimate

(32:18):
claim to a national championship because they finished the season
undefeated just goes into perpetuity. But if the next week
they had had to play in Alabama and get crushed,
then who remembers that game? Right? Certainly not the same
way we remember that game now. So I'm with you
on this. If you're talking about a group of five
school out of the A C or the MAC or
the Mountain West, whoever you know, and they do pull

(32:41):
some miracle upset and then get pounded in the next game,
the impact of the upset is gonna be much diminished,
no question. And look, and there's no there's no doubt
that Boys State beating Oklahoma, Utah being Alabama, those are
great wins for the program and and it elevated their
program and it did wonderful things for the program. So

(33:03):
your point about if you win that game then lose
the next one, that's very much diminished, right, Like I
think that if the group of five were taking truth
sir um, they're glad. They're glad they're in the playoff.
But to your points to I think they'd rather have
a one off, right, Like like UCF they beat Alburn
right a couple of years ago, that game, if it
was a playoff game, I bet to Auburn kind of
shows up to that game a little bit better. But

(33:25):
but you know, if they, to your point, they beat
Auburn and then loses the Ohio State next, it's like
it's not the same, right, It doesn't give him as
much juice. So I'm I'm with you again. We'll watch
all the games they're gonna be. ESPN right now is
paying seven forty million dollars for seven games? Right No,
for it's three games for three games. But you know

(33:47):
they have they actually have like all the ball games,
like thirty five of like thirty seven games. But nonetheless
they're playing all that money for the playoff. Imagine now
how much money they're gonna get. Your Fox will have
four games. You also have four games ESPN, four games, NBC.
If Notre Dame is playing, maybe they get the opportunity
to do a Notre Dame playoff game. Um, it's there's
just gonna be so much money involved here, then it's

(34:10):
gonna look even kind of grosser the players not seeing
any of this money. It's your point, how do you
do that? I don't know that smart. They're gonna try
and figure it out to go from three games to
eleven games. That's what we're talking about. And if there's
a way to get there and make all that money,
you be surprised how many people are gonna jump on
that bandwagon. On the other side, I want to get

(34:30):
to an NFL coach scolding the media. Not a good idea.
You hear about it? Coming up next, Steve Harbin and
Jeff Schwartz. All right, Jeff, I gotta play this sound bite.
This is unbelievable. Sean McVeigh, the coach of the Rams,
had made a comment about how excited he was, like,

(34:52):
I am just out of my mind excited with my
new quarterback, and immediately there was this you know, backlass saying,
of course you're excited because you no longer have Jared
Goffer is your quarterback. Right. Let's let's let's be clear
about this that when you made that trade with Detroit
and gave up two number ones in a third, you

(35:15):
didn't give up two number ones and a third to
get Matthew Stafford. You may have given up a one
in a three for Stafford, but that other one you
gave up was to get rid of Jared Goff and
his contract. This is Sean McVeigh lashing out at the
media for twisting his words. I hate that I even
have to say this, but I think I made a

(35:36):
comment earlier that was definitely taken out of context. I
am very excited. I have been in a good mood
because of the confidence I have in this team. But
by no means is that a slight to anybody like
Jared who has done a phenomenal job for the last
four years. Here here, here's the irony in all of
this is that the reason Golf got that huge contract

(35:56):
a year early over market value Sean McVeigh, he was champion,
Jared Goff is the future, he is going to be
the guy, and so a year early they overpaid him,
and then two years later he can't get rid of
him quick enough because he's undone the genius of his offense.

(36:18):
So when you when you lash out the media like that,
when they had every reason to say what they said,
because he was basically saying, we are so much better
with Matthew Stafford at quarterback. I love that nowadays when
you say something that um you know is used against

(36:38):
you right of your own words, that now you just
blame the media for it. When people, when you know
you said it, heard you say it, We know what
context you said it, and we're not stupid, we didn't
take it out of context. You got caught saying something
you regret saying, you have to own it. You can
just blame the media for that. Of course he's happy.
He wants Staffords here because they traded Jared Goff, like

(37:01):
they didn't trade him without Sean mcveigh's blessing. They wanted
to get a new quarterback who was not Jared Goff.
They went and got that quarterback. It's Matt Stafford. Of
course he's excited to to you know, to uh to
uh to work with with Stafford um and it seemed
like they didn't like Jared Goff. Jared Goff was benched
in the playoffs. Guys, he was healthy to play. He

(37:22):
was benched, right, the relationship was over between him and
Sean McVeigh. So of course Sean McVeigh feels this way
that no one was twisted anything. And look, Jared Goff
is a big boy man. Any criticism that that that
you throw his way, anything you say about how happy
you are to have a new guy. And there's plenty
of of of of you know, fun nuggets coming out

(37:43):
of while San Angelos. By the way, they were not
thirty thousand fans at their mini camp do today with
people were were claiming that they saw tweets in the
thirty thousand fans in Los Angeles like the same Los
Angeles that I know pretty well. They're not getting thirty
thousand fans and mini camp practice. Um, it's okay, jerk,
And Jared Goff will be fine too. He's an adult.

(38:04):
He understands the business. You don't have to worry about
his feelings. And he's got caught say something that he
regrets saying. It's not the media's fault, No, it just
it was comical. I will put it this though, for
for Sean McVeigh and and either way, I had an
opportunity to interview Sean McVeigh right after he was hired
by the Rams, and you remember Jared Goff was coming

(38:26):
off a disastrous rookie season where he just looks so overwhelmed. Yeah,
questions like could this guy go down as the worst
first overall pick of a lout of time? And I
remember sitting down with Sean McVeigh saying, all right, first
things first, what are you gonna do with Jared Goff?
And he goes, we have got to do a complete
reset on this guy. And they did. I mean what

(38:46):
they did to Jared Goff from year one a year
two is one of the greatest coaching jobs I have
ever seen in the history of the NFL pertaining a
coach to a quarterback, and they built on it a
year later, going next level to get to the super Bowl.
But the idea that the reason that this offense has
suddenly gone sideways on the rams is all because of
Jared Goff, I think that that is ridiculous. That's exactly

(39:12):
the point. I'd tell you, what, if you're Sean McVeigh,
you better hope that you're gonna see a much better
offense this year, uh with Matthew Stafford, because the only
reason they were in the playoffs a year ago was
that defense. That is the only reason they were there.
Sent Look, Jared Goff is a player that benefited a
lot from you know, kind of these system right, kind

(39:33):
of limited and we're seeing now that you know, these
these high trade guys, whether their film is good or
not in college, end up being the better pros. Right,
Jared Goff is not a high trade guy, right, compared
to Pat Mahomes, for example. Um so yeah, it's uh again,
I'm not surprised golf as excited to assume McVey is
excited to have a new quarterback because obviously, um, you know,

(39:57):
the relationship is up. But just just on the quote, man,
you Yeah, it's going to play out that way. But anyway,
I Sean McVeigh feeling it and coming after the media,
which is never a good thing. All right, On the
other side, we are going to get to you all
set on the one NBA playoff game today, Clippers taken
on the Jazz. Can the Clippers get back in the series?

(40:19):
Can they repeat what they did down to oh against
the Dallas Mavericks. We're gonna break it all down coming
up next. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the I Heart
Radio app search f s R to listen live. Hey,

(40:40):
I'm Doug gottlie The podcast is called All Ball. We
usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more
about the stories about what made these people love their
sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We
talked to coaches, we talked to players, We tell you stories.
You download it, you listen to it. I think you
like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug gottlieb on

(41:03):
the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
get your podcast. Yeah, rolling on once again on a
beautiful Saturday, Hartmann and Schwartz. Question, is your dad's razor
older than you are? Get him something new for Father's
Day at d s C six plade razors perfect for

(41:24):
an extra closed, precise shave. Get one now to store
near you as part of a gift set at Dollar
Shave Club dot com slash jonas. That's Dollar Shave Club
dot com slash jonas. Is that right? You mean our Jonas?
Is that what this is all about? Am I am?

(41:46):
I reading this right here? I'm I asking, if I'm
asking Mr Mully, you gotta see Lee's hair. There's very
few guys you have pulled this off. But back in
I was getting my haircoat yesterday, and and next to
me the barbershop was a high school kid getting a
mollet and all his friends were there and they were

(42:08):
all giggling and laughing, and the barber was like, yeah,
mollets are back in now. Well, Lee's got great hair
and he can do anything he wants with it. But
the question is why the mullet? Did you? Have you
ever had a true mullet like you have right now?
Y Oh, I've done this two or three times now,
really when's the last time you had a full blown mullet?
Probably uh, college days or high school. I was gonna say,

(42:29):
so what happened here? Did was this suggested to you?
Or you marched in and said, give me the mullet.
I said, give me the Gardner Mitshew Platinum Power Pelts. Wow,
it's uh, it's it's fantastic. I gotta get a new
photos for my driver's license, so I'm gonna rock this
for a few weeks until I get it. Wow. Have
you ever had a mullet, Jeff? Anything like that? No?
But I had hair down to my shoulders fight two years. Wow,

(42:52):
my senior year in college and my first year in
the NFL. Have you ever seen my You seen my combine? Picture? Is?
It's my hair's like flow. It's a beat of a picture.
I will share with you guys as obviously a radio medium.
But um, dude, I yeah, I rocked the long hair.
We grew out as an offensive line in college and
they I had an NFL too. Um yeah. The Panther's

(43:15):
owner at the time, Mr. Richardson, did he did not
like people with long hair, though it's not why I
cut it. But not a big fan of the lock.
I saw him the first If you, if you had
been a first round pick, you might have kept it, right,
is what you're saying. No, if I had been a
first round pick, I probably would have to cut it
like I like, No, I kept so when I cut
my hair, I planned to cut it at the end
of my rookie season because it's annoying, like brushing every day.

(43:39):
It's just it's it got too much, especially here in
the South it's so hot in the summer, like my
poor growth or long hair. Just so, I'm looking at
your photo here in your Duck's uniform. Yeah, I can
see that. Yeah, so it was it was super so
um yeah. So and I cut my hair and guy
Jeff in this photo I'm looking at I know now
in the duck green and great uniforms. And so when

(44:02):
Mitchell Richardson saw me the next preseason, so it's August
to my second year, you didn't say a word to me.
Is a rookie at all. The first thing he said
to me, ever, was it was not nice haircut, Jeff.
It's just like the first thing ever said to me.
I'm actually looking at a photo of you again with
the longer hair lane down on the treatment table table.
That's two six and so my back was messed up.

(44:24):
Um not, that's not as long as it got though.
Here's another picture. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good, good, good
good good. Less as they said. So the mullets back
in the look full. But you but you gotta have
the hair to pull it off. Yeah, and he's got that.
He can do that anything. But I mean, I feel
like that's like a it's like a baseball thing. What
cross players do it? Now? I watch a lot of

(44:47):
college baseball this time, Ye're not as much during season.
Every college baseball player looks exactly the same, exactly the same,
flat build, hat, either long hair or short hair mustache.
The starter kit is a foot is a foot thing
and elbow sleeve like like you know, like the Barry
Bond's elbow brace EVO shield on their thing. Like you

(45:09):
cannot play college baseball unless you have an elbow protector,
an ankle shin foot protector of admit to put on
your hand when you're you know, kind of run the
basis because having forbid, we slide feet first anymore. And
um but I love it anyways, I love baseball. Yeah, well,
they don't know how to slide. They're gonna break their
ankle the way these guys do not know how to

(45:30):
slide feast first into a base. All Right, we gotta
we gotta get some NBA basketball. We've been very busy,
a lot of great things to talk about over a
very short amount of time. We have one NBA playoff game,
and that is Game three of the series between the
Clippers and the Jazz. Now, remember, the Clippers are coming
off in what I believe, having followed Clipper basketball back

(45:50):
to their origins in Buffalo as the Braves, was their
most impressive playoff series victory. You lose the first two
game games at home, you're down thirty two eleven in
Game three on the road, you come back to win
that game, and you come back to win the series
in seven games. That's the kind of character we have

(46:12):
rarely seen from this Clipper team over there many years.
But I knew one thing. The Utah Jazz were a
heck of a better team than the Dallas Mavericks. But
the difference here is instead of losing two at home
to open this series, they lost two on the road,
which in a lot of people say, look, in the
best of seven series, the series doesn't really get started
until a road team wins. So when you look at

(46:34):
this series right now, A, do you believe the Clippers
can still come back when four of the next five
games and win this series? And if they pull that off,
how is it gonna happen? I mean, can they do it? Yes?
Will they do it? I don't know? Um Again, like
the lack of of leadership, vocal, visible leadership at the

(46:59):
very top is they just missed that, right, Like they
missed the guy the kick him in the butt during
the game, Like Kauai is not that guy. Paul George
is not that guy. They don't You need your superstars
in the n b A two because they're so important, right,
you only have five guys in the court at one time.
They need to be vocal leaders, right. It's it's very

(47:21):
rare to see successful NBA teams with superstars but don't
have vocal Look what Chris Paul is doing with the Sons, right,
Like you need those guys and the Clippers just don't
have that. So they don't have a set rotation, right,
they keep they have like the there's like thirty different
rotations so far in the first two games. They're just
a mess. But but if it clicks, they're hard to

(47:46):
be because they have Kauai and Paul George. And if
they can find a way to slow down Mitchell, which
is gonna be tough to do. Maybe if you put
Paul George over there, but I'm not sure George physically
matches up well with with Mitchell. Um or you just
say this, or you do this, you say Donvan Mitchell,
you get yours and no one else gets any right,
which is what we've seen from time to time as
a defensive strategy. That being said, though, I've been in

(48:08):
the Clippers night. They're getting no love um, but the
line keeps moving in their direction, so so there's some
sharp money coming in on them. I do think they
win tonight. I think they win big tonight, and you know,
the series kind of you know, it doesn't even out
to be two to one, but we feel better about
the Clippers being the Jazz. Yeah. I'm looking at a
couple of things in this series right now, and the

(48:30):
two main players for these teams Donovan Mitchell and Kawai Leonard.
And obviously Mitchell has been the standout so far. In fact,
he is averaging in these two playoffs series better than
a point a minute. And I always say this when
I want. When I watch a single guy go off
like that game after game, I go old school basketball, like,

(48:52):
there's no way I'm putting him down. I'm not letting
one guy beat me. And when I mean putting him down,
I mean we're going to get physical if he if
he is, I mean I'm going old school on this guy,
putting him down. He's not going to get his points

(49:13):
unless he's gonna feel a little bit of pain. I've
said that for years with Steph Curry, right, like why
does anyone hit this guy in the lane? Boom? But
that's not what the NBA is now. So I've gone
over there. You go old school for me. Please see
if you do that, you are suspended, Like it's not
just a thing of like, okay, we give you a
flagrant one. All right, So spend one of my lesser players.

(49:33):
I'm putting him down. I Am not gonna Sae get off.
Shot after shot. You're thinking like Luke Nard, who barely plays,
it's gonna have him just just demolish Mitchell. How would
you be upset if he got hurt. I'm just I'm
just saying I need him to I need to come
out of his rhythm. I mean when I'm watching Donovan

(49:53):
Mitchell any one of these other shooters and they're just
lining up their shots, and when you talk about out
Will Garden, wherever they are, they're out. When they're in
the rhythm, they're knocking these down like it's a layup. Man.
I have got to put some kind of fear factor
in the mind of Donovan Mitchell. I mean, this is
old school stuff, but I'm not letting one guy beat me, okay.

(50:17):
And then on the other side, Kawhi Leonard. It's amazing
how people seem to always be jumping on and off
the Kawai Leonard bandwagon. Have you not figured out what
Kauai is all about? Folks? If you haven't figured this
out yet, you haven't been paying attention. Kauai Leonard will
step up when he needs to step up. Not in

(50:38):
the first two games in Utah, where he played reasonably
well but not great, obviously, But we saw this in
the Dallas series, right We saw it in game six
year down three games to two, and who came up
monster big in the fourth quarter of that game is
Kawai Leonard. That's how this guy operates. He's different than
everybody else. He does in march of the same tune

(50:59):
as your normal superstar. He doesn't care about any of that.
But if you look over the course of his career
and when he has come up big, where suddenly we
have the conversation as wow, is he one of the
best players in the league. Ultimately it happens when his
team has to win and they're not there yet. That's
not great though, well and maybe it's not great, but

(51:21):
he doesn't care. Oates, I doesn't care. But we talk
about Kauai in this I don't want to say mythical,
but like we talked about him, where we we give
him a pass for for what you said, right, just
like not showing up for two games. Now, he played
well in game one, Game two we had twenty one,
he had twenty one, he had Paul Goorge and and

(51:42):
Jackson had twenty nine points um. But we kind of
give a pass for that, right, where we don't give
other superstars Lebron James a pass for having a down
game and you know it's not a must win game,
but now the couples have to win four or five
and you're right tonight, Kaua probably has a huge nights.
That's why I like the Clippers. Um, but I'm not

(52:03):
sure that's great. And this is kind of my point
with the Clippers, right, your leader is Kawhi Leonard, right,
the best playing your team is off and your leader
not always, not always, especially if a younger team. Right,
the older guy might be the leaders, not the best
playing your team. But for a guy for you to
follow a guy who's like, I don't know, just like
it's not that important if we win or lose, I'm
not gonna give it my all tonight, I'm like, I'm

(52:24):
accusing him of lack of effort, but just doesn't play
as well, right, I mean he only took that he
took seventeen field goals. I mean like, but but that's
why the Clippers are in the spot they're in, right,
because if Kawai said, you know what, we're gonna win
game two, like like I play game six against Dallas,
did they would did win four or five games that
gentleman sweep. But doesn't do that. So this is what

(52:44):
lear in this spots why you can't my opinion, I
don't argue this on this show, but like I think
Kawai Shi opt out and go play for the Lakers.
Let let Lebron do all the leadership stuff all right again?
If you don't know, Yes, Kawahi Leonard is an opt out.
He's where he said he's going to opt out of
his player option. He can obviously resign with the Clippers

(53:05):
for more money than anyone else can pay him. But
could he go elsewhere if they flame out in this series?
I got more on this series. I also have more
on the other series going on in the Western Conference
and a strategy by a head coach that looked like
it backfired. Coming up next. Don is on the board today,
and like, we never get to see Don here? Don,

(53:29):
how did you end up hanging out with us this weekend?
How did how this happened for you? Today? Um? I
was filling I'm filling in tomorrow for Sam and for
whatever reason, Here's just asked me to cover this morning
shift instead of instead of my normal afternoon shift. This
is unbelieable for your right So you know, new experience.

(53:49):
I like it. I appreciate it. So you're gonna be
here tomorrow? Two? Is that the deal? Uh? Yes? But
we'll be here tomorrow in the afternoon, oh in the afternoon.
All right, well wow, I mean, do you have the
great Don Brown in the house? Is It's unbelievable, Like
we never get to see done. You know, there's certain
faces we never get to see. Everyone just assumes, you
know how it is, Jeff, you you all work for
the same It's like my TV people, Like there are

(54:10):
people that I've worked at the same TV, this TV
station for over a decade that I haven't seen like
seven or eight years. Like they worked the morning chef,
I worked the nights. You'll assume they're all hanging out
with each other, and it's like it's not the case.
By the way, Um, you know, the Clippers are at
home today against the Jazz. And if you don't know

(54:32):
what's going on here in the state of California, if
you let outside the state of California, we're not open
for business yet. That will happen on Tuesday. The Clippers
play tonight and they play Monday, and they're gonna be
cardboard cutouts still. So you go to Utah where it's
packed to the brim. You've seen the games and everywhere

(54:54):
all these NBA playoff packed to the brim and the
Clippers will be lane in front of cardboard cutouts with
about seven thousand fans total at Stables Center. Now, let
me ask you this yet again. Everything's supposed to open
up on Tuesday. Couldn't you give the green like, like,

(55:14):
what's gonna change between today and Tuesday? I mean, is
there any way that maybe you can make an exception
where it's the playoffs and maybe the Clippers, instead of
playing in front of cardboard cutouts could actually play in
front of their own fans where if they want to
wear the masks, they can't wear a mask. If they don't,

(55:36):
they don't have to, or they have to show their
vaccination guards. Whatever. Shouldn't there be I mean for the
NBA playoffs, maybe we'll give you a little wiggle room
since we're only days in front of the supposed change
of environment in the state of California. For the Lakers,
they probably would. I mean, it is unbelievable. I mean, look,

(55:58):
I think that we agree that they should do that,
but they're not going to, right, They're not an exception
for sports right now? Um yeah, I mean it's it's
you know, I was in California recently. I'm back here
in North Carolina and yeah, I mean it's it's a
it's a very different Obviously you mentioned Tuesday things supposed
to open back up. Um, yeah, I mean they should.
They're not going to. Uh if I would argue that

(56:21):
they should, Um, I think I think, you know, I
think at this point is a competitive disadvantage Philippers. Of
course it is when everyone else is open but you're not.
I mean, you go and it's I mean, I've been
to games in Salt Lake. That place rocks, and when
you have even when a few people wearing masks and
the sound levels are huge, and you don't think a

(56:41):
guy like Donovan Mitchell gets pumped up when he's taking
his shots, when he's got his crowd behind him. Now
the Clippers go home and they're looking at the whole
lower area with cardboard cutouts. I just it, just it.
I don't want to get political here. I just do
not want to get political. But it has created a
very unfair advantage or disadvantage from certain teams that are

(57:03):
being i think victimized by government officials trying to do
their thing to the detriment of their situation. I want
is that why they didn't win any games? And well
they didn't win games seven, but right now they're one
in three in the postseason play in front of those
cardboard cutouts. We'll see. Maybe they'll win big the next
couple of games and it will be a moot point.

(57:23):
But if they lose, they lose out and the season
ends on Monday, the day before everything is lifted. Hey,
just give me a little more, a few for the fire.
I want to ask you this about words by a coach. Okay,
So the Nuggets are playing Phoenix and the games in Phoenix, right,
and Phoenix wins big in the first game, and they

(57:43):
win even bigger. I mean, they just demolished the Nuggets. Uh.
And remember the Nuggets are down their number two guys,
Jamal Murray's out, So even though they have the league's
m v P, the team is not the same team
they were for the majority of this season. So after
Game two, Michael Malone their coach, and he's been there

(58:04):
six years and he's done a pretty good job with
Denver at least making the Nuggets relevant. He was talking
about with the media after the game and he used
the words we quit, Like this team, my team quit.
We had players that quit. That's the word, the four
letter word quit. He went on to say, I think

(58:27):
I'm gonna be hard pressed to find five guys that
won't quit for the next game. So immediately after he spoke,
of course, the media flocked into the Nuggets locker room
with the question, every player, did you quit? Were you
one of the quitters out there? And of course they're
m v piece. I don't. I didn't see anybody quit.
I know I didn't quit out there. So if the

(58:49):
ideas well, this will fire us up coming home for
game three, well, game three looked a lot like the
other two games. Your m VB came up with a
game and the rest of the team didn't play well.
So I'm gonna ask you again, from a former athletes standpoint,
words like that your quitters. I mean, you can say
anything in a locker room, that's one thing, but when

(59:11):
you put it out there for the media to run
with and then you have to answer questions afterwards. So
were we one of the guys that quit? Did you
quit out there? Is this a good thing to fire
you up? Because it didn't seem to work in Game
three for the Neggets. But from a player's standpoint, how
do you react? To something like that. Well, if guys
actually did quit, then it's an it's a wake up called.

(59:34):
Your coach kind of can feel that, right or your
other kids. But if no one quit, you just got beat.
Then as a coach, your team kind of loses confidence
in your right. So that's a that's an important distinction here, right.
If you again, if you if you did quit, then
then yes, then it then it can fire you up.
But if you if you're playing hard and you just lost,

(59:57):
then it kind of pisces you off. Right, like my
coach and had my back, And you know why is
he's saying all this and Whatnotum, remember Michael Porter Jr.
Called out his team last week and called him soft
and and um, you know that. You know they played
really well at least early in that soft is a
different four letter word than quit. Correct. And so again,

(01:00:18):
if they did not quit, then the players are gonna
look at coach sideways and obviously did not work. Me.
Phoenix is just better than them. It's very clear they are. Um.
And so maybe the coach saw this my last stitch
effort to call the team out, which again, if if
that's what actually happened, then it's fair especially if you've

(01:00:39):
tried to tell him this in private it hasn't worked.
But I've watched the games. I don't think they quit.
I just think they're not as good as Phoenix is. Well,
if I were the owner or a general manager and
my coach says we quit in a playoff game, yeah,
I I can say, hey, we mailed one in during
the regular season, it really didn't matter. But if we

(01:01:00):
have a situation where we have a team that we've
assembled and they're quitting in a playoff game, then I'm
taking a hard look at my head coach. I mean,
there's no way that any team would quit in a
playoff game unless the coach has lost the team. I
mean that would be my impression on the outside looking in.

(01:01:21):
So the first guy I would be calling in is, well,
how did why would this team quit? I mean, you're
coaching the team. Why? I mean, down to player, we're down,
Jamal Murray. We understand we're not as good a team
as the Sons. But if you're telling me the team
quit and you're the coach, how did you let this happen?
Why are they quitting on you? That would be my question.

(01:01:43):
The coach looks at it as this is a way
for him to say, face right, it's not my fault.
It's not my fault the team quick, guys. But again
it's kind of his fault, right, that's not it's not
my fault. Um, back to fire. Right again, the players,
deep down, we're honest with ourselves deep down right now,
we might not publicly, you know, publicly be honest about it.

(01:02:05):
But again, the players know whether they quit or not
in a game or in a season. And so again,
if you call them out for it and they haven't
done it, that everyone looks in the locker room and
they look around the locker room. They're like, what is it?
What is he saying? No, not do anything? This what's
he talking about? And then it turns the attention to
the coach and the rest of the players are questioning,
just like your point about the front officer or owner,

(01:02:27):
they're questioning, why did the coach say this is not true?
Why do you say this? I did? It was It
was stunning to me. I mean, and it wasn't just
like he just let the words slip out. I mean
when he used the word quit, he he doubled down
when he started saying yeah, and I'm gonna have a
hard time finding five guys that you know are not

(01:02:48):
going to quit on me. And I'm just like when
he called out like this whole team, right, he's like
just sitting there after the game, and immediately they're like,
so did you quit? And he got I didn't, he
go I didn't see anybody quit. I know I didn't quit.
And you know, you're putting your m v P in

(01:03:08):
a very uncomfortable by the way, it's amazing. You know,
he gets the m v P award presented to him
last night, and really there's really no argument. He won overwhelming.
I think he got ninety one one votes for the
m v P Award. And then he puts up a thirty.
Only two players had ever done that, Wilt and Kareem

(01:03:29):
in a playoff game. Thirty in a playoff game. That
guy's good. And you know, then there's like some pressure
on getting your award, right like and then and then
go out and playing. He obviously lived up that. Yeah again,
like if no one's quitting, man, everyone in the locker
room was looking around like coach, coach, did he quit
on us? Like is he the guy? So I mean

(01:03:52):
that's there's a lot of concern. I think if you're
the coach and making those comments, if they get swept
out of this series, which is very real, Like you said,
Phene right now is playing on all cylinders. They they've
won six straight games. Suddenly that lost by the Lakers
and the Suns is not looking as bad because the
Sun's just seemed and I saw yesterday book or after
the game just said yeah, we were just clicking at

(01:04:13):
the right time right now. And so suddenly that lost
by the Lakers doesn't look as bad considering they were
down a man with Anthony Davis. Because right now, Phoenix,
they're gonna be a tough out if I mean the
assistant who turnover ratio for Chris Paul is off the charts. Alright.
More on that. Also, we got an update I want

(01:04:34):
to get to on this illegal substance by pitchers. Major
League Baseball is putting their final touches on a memo
that's being released. We got an update on that. But
right now, let's find out what's trending. We welcome back
Mr David Gascon. David, how are you speaking of quitting?
I feel like that's what I was Sam did to
the network in the show. Yeah, what happened here? Do

(01:04:56):
we have any details? What do you think it's worse?
I was Sam quitting on the show or lead the
lab's haircut? Well? Again, the thing about the thing about
Lee's hair is when you have Lee's hair and he's
got a lot of hair and he can do anything
he wants with it, why not Why I asked you
before the show started if your son had that haircut,

(01:05:19):
that's my son, and Lee's not my son. He's kind
of an extension of your family in my oldest son.
My oldest son has done a variety. He's colored his
hair a little bit at times, he's worn it longer, shorter, um.
So he seems to be the one that, Yeah, I
would like to do different things to his hair. I
don't know. I mean, it doesn't bother me. Would I

(01:05:39):
do it? No? I feel like you're dancing Jeff, Jeff.
I mean, Jeff just sent me a photo of him
with his flowing locks from the day and I'm like,
that look good, Jeff. It's a little bit different with
Jeff though Jeff's what six ft five. Because of that,
he can do what he wants pretty much him right us,

(01:06:00):
It's like Dwayne Johnson or something like that. But leave
the lab. I don't know, man, it's just you know,
when you're in North Hollywood, I don't know if you
want to be liking like that. Lay And so, guys,
Major League Baseball Mets to nothing over the Padres right now,
Vladimir Guerrero Junior with a home run. Blue Jays two,
Red Sox nothing, Reds and Rockies are scoreless. Nationals took
game one of a doubleheader, beating the San Francisco Giants

(01:06:22):
to nothing as a score in that one college baseball
scene right now in Mississippi State has taken the lead
over Notre Dame in the bottom of the six eight
seven is accounting that ball game. Vanderbilt going back to Omah,
they beat East Carolina four to one. Whether delay right
now between Dallas Baptist in Virginia, Texas Tech and Stanford
going at the cardinal lead right now three nothing, that's
in the bottom of the fourth inning. And as you

(01:06:44):
guys mentioned, Clippers and Jazz letter on tonight from l A.
All right, David, thank you very very much. That was
a nice photio sent me there. Jeff, yeah, yeah, yeah, see,
but did you have product in your hair or you
just calmed it out. What did I mean? I mean
I watched it every night and whatnot. But uh not, no,

(01:07:05):
not there's no product in that picture, just probably overnight Greece.
Did you wash your hair as much in those days?
Less more every day? Probably every day? That's good or bad?
That's what I did. Yeah, very good? Alright, well, all
look good? All right. I wanted an updates you here.
Major League Baseball is putting the final touches on the

(01:07:26):
memo that's gonna detail this ruling against foreign substances for
these pictures. We talked about this right at the top
of the show. Want to get back there because it
is a major story, and it says here in the
range of around June twenty one is sort of the
target date when they're gonna order umpires, order umpires to

(01:07:49):
enforce the rule. Now what does this all mean. It's
interesting because the sports powers are saying they don't want
to find any violators of foreign subs and they certainly
don't want to see any suspensions, but they will have
to for some Now. I don't know if you saw this.
MLB network was doing a little and again I don't

(01:08:10):
know exactly how they calculate the spin rate on a baseball.
I'm I don't like they have this down to the
fraction on every single pitch. I don't know exactly how
they do that, but they do. And Garrett Cole over
the last five or six starts as this investigation has
been underway, apparently his spin rate has dropped dramatically in

(01:08:32):
each of his starts. Trevor Bowers and the first starting
after they announced this, we went way down. Yeah, So
the pitchers realize what is at stake here and the
spin rate, if indeed that is I mean, when we're
talking about these numbers, and again I don't know how
to read these numbers, but it's a pretty big, dramatic situation.

(01:08:53):
So obviously they're taking this to heart and the idea
of Major League Baseball pretty much telling if we catch
you ten games suspension, that's no pay two starts for
some of these pictures. That's a lot of money. And
I just where are we going from here? Right? Okay?
And and by the way, how exactly are they going

(01:09:16):
to test when are they gonna take time outs? Because
we're always concerned about the length of these baseball games, right,
And we I saw nine in the game the other
day three hours and forty minutes, nine inning game. There's
nothing about the game that was special other than the
fact it lasted forever. But up to eight times during
the course of a game, one team can be checked

(01:09:38):
out by the umpires. Now do you do this between
innings or do you do it when the action is
actually happening? How are they going to do this? So
here's the concern I would have I was a major
league baseball player if I was like a team that
was facing a picture. Let's use bad for example. It's again,
my picture is probably doing it too. So if I've

(01:10:00):
call out, if I say, hey time Blue, I think
he's using or you have a manager, right Dave Roberts
comes out, Hey Blue? Or I guess I can't use example,
Dave Roberts comes out says, hey Blue, Um, the opposing
pictures using can you check his glove? If they do that,
guess what's gonna happen the very next half inning. The
opposing manager is gonna walk out to the umpires, Hey Blue,

(01:10:21):
can you check on that glove? And that picture is
gonna be tossed too. So what do you what does
baseball want out? Of this, right, they wanted quin quote
out of the game. But if everyone's doing it, do
you want there to be seven objections in a baseball game?
I mean, obviously, after one or two guys get ejected,
they're probably gonna stop doing in that game. But that
we want do we want the headlines for baseball to

(01:10:42):
be that they're objecting pictures every game because they're using stuffs.
There's no, it's definitely not what baseball wants, all right.
In fact, I got a little update on that. So
MLB recognizes that these could be slowed the games down.
So what they're recommending is the umpires and advised thing
to conduct a lot of their business with the pictures

(01:11:03):
as they leave them out after the name during commercial breaks. Essentially,
here's here's the helm able to think about this. So
what they're talking about, this foreign substance rule has been
on the books for years, for decades, it's been on
the books, but there's been sort of this you know,
unspoken agreement over the years, like Okay, we know everyone's
doing it, so we're not going to really enforce it.

(01:11:25):
But now they're talking about any substance other than rosin, which,
by the way, is on is there to be used
because they realize even though they rub up the baseballs
before the game, they're still pretty slick. And when you
have guys throwing as hard as they are, the last
thing in new need is pictures that can't actually grip
the baseball effectively because it could cause bodily harm. But

(01:11:47):
they're gonna test on everything sunscreen, pine tar. Remember that
situation last year with Yatta or Molina where the ball
bouncing his uh chest, chest protector and he threw his
mask off and he's looking every Wherefore the ball couldn't
find it and it was actually stuck to his chest.
I mean, there's another way to get a substance on
the ball. You ball. Let's say balls fouled off right

(01:12:10):
umpire hands to catch her a ball and you throw
it back to the picture. He could have something on
his hands on his body throwing the ball back to
the pictures. So this could be a wild goose chase
trying to figure it out, because you know you're gonna
create new ways of hiding this stuff, right, if you're
still gonna try to get away with it, well, what's
gonna happen is you're gonna have a situation where they're

(01:12:33):
gonna find for a week eight guys who're gonna make
them examples, and they're never gonna hear about it again
because they're gonna say it's fixed, no one's doing anymore,
the problem is fixed, when in fact we know it's
not fixed. But they're gonna say it's fixed because Baseball
doesn't actually want to deal with the problem. They don't.
They don't really want this to be dealt with, right

(01:12:53):
They don't. They don't really don't care in the end um,
But now everyone knows the problem because there was you know,
there's been investigations, were poor worts whatnot about it. They're
gonna go ahead and do the thing what they did steroids. Well, yeah, hey, guys,
look we're trying to do we're trying to fix it
in the end if it's gonna really change, no, And
and you and I are in the same page of this,
and I think the overwhelming majority of people listening right now,

(01:13:17):
I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. I
really don't care. I just want to be entertained. I
want baseball to entertaining. Whatever way you can figure out
to make this sport more entertaining to me, I'm for it.
It doesn't matter how you get there. This is where

(01:13:39):
baseball is right now. They just can't stay out of
their own way. They really can't. It just they all
the trouble to baseball faces is self inflicted and it
always has been with this sport. All right on the
other side, you know what time it is. It is
time for Jeff Schwartz to look into his crystal ball.
It is time for Jeff Schwartz to tell you what

(01:13:59):
is the has to play? Do you have something on
this Clipper Jazz game coming up? Jeff? Oh, okay, what
is the best play for you? How are you gonna
make a little extra You know what you're gonna find
out coming up next, Steve Harvin, Jeff Schwartz. Want to
thank the crew today? How about Don Brown in the
house today? Look at that Don doing it today. Don

(01:14:21):
appreciate you man. Thanks for hanging out with us here
on a Saturday. Always there from Dawn David Gascon of
course is well, he doesn't need any introduction, as you know,
it's legacy is secure. And of course lead a lap
sporting the mullet. He's going to old school and like

(01:14:42):
I said, when you can pull it off, you go
for it. That's all I know. He sent me a
picture of the the hair and is as, Yeah, I mean,
you know, at least got great here so he can
do what he wants, right, He's got the waves and
he go mullet, you know, and he's he's got the
ladies doing for us. And I understand that he's at
that he's at that stage. Do you think you're ever

(01:15:04):
gonna get married, Lee? Or what's what's the just gonna
play it out? What? How old? Do you know? What?
I mean? I've known Lee since he was like like
fifteen years old to feel like, but I'm thirty two,
thirty two, you got lots of years left. You're you're okay?
Probably not with the mullet. But I didn't get married
till I was almost thirty five. How about you, Jeff?
What at what age did you get married at? Um? Well?

(01:15:28):
What am I? What? Am I? Twenty nine? I think nine?
We originally had it like we we were engaged in bro.
I was original apposed to get married to like twenty seven.
Maybe that's young now, isn't it now? Now? Yes? Like
the thing about it was my wife was eleven years
younger than me. Yeah, I mean my parents got married

(01:15:50):
at those days. My mom was nineteen when she got married. Yeah,
those days are gone. I mean I think out of
my friend group, yeah, I was. I mean it's funny
like my my football friends tend to get married a
little bit earlier than my regularly my high school friends
are just friends from childhood got married after I did. Oh, yeah,
I was. I held out. I mean I was, yeah,

(01:16:13):
I was likely. I mean, you know, Lee Is. I
don't want to say he's playing the field because he's
got a good, good, new, nice girlfriend. Right now, rightly,
you're all locked in absolutely, alright, no problems there at
least for now. Alright, So alright, okay, so we only
have this one NBA playoff game today, Clippers trying to
get back in this series against the Jazz. What's the

(01:16:34):
line of the game tonight? What do we got it?
It's there four and a half or five right now,
Clippers are about four or four and a half. And
you say that numbers, client, I'm looking here. I see
five open at three and a half. Yeah, I see
Clippers minus five. In front of the cardboard cutouts at
Staples Center, all right. Well, the Jazz looked pretty dominant

(01:16:55):
in those first couple of games. So which way you're
leaning is at the right or something else? It's the
Clippers minus the I got him a four and a
half this morning. Um, A couple of things here. So, um.
You know when there's ways that people can can tell
the percent of tickets, right, the percent of people betting
on a certain side, but also the percent of money

(01:17:16):
off those tickets, right, So you tybically in general, you
want to kind of fade the public, right. You don't
want to bet with the not all the time. Not
all the time. There are times when it's like, Okay,
Alabama's here by nine, They're gonna win that game by thirteen,
doesn't matter how much the public lights it. I'm taking
Bama football. Here's some fun stats for you, Okay, because
people are now betting the Jazz heavy, right. The Jazz
are have one two in a row. They look pretty good. Um,

(01:17:37):
so thirty seven percent of tickets are on the Clippers,
it says of two hours ago. Since two thousand five
NBA playoff favorites. Right there, they're the favorite, getting less
bets are against the spreads. So they win six out
of ten six at ten times, they cover um. Any
time a spread has moved UM in the direction of
the favorite, right, it went from four or three and

(01:17:59):
a half depending where to now it's out to five UM.
In the same situation under bets, they cover the time
since oh five. And by the way, when we see
a line move that dramatically, I mean, what percentage of
money is coming down on the clips, It's got to
be a huge So it's much important to realize kind
of the idea of like public first. So if if

(01:18:19):
there's not a lot of people betting on the Clippers,
but the line is moving in their direction, that means
big players in Vegas or not to have in Vegas anymore,
are betting on the Clippers and that line is moving
because of their waitress. So you would typly want to
follow those people because you know the sharps they do
make money doing this. Not everyone does, so you want
to follow the people that make the money, right, And

(01:18:41):
so that's why I think the lines movingthing. A lot
of smart people are saying, look, it's your point, right,
Kawhi Leonard back against the wall. We've seen him a
lot of times. Players best games right, Clippers have to
win this game, Jazz, you know, Cohen, the Los Angeles
maybe a little bit let down because of you know,
the crowds is kind of not is there anymore? Um

(01:19:02):
so uh to me? Um? I just think the Clippers
win this game by about ten points tonight. All right, Well,
keep in mind this. There has never ever been a
team down three oh in an NBA playoff series to

(01:19:23):
win an NBA series. It's never happened, right, I mean,
we've seen it in hockey. We remembered in baseball one
time where the Red Sox beat the Yankees. But there
has never been a team down three oh in a
series to come back and win a series. So when

(01:19:44):
you say it's a must win for the Clippers, obviously
if they have designs of winning the series, the answer
is it is a must win, even though technically they're
not eliminated by losing today, but based on history, they are. Yeah.
I don't think that. I don't think that the Clippers
will look at it like that, like oh, that will say, guys,

(01:20:05):
you gotta win us, because if we got on three
or we're not gonna win, right, I mean, everyone believes
they're still gonna win the game. In the end so um,
But for us, we can definitely say that, right, they
gotta win tonight. They gotta win tonight. By the way,
I have a number for your teams. Down oh three
oh in a series? Are all in a hundred forty two?
Oh yeah, oh in a hundred forty two all time
in NBA playoff history. Down three games and none in

(01:20:27):
the best of seven series. So there you go. Yeah,
they gotta win tonight. Alright, So you say, take give
the points three and a four and a five, doesn't matter.
You like the over under two? Two? Uh? Nothing, I
don't have a lean on that one. Yeah you don't.
You play over under much the whole time. I love unders.
Unders are they're not fun to watch. But actually, know what,

(01:20:48):
the under is not bad? Better. I mean, I'm giving
you a number. Right. It seems a little high right
to it opened and it's coming down. I kind of
like that better. You got plenty of time to play this.
You still got several hours before it might get one
and a half before we start going before at the

(01:21:09):
tip we got four more hours. It's a good number
for me, all right, So run with it, folks. There
it is right there, Give the points, take the Cliffs
move on to Game four, which will be coming up Monday,
and in front of those cardboard cutouts they're gonna have
all over Staples Center once again. Jeff, good stuff today
and we'll talk again coming up next Saturday,

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06/12/2021 - FOX Sports Saturday with Steve Hartman and Geoff Schwartz

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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;}06/12/2021 - FOX Sports Saturday with Steve Hartman and Geoff Schwartz