June 27, 2021 • 46 mins
Bernie Fratto is back for your weekend Straight Outta Vegas action with NBA playoff recaps and insight on the changing of the guard! Which NFL team had the worst offseason, more NFL schedule quirks, an update on Las Vegas and MLB, and more!
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(01:46):
You're listening to Fox Sports. Well, as I've said many
times before, sports are the greatest reality show invented, and
you can script everything but the outcome. That's why this
time of year is so much fun. Just look at
how that Son's Clippers game ended. My goodness, you saw
(02:07):
a lot of nerves. Uh. You saw a combination of fatigue,
great defense, shots really not falling Phoenix had thirty six
second half points, still won, no field goals in the
last three minutes and thirty seconds of the game, and
still won by the way the Clippers no field goals
in the last five minutes of the game. No movie
(02:29):
director would have scripted that inning. That's what keeps us watching.
On that note, welcome back to another award winning edition
of Straight Out of Vegas, the weekend adaptation. I'm Bernie Fratto.
We're coming to you live from the Las Vegas Fox
Sports Radio Studios tonight. I'm going to take a closer
look at why I think this year's NBA playoffs have
(02:49):
been particularly interesting and frankly exciting, if somewhat in artful
at times. But as a follow up to last week
when I highlighted the you know, the way some teams
were eliminated and the way some teams survived, We're gonna
talk about a catalyst and what I think we have.
What I've identified is what maybe a predictor is to
(03:10):
who will win this thing. By the way, last week,
I chronicled what I believe the top five NFL teams
who had the best off season in terms of their
effort to create a winner. Tonight, I'm going to chronicle
the top three worst off seasons as the NFL remains
in the conversation after Bruin Finley's update, we'll talk about
the latest stories swirling around Las Vegas, including the Oakland
(03:34):
As Brass coming back July eight for their third visit
in a month. Well, I'm gonna talk about why I
think that maybe a little mious leading uh later in
the show, and we're gonna check in, uh with number
six in our series of fifteen scheduling quirks in the NFL.
As we march march down, we marched toward at NFL
(03:57):
you know, regular season. By the way, I will also
talk about the largest liability that the sports books have
all of a sudden, based on a bet a certain
guy whose name has been in the news more than once,
and this would be the biggest payout in Las Vegas history,
according to William Hill if he cashes. I'll explain. Also,
(04:18):
there's a certain NBA team that's kind of caught the
attention now that the Lakers and and Nets are you know, eliminated.
There's a team now that these Vegas sports books are
just a little nervous about I'll share that, and uh,
not for nothing. We're not far away from the the
the legendary, the famous Westgate UH Contest super contest that
(04:40):
once the physic one back to back years. There's new
changes this year, more chances to win, and they've even
reduced the entry fee. I'm gonna give all those details
and UH and much much more to night. Sports are entertainment.
They're more than that, though, and you know there are
shared experience as such, people want to talk about them.
You've come to the right play. We've got a lot
(05:00):
to talk about tonight. This is straight out of Vegas,
the pregame show you always wanted. And as they say
Joe Mauer in Minnesota, it's gonna be lit, all right.
Which famous NBA player is attributed to the following quote quote.
I've missed more than nine thousand shots in my career,
(05:21):
and I've lost almost three hundred games. Twenty six times.
I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and
indeed I failed over and over and over again. And
in those twenty six times, I missed, and that's why
I succeed. A guy you made heard of. His name
is Michael Jordan's. Look, it's a whole new ball game
(05:45):
this year in the NBA. Right, And I say that
because every day in America, a new star was born
and it's time for a new one to emerge. It's
no longer the Katie Lebron Steph Kauai League. This is
not an aberration. We're moving on. They may win another
championship again, but there's new young Turks. Trey Janice. Gotta
(06:05):
throw Paul George now, Chris Paul has never won? Is
it his turn? Or Devin Booker? Right, That's why I'm
so interested in these playoffs because there are new storylines.
I've seen enough of Lebron. I've seen enough. And for
just a second time since the NBA A B A merger,
and the first time since nine, neither number one seed
(06:27):
made the conference finals. And the four contenders that are
alive have won a combined two championships, and they both
came decades ago. The Milwaukee Bucks won in nineteen seventy
one and the Hawks won a nineteen fifty eight when
they were based in St. Louis. But these teams who
have made it to the conference finals, they deserved it.
(06:51):
Why because they exhibited mental toughness. Look, no further than
mental toughness, because that is what has carried the day
in this tournament that has become a different brand of basketball.
It is now officially a war of attrition. Look no
further than mental toughness. That's what's carrying today and it
(07:11):
always has for great athletes and teams who find a
way to make the jump to the next level. The
mental mindset is more powerful than anything else that you'll
bring to the floor of the court of the ice
human beings. You can't quantify mental toughness, but you can
recognize it. I golfing great Arnold Palmer once said, quote,
(07:35):
my father always said to me, remember, whatever game you play,
success is from the shoulders up famed, you know. NFL
football coach Vince Lombardi used to say, quote, mental toughness
is essential to success. You've got to be mentally tough.
Mental toughness is many things and difficult to explain because
it's qualities are born of sacrifice and self denial. Also,
(07:59):
most importantly, it's combined with perfectly disciplined will that refuses
to give in. It's a state of mind. You call
it character and action. I think Lombardi knows a thing
or two about mental toughness. Quote, champions are made in
the gym. According to Muhammad Ali, champions are made from
something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream
(08:21):
of vision. Everybody's got the skill, and some have the will,
but the will must be stronger than the skill. By
the way, after Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl
champions championship, he was asked what makes him or his
team so special. His answers simple mental toughness. Now, psychologists
(08:42):
have defined mental toughness that for athletes is quote having
the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to
generally culte better than your opponents with the many demands
that competition, training lifestyle that a sport places on a performer. Specifically,
can you be more consistent and better with your opponents?
(09:03):
Are better than your opponents? Excuse me in remaining determined
and focused and confident and keeping under control when pressure erupts.
Pressure brings fear. Fear is totally mental pictures of what
you don't want to happen. How do you block that out? Perform?
(09:23):
Now you know the trend here. Most people attribute mental
toughness to just eleade athletes. I just I disagree, being
Mentally tough can apply to anyone in any profession, and
it's been defined as a measure of individual resilience and
confidence that predicts success and not only sports, but education
and even in the workplace. Mental toughness is keeping everything
(09:43):
together when everyone expects you to fall apart. Mental toughness
grows in the moments when you think you can't go on,
but you keep going anyway as anybody can give up.
But to hold it together when everyone else would understand
if you just fell apart, that is true mental toughness. Now,
mental toughness comes into play when the going gets the
(10:07):
most toughness, and achievements certainly are far more rewarding when
you have to really work hard and grind for something right.
John Wooden once said, pressure causes some people to break
others to break records. So I've boiled it down to
three players that are remaining in this tournament, and of
these three, the one that can display the most mental
(10:29):
toughness and have that permeate across his entire roster, they're
going to be the ones to win the Lawrence of
Bran Trophy. By the way, the updated odds bucks are
plus one ten. Basically even money to win the whole Enchilada.
The Sons are plus one fifteen, the Hawks Atlanta Hawks
twelve to one. The Clippers are now twenty to one.
(10:50):
These are updated odds after tonight's result between the Sons
and the Clippers. But look no further than these three players.
Yes there's skill, field are clever, but their game is
rooted in mental toughness. Give it up to Chris Paul
before this series, and remember he missed the first two
games of this series and his team managed to win
(11:13):
both of them. He's averaging twenty six points a game.
He's shooting six from the field from the line. By
the way, I think he's now made about thirty five
free throws in a row. He's averaging tennisis per game. Um,
he's chipping in five rebounds a game. He's still getting
steals and these are frankly absurdain numbers, especially when you
(11:34):
consider the intensity level that comes in a postseason series.
Chris Paul has frankly taken over some games from the
mid Rage and he basically torched Denver's defense inside outside.
He created some very uncomfortable binds for their defense. They
adjusted in the Denver series and they couldn't seem to
(11:56):
make adjustments to stop Chris Paul. He himself made more
mid rate jumpers twenty two of them than the entire
Nuggets team fifteen. Why don't I bring Denver up because
that series is over now. Granted, I understand the Clippers
are down three to one, but it's not over yet.
So I've got a deal with the here and the now.
(12:18):
But in the closeout game against Denver, Chris Paul had
thirty seven points, and he had twenty seven points in
the game before that. And he was also spectacular because
in Game two, which was a huge game, he had
not only fifteen assists, he had zero turnovers. Moreover, if
you've observed Chris Paul in these playoffs, he's been the
absolute picture of poise. This is a guy who's never won,
(12:42):
and he's had a lot of pressure. And there was
always a perception that Paul was just coming to the
Suns to be a mentor. No, he's basically put the
team on his back and he's met everybody else around him. Yes,
he has set a tone of professionalism and culture, and
I think he's helped to enhance the performance of a
young team who had one eight to their own the
bubble last year. But he showed just in the Denver
(13:05):
series alone that he's at a different level mental toughness.
I think Chris Chris Paul has it in spades, and
there's just there's just no question, there's no adjustment. He
hasn't been able to dissolve, and he's the safety net
that the Sons have needed, particularly in the second half
and at the end of games when it matters most.
He made some clutch free throws. He's made Phoenix the
(13:28):
favorite right next to the Bucks. You cannot you cannot
have this conversation without mentioning Trey Young. He has showed
a competitive stamina and a will to win and unlimited energy.
And you know, in case you missed it, Trey Young
has now become a bona fide closer. And in the series,
you know, in all the playoff games in Atlanta in
(13:50):
which Atlanta has been uh, the games have been decided
by five points or fewer. Young has been key down
the stretch and every one of them. And know when
the NBA talks about clutch situations with final five minutes
to go to score within five points, this is when
he's been at his best. And head again again. The
series isn't over yet. They're just they're just you know,
(14:11):
getting going Milwaukee Atlanta. Atlanta is a four point home
dog tomorrow, kind of like him. But Trey Young's average
twenty nine points a game. His field goal percentage has
been about He's thirty from behind the arc, tennessist, he'll rebound,
he'll steal. Had a rough game, laugh time out. But
this is a kid who's incredibly mentally tough, and he's
(14:32):
defied the scouts who said that he wasn't big enough,
he was questionable on defense. We don't know how durable
he'd be. He's playing tons of minutes. He creates his
own shot off the bounce. Trey Young has been incredible
and he's created matchup nightmares for the teams that he's faced.
The third person in the conversation, you have to mention honest,
(14:55):
I get it. The jury is still out basically on
the honest for many folks, including me. But I want
to maintain some objectivity and give credit where credits due. Jann,
it's you know, at the conclusion around two again, his
stats have been superb thirty two points a game, shooting
almost fifty from the field, he only shoot from behind
(15:17):
the arc. For the life of me, I don't know
why he insists on shooting three pointers still with this shout,
you know, four assists the game, but he's rebounding as
well to the two of thirteen. He'll even block a
shot now and then. This is an opportunity for Joannice
to finally silence his critics. Will he be been only
tough to do it? I'm not tough enough to do
(15:38):
it now with mill with Milwaukee's backs against the wall
after falling down three to two to Brooklyn in the
wake of durance incredibly iconic Game five, forty nine point
game which seems like I guess eons ago. Now, remember
all Antenna Coopo did that night was go for thirty
points and seventeen rebounds, and he led the Bucks to
(15:58):
the win in Game six, and then go for forty points,
thirteen rebounds, five assists and played fifty minutes in Game seven,
including scoring over Durrant to tie the game with about
a minute ago in overtime. So we've got to give
credit where credits due in retrospect, when when be honest,
the Greek freak was aggressive and an attack mode as
(16:20):
he was in Game six and seven. The Brooklyn Nets
had no answer for him, and in those moments he proved,
at least in spots he could be unstoppable, you know, which,
you know which makes his occasional pensiant for insisting man
shooting a little three point jumpers all the more maddening.
Be Honest is most effective when he attacks, and he
(16:40):
was an attack mode at the right moments against Brooklyn.
But again, it's back to mental toughness. How do you
respond after failure? How will Trey Young look tomorrow if
he gets off to a rough start, How will Chris
Paul fair in a closeout game or Devin Booker for
that much, I should give him honorable mention here? And
how will Honest due tomorrow as the Bucks have a
(17:02):
chance to take the lead in the series and win
a road game. Back to Michael Jordan's, remember they don't
all go in. Just ask Michael Jordan's he knows the
thing about winning championships, and a lot of times it's
not what happens, it's how you react, and it's how
that affects the rest of your team. And that's where
(17:24):
this thing called mental toughness becomes so important and maybe
the predictor as to who the new NBA champion will
be this year. Discover matches all the cash bank you
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Discovery dot com slash Yes, Nielsen Report limitations apply. Come
(17:52):
it up. Last week I talked about the five NFL
teams that I thought had the worst NFL offseason. Tonight,
I'm just gonna boil it down to three. You're right, Dan,
Tennessee was one of the top five. Checked at Houston.
But we don't do We really need to talk about Houston.
Everybody knows that. But I've got three teams, and I
guarantee you two of them you might not have thought
of who had the worst offseason heading into I'm Bernie
(18:19):
Fritenwork Company Alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
This is the pregame show you always wanted, So don't
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(18:40):
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You're back on Straight out of Vegas, the pregame show
you always wanted. I'm Bernie Fredo coming to you alive
in the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios. I want
to remind you discovered Matches. All the cash back you
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(20:54):
Nielsen Report limitations apply before I get to the top three.
In my humble opinion, NFL teams who had very very
rough off season. I want to get to number six
of fifteen in NFL scheduling. Quirks. I know quirk is
maybe not the appropriate moniker here, but we're gonna run
with it anyway. The Jaguars, Jacksonville Jaguars coach byerband Meyer, well,
(21:18):
they faced the New York Jets in Week sixteen, So
what's the significance of that. That means there's a possibility
we'll see the number one overall pick in the NFL draft,
that would be Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, square off against the
number two overall pick that would be New York Zack Wilson.
So if both quarterbacks start that day, it would only
be the fourth time in NFL history that two rookie
(21:41):
QB starting quarterbacks selected first and second overall faced each
other the other times. The first time back in n
when Drew Bledsoe faced off against Notre Dames Rick Meyer,
Drew bleds a lot of Washington State Peyton Manning versus
Ryan Leaf, also out of Washington State, and then just
(22:04):
back in Jamis Winston faced off against Marcus Mariotta. I
bet you didn't know they went number one and number two.
That might be kind of cool if it happens in
the week sixteen. It would be I guess what, late December,
and we'll just see what We'll just have to see
what happens. So there's that, all right. I know this
is probably herresy, but I'm gonna start with the Las
(22:25):
Vegas Raiders as a team that I do not think
had a good off season. By the way, they did
hire a new defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, but he's also
got he's got problems to take care of the media.
But here's what I think went wrong for the Raiders
in the off season. Right. So, they did sign uh,
you know, uh Jonnick and Knockway, and they also signed
(22:48):
John Brown and they got they got them both for
you know, relative bargains. But the Raiders inexplicably hand Kenyan
Drake a two year, eleven million dollar contract to serve
as a second you know, running back alongside their first
round pick jobs Jacobs. If you tie up five millions,
you know, even million for two years for second strain
running back, why Las Vegas. The Raiders also, for whatever reason,
(23:11):
dismantled one of the league's most impressive offensive lines this
this last year by trading away their free agent edition
Trent Brown, their star center Rodney Hudson, and they had
a homegrown guard by the name of Gabe Jackson, all
for just mid to late round picks. The team also
used the first round pick on Alex Leatherwood to help
replace the losses. And I'm not gonna you know, I
(23:34):
like mcmayock, and I'm just going to quote other public sources.
They had regarded the Alabama tackle as an overdraft at
number seventeen. Many of them thought he was the second rounder. Fine, whatever,
we'll see. We'll see if it works out, I guess.
But they already had a good offensive line the team.
You know, maybe they always feel they have more insight
into prospects than we do where everybody else does. But
(23:56):
the problem is the Raiders have a recent track record
draft pick and I don't know if they deserved the
benefit of the doubt. So look, Gus Bradley Uh coming
over as a new defensive coordinator, was regarded as one
of the league's most promising defensive coaches when he took
over in Jacksonville eight years ago. But the problem is
his defenses haven't been consistent. They've always had to regress,
(24:17):
and he's had talent to work with. By the way,
when when Gus Bradley was with the Chargers, his defense
is ranked tenth in each of his first two years,
but then they failed to over the past two seasons.
Is that good? And his Jags defense is ranked in
the top half of the league just once in four years,
and they improved the season after he was fired. You know,
(24:40):
somebody I know that's smarter than me thought the Raiders
should have made a play for maybe Wade Phillips. He's
a real turnaround expert. All right. I don't think the
Raiders had a good offseason. They're over under total by
the way, seven and a half, and people are prouding
the ender and it's a seventeen game season. We shall
see well, obviously. I don't think you can say the
Green Bay Packers had every good offseason two unless you've
(25:00):
been living on Mars. Aaron Rodgers do not seem particularly
enthused the idea of playing for the team, and he
has stopped short of requesting a trade, but he's sulking
in public, and this is the situation. They've got to
work out and the clock is taking right. But beyond Rogers, frankly,
the roster is getting a little thinner. Their offensive line
is rebuilding kind of on the fly because David Bakti
(25:23):
has to recover from torn a c l and they've
got a gentleman by the name of Elton Jenkins taking
snaps at left tackling o t As. You know, here's
your blindside guy. You better hope he works out. And
the Packers had another option at corner with their first
rounder Eric Stokes, but most people, you know, wanted to
see offense. So look, the Packers are at the enigma
(25:47):
uh and six the first two years, which is sensational
under Matt la Floor. They go to the uh NFC
championship game both of those two years, very close to
give you the Super Bowl. And they find themselves in
this state of flux, and there's nothing in this off
season that would inspire confidence among the Green Bay faithful. Finally,
(26:08):
a team that I think always has my respect as
a historic, you know, long time performer, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
All right, well, they did not have a good season
neither offseason either, because they had to eat what I
would call their financial vegetables and watch a great player
at Bud Dupree and Mike Hilton leave for free agency,
(26:30):
and the organization has also moved on from Steven Nelson,
a cornerback that has gone from being one of the
team's biggest strengths now quarterback is one of Pittsburgh's then
its position just to lay in the third round pick
in twenty nineteen. He's only played a hundred defensive snaps
in his first two seasons. He might have to be
one of the team's top two quarterbacks this year. And
(26:51):
the offensive line is also a mess. So they lose
Marquis Palmsey to retirement, and Matt Feeler and Alejandra Villa
Nueva have moved on in free agency. Ben Roethlisberger isn't
getting any younger, so Pittsburgh's defense frankly has regressed, at
least on paper, and so has their offensive line. Be
that as it may. Mike Tomlin always seems to have,
(27:12):
you know, good seasons, especially when they followed disappointing ones.
And the reason I say it was disappointing is because
at one point the Steelers were undefeated and then they
really finished weekly and went down in a in a
heap and lost of Cleveland in the playoff game and
the most embarrassing fashion. You know, these things are speculative
in terms of my opinion having to do with who
(27:35):
had a bad offseason. But if you didn't necessarily make
the effort to get better, which is all this is
what this is about, and you make what you would
people would consider to be head scratching decisions that on
paper bearer explanation, that don't seem to correlate towards the
team getting better to any more games next year, you
(27:56):
gotta call them out. So look between Green Bay, Pittsburgh,
and the Raiders, two of the three, maybe all three
make the playoffs. I don't know. But if this sauce,
if this off season is any indication, you can't say
that the future looks particularly bright based on what we
know now. On June alright, coming up, I got a
(28:18):
whole bunch of stuff. The Oakland A's brass is coming
back to town on July eight, on the Oakland A's
moving to Las Vegas. Plus uh, I've got stuff involving
you know, the NBA and Mattress Smack and even the
Westgate Super Contest. And we're gonna get to all of it,
but first let's go to the man. He's so resilient.
(28:38):
He once got bit by a rattlesnake and after five
days of excruciating pain, the rattlesnake died. Bryan Family with
the latest I love that, Bertie, thank you so much.
The Sons, where they probably have rattlesnakes and phoenix in
that area, deliver an eight four to eighty gut punching
to the Clippers to stare with three games to one
lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Clippers went over
(29:01):
twelve in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to tie
or grab the lead. Paul George five of twenty from
the floor, one of nine from long range. He finished
with twenty three points, but the shooting misques fell on
both sides. The squads collectively missed sixteen straight shots in
the fourth period. The Clips went five of thirty one
(29:22):
from long range in the game, the Sons four of
twenty from distance and thirty six percent from the field,
and l a shot a mind numbing, inconceivable sixty six
percent from the Charity striped Phoenix was north of eighty
in that category, and Devin Booker ripped off his mask
mid game twenty five points for him, but he went
(29:45):
over five from long range. This story. DeAndre eight nineteen points,
twenty two rebounds in four blocks, and after the game
he bragged about himself, keep going, you know there's another
I reached the next level that I really need to be,
you know, be at a this this little When he
(30:07):
comes to compete afterwards, Chris Paul, seemingly working as Aiden's
hype man, said quote, to see his growth, I get
goose bumps. I genuinely love him. Phoenix Gonna get him
a bag this summer. Close quote. In baseball, the Giants
manufactured two runs in the bottom of the tenth that
ink to stick it to the Athletics six to five.
(30:28):
The bottom feeding Diamondbacks crushed the Padres ten to one.
Two nd San Diego's eight game winning streak, the Red
Sox side swiped the Yankees for to Boston is five
and oh against the Yanks this season. Cody Bellinger swats
walk off solo home run to lift the Dodgers over
the Cubs three to two, and the Astros and Tigers
(30:49):
split a doubleheader. With that, let's get back to a
man who has never done the splits, or maybe he has.
It's Bernie Fratto. Do you mean like a banana split?
Every we'll go with that. Is it is again, Folks
are the deuce of Tones, the silver tongue devil, Brian Finley,
Brewin Finley All right, by the way, real quickly, I
(31:11):
really should interject this because now that the enforcement for
the spider Tech better Grip phenomenon is well under way.
Before June three, the cumulative batting average of Major leaguers
is two thirty six. Actually, just been a slide uptick.
Now hitters hitting two forty seven. WHOOPI do ops is
up seven thirty five. This strack out rate has gone
(31:32):
down one and you know the fastball slider spin rate
is down. Stay tuned. I'm sure you'll all be on
the edge of your seat, but I gotta tell you
we are seeing historic performances. Jacob Degram his old point
five e r A and twelve starts this season. It's
tied for the second lowest d r A in any
twelve starts spanned within a season since arnun average became
(31:54):
an official stat. Bob Gibson did it in nine six.
That was the year of the picture. And if you recall,
the pitching mounds were fifteen inches above ground, they were
lowered to ten. I'll be curious to see if baseball
makes any adjustments. But look, d Graham has won two
side On awards in and and look what he's doing
(32:16):
this year. All right, stick sticking with baseball ever so quickly.
The Okans have visited Las Vegas twice because if they
don't get a stadium in Oakland, the commissioners encouraged them
to look elsewhere it I I think Portland's on the list,
Montreal is on the list, Nashville's on the list, but
Vegas apparently is their first choice. All right, Well, they're
(32:39):
coming back to town July and ninth. Uh and this
will be their third visit since the beginning of June.
And they're doing their due diligence. They just left Arlington,
Texas to look at the retractable roof and how that
was built, because that's they're going to have to do
that here, which to me, he's going to be a
(32:59):
real hell of a political football. Uh, it's a It
would be a billion dollars to build a stadium and
that you know of that ilk and you've got you're
gonna need probably at least half public money half private money,
which means taxpayers, et cetera. I don't know if Las
Vegans got the appetite for that. Well, what we'll see.
What do I really think it's happening here? Seriously? All right,
(33:22):
I'm just gonna say, I think this is a leverage play.
Why would they come vincit three times before July when
they'll vote for the uh, you know, the Waterfront Stadium
will take place on July. I think it's a leverage play.
And the still have through as an obligation with their
current stadium. So look, stay tuned. We got hockey here,
(33:46):
We've got you know, the Raiders here. Could major League
Baseball happen? We had not anytime soon, but you just
you just never know. I'll tell you what is happening,
William Hill. Uh look a bet this past week that
by the Road admission is the largest wager in terms
of what the path potentially could be and in the
(34:10):
history of Las Vegas sports books. Now he's back. You
know him as Mattress Mack. His real name is Jim
McInville He's a seventy year old gentleman whose eyes in Houston.
Quite a guy, and he placed a two million dollar
wager to win twenty million dollars on the Houston Astros
attend to want to win the World Series. William Hill
confirmed that this last week. Interestingly enough, the bet was
(34:33):
not made here in Las Vegas. It was actually made
in Indiana on an app and the sports book. This
is where we're at now with legalized sports betting. This
is pretty cool stuff. But again to repeat, William Hill
is confirmed that this would be a possible twenty two
million dollar payout. He'd get his two million back clost
to twenty million dollars. That would be the largest reported
payout in US sports betting history. Barn On, all right,
(34:58):
the NBA team that the sports books are now slightly
nervous about are the Atlanta Hawks. With the Lakers and
Nets out of the picture and the lake, you know, basically,
the books just about guaranteed themselves a free role for
the playoffs unless because of all the dead money that
(35:19):
was placed on the Lakers started in October and continuing,
unless the Atlanta Hawks finished the job. And right now
they're twelve to one they could. Anything could happen. As
I said to the top of the show, a new
star is born every day. Why not the Hawks. Well,
they're the biggest liability remaining for several Las Vegas sports books,
(35:40):
with some outstanding bets worth some high six figures and
even one worth one point five million the West Gate
to two bets totally and nine thousand in April and May,
when Atlanta was considered more of a fringe contender. And
back then they were about to one favorite. Whether they're
down to twelve to one, but that's only because Milwaukee,
(36:03):
you're getting it's it's a situation where Milwaukee looks like
they've taken control. But if there's one thing we've learned
to expect, it's he unexpected uh bet. MGM also confirmed
that they took a ten thousand dollar wager to win
a million and a half on the Hawks to win
the title and a hundred and fifty one. That means
that payout would be one five million. William Hill said
(36:23):
it also took a five thousand dollar bet to win
five thousand back when the Hawks were a hundred one,
and later five thousand to win three hundred thousand added
all up and it's well into the seven figures in
terms of liability. Will it happen. The odds are against it,
but it could happen, and the books have their eyes
on that. Coming up, I want to talk about the
(36:44):
Westgate Super Contest. There's a bit of a shake up
in a good way. The contest evolves coming out of COVID.
They've made some changes, more opportunities to win, less money
to join up. And I want to give some quick
observations about tonight's Suns Clippers game and how it's becoming
a metaphor for the playoffs and what I have called
last year. Remember how I joked around and I call
(37:05):
it the Hotel California Playoffs in the bubble because you
can check in, but you can never leave. I'm calling
this year it's a war of attrition and if you
watch the last five minutes of that game to night,
it was painful. But I think it's an indicator asked
to who might prevail over the next two weeks based
on who has the competitive stamina and the mental toughness
(37:25):
to get the job done. I'm Bernie Fratto. I'm coming
to you alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
Keep it locked right here. This is the pregame show
you always wanted. Don't go away. You're listening to Straight
out of Ace, one of the best in the business,
Bernie Fratto thunderstruck adjective Shocked and amazed by the power
(37:48):
of Carnival riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster would
see probably and got thunderstruck so hard is ninety three
year old grandmother felt it three thousand miles away in
Nebraska and immediately booked the crews. Get Understuck starting at
two eighty nine. Carnival Shoes on Cruiser in US. Always
(38:09):
properson Double documentcy Texas fees and port expense aditionalstricts and
apply for details on cardival dot com SIPs red Street.
Adoption of teams from foster care is a topic not
enough people know about, and we're here to change that.
I'm April Denuity, host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption,
presented by adopt us Kids. Each episode brings you compelling,
real life adoption stories told by the families that lived them,
(38:30):
with commentary from experts. Visit adopt us Kids dot org,
slash podcast, or subscribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt
Us Kids, brought to you by the U S Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
and the ACT Council. You're back straight out of Vegas
to pregame show you always wanted. I'm Bernie Fado Company
Alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios and yes,
(38:54):
we exclusively feature Motown Bumper music. Discover matches the cash
back you earn on your credit card at the end
of your first year. It's amazing because Discovery is accepted
at the places in the US that take credit cards.
Learn more at discover dot com. Slash Yes Nielson Report
limitations apply. Before I go any further. Tonight, I want
(39:16):
to thank my broadcast team back in Los Angeles. That
would be Brian Finley, Chris Perfett, and of course Bull
Benson turning all the dials, keeping us glued together, doing
the updates and when all the behind the scenes thing
that enables us to bring this show to a greatful nation.
Thanks so much, guys, and quick programming. Note. I will
be back on these airwaves tomorrow night, five pm Pacific
(39:36):
to eight pm hosting with Katino Mobili and boy do
we have a lot to talk about. We've got great guests.
We're gonna bring you up to date on things happening
in the NFL and in Major League Baseball and certainly
these NBA playoffs. And I've got a couple of feature
oriented items I think you might getting kickoff, including a
big project that Wheaties is coming out with that I
(39:57):
think is long overdue. That's going to honor an athlete
who came under fire during the nineteen Olympics. You will
want to hear what that's about before I get to
the changes in the Westgate Super Contest, which are very important.
It's considered one of the most prestigious contests anywhere in
the world. Alright, my guy, Jake Cornegie, who is the
sports book director over at the Westgate. It used to
(40:22):
be the Hilton Super Contest, and that's the Westgate Super Contest.
I would just say this, He's made a lot of
what I consider very innovative changes that not only make it,
uh you know, easier to enter, but also more opportunities
to win. I'm gonna get to that in a minute,
but right I watched the Phoenix Sens Clippers game tonight,
and I want to preface this by saying, I'm very
(40:43):
much enjoying these NBA playoffs. All right. Uh, the Katie
Lebron Steph Kawaii League, it may be gone, how do
we know? But this opens the door for Trey Janice, Paul,
George Still, Chris Paul, who's never won Route, Devin Booker.
But I've called it the War of attrition because people
(41:05):
just started healthy. And what I saw tonight is was
it which really contributed contributed? Maybe try that to get
an English folks, which really contributed to a lower scoring game?
What I saw was fatigue. I saw, you know, good defense,
very good defense, and shots simply not dropping. Phoenix scored
(41:27):
thirty six seven second half points, still one. No field
goals for the Phoenix Suns in the last three minutes
and thirty seconds, still one. Clippers zero field goals in
the last five minutes, and they got beat. The fourth
quarter clutch time, crunch time. Both teams combined three or
thirteen field goals. The Suns were one of five and
(41:49):
the Clippers two of eight. Is it nerves? Is it
physical fatigue, is it metal fatigue? Whatever it is? The
result was is the game wound down. I saw teams
that were indecisive both of them. They held the ball
too long, there was over dribbling. I think that you know,
there was self induced pressure. The ball felt heavier and
(42:11):
it was a very ugly offensive game. But still credit
Phoenix they won. Sort of my recurring motif mental toughness
is going to get it done this year? Who's going
to have it all? Right? The Westgate Super Contest has
been around a long time as he originally was the
Hilton Super Contest and you've probably heard me see it
many times. Steve Ezik, who joins me on the show
(42:33):
during football season. Uh, the only two time winner wanted
back to back. So it's very prestigious. People enter from
literally all around the world. You have to enter in Vegas.
You have to show your I D. You have to
give yourself security number. You have have they have to
know it's you, but you can you can personally interrupt
to two or three times. I have to double check that,
(42:54):
but for sure at least twice. And uh and if
you you know, you don't have to live here because
there are plenty of very reputable proxy services that will
get your picks in for you every week. And frankly,
most people to win the contest don't win here, and
contest winners come from all walks of life. We recently
had a Starbucks barista win it. So it's become what
(43:16):
I what I call sort of the um American idol
for sports football contests. Football contest, I don't know. Yes,
it's a handicamping contest, but what you deal a lot
of large numbers. Somebody always manages to go to anything
that's unheard of. Alright, So here's the deal. They're cutting
the price. The west Gate is cutting the price of
(43:36):
the Super Contest, and they're expanding the number of ways
to win. Here's the lowdown the Super Contest. You only
have to pay a thousand and in or out used
to be, and the competition itself will have nine in
season contests to go along with the overall title to
win the whole thing, which now means basically, because there
are multiple payouts, that if you win the overall first place,
(43:59):
you're projected it probably win about five dred thousand wards.
The last few years it's been over a million, but
the top thirty finishers will receive payouts. And another thing,
this year's Super Contest will have three six week contests
at six three week contests. Think about it. That fits
its symmetrical because we now have an eighteen week schedule.
(44:22):
Remember the seventeen games, but it's gonna be played over
eighteen weeks. Like, here's what's cool. The six week contests
will have payouts of a hundred thousand, fifty thousand, and
ten five for the first five places. So look, if
you get off to a bad start, you have a
good six week period, you can still make yourself some
nice coin. The three week contest will pay three spots
(44:43):
at s and five grand. The Westgate also announced that
its Super Contest weekend will take place August and if
you come out and join and playing the golf tournament,
they'll be giving out ten free contest entries. And it's
a lot of fun and a good reason took come
out to Las Vegas. Yes, the NFL is almost a promise,
(45:04):
and it stays in the news. That's gonna do it.
For this week's edition of Straight Out of Vegas, I'm
Bernie Fratto. Next up the man from Nashville. His name
is Jason Martin. Keep it locked right here on Fox
Sports Radio. Thunderstruck adjective shocked and amazed by the power
of fun on Carnival Riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster,
(45:24):
would see probably and got funderstruck so hard his ninety
three year old grandmother felt it three thousand miles away
in Nebraska and immediately booked the cruise. Get Understruck starting
at two eight nine. Carnival Shoes on Cruiser in USA
was pro person double documency, Texas fees and port expense,
(45:44):
additional restricts and apply for details on Carnival dot com ships,
Red Street, Bahamas, Panama. What Girls in the Forest, our
imagination and our family bonds. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and discover the
fourth dot Org brought to you by the IT States
Force Service and the ad Council. Adoption of teens from
foster care is a topic not enough people know about,
(46:07):
and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinuity, host
of the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt us Kids.
Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told
by the families that lived them, with commentary from experts.
Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or subscribe
to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt us Kids, brought to
(46:27):
you by the U. S. Department of Health, that Human
Services Administration for Children and Families, and the ad Council
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(01:46):
You're listening to Fox Sports. Well, as I've said many
times before, sports are the greatest reality show invented, and
you can script everything but the outcome. That's why this
time of year is so much fun. Just look at
how that Son's Clippers game ended. My goodness, you saw
(02:07):
a lot of nerves. Uh. You saw a combination of fatigue,
great defense, shots really not falling Phoenix had thirty six
second half points, still won, no field goals in the
last three minutes and thirty seconds of the game, and
still won by the way the Clippers no field goals
in the last five minutes of the game. No movie
(02:29):
director would have scripted that inning. That's what keeps us watching.
On that note, welcome back to another award winning edition
of Straight Out of Vegas, the weekend adaptation. I'm Bernie Fratto.
We're coming to you live from the Las Vegas Fox
Sports Radio Studios tonight. I'm going to take a closer
look at why I think this year's NBA playoffs have
(02:49):
been particularly interesting and frankly exciting, if somewhat in artful
at times. But as a follow up to last week
when I highlighted the you know, the way some teams
were eliminated and the way some teams survived, We're gonna
talk about a catalyst and what I think we have.
What I've identified is what maybe a predictor is to
(03:10):
who will win this thing. By the way, last week,
I chronicled what I believe the top five NFL teams
who had the best off season in terms of their
effort to create a winner. Tonight, I'm going to chronicle
the top three worst off seasons as the NFL remains
in the conversation after Bruin Finley's update, we'll talk about
the latest stories swirling around Las Vegas, including the Oakland
(03:34):
As Brass coming back July eight for their third visit
in a month. Well, I'm gonna talk about why I
think that maybe a little mious leading uh later in
the show, and we're gonna check in, uh with number
six in our series of fifteen scheduling quirks in the NFL.
As we march march down, we marched toward at NFL
(03:57):
you know, regular season. By the way, I will also
talk about the largest liability that the sports books have
all of a sudden, based on a bet a certain
guy whose name has been in the news more than once,
and this would be the biggest payout in Las Vegas history,
according to William Hill if he cashes. I'll explain. Also,
(04:18):
there's a certain NBA team that's kind of caught the
attention now that the Lakers and and Nets are you know, eliminated.
There's a team now that these Vegas sports books are
just a little nervous about I'll share that, and uh,
not for nothing. We're not far away from the the
the legendary, the famous Westgate UH Contest super contest that
(04:40):
once the physic one back to back years. There's new
changes this year, more chances to win, and they've even
reduced the entry fee. I'm gonna give all those details
and UH and much much more to night. Sports are entertainment.
They're more than that, though, and you know there are
shared experience as such, people want to talk about them.
You've come to the right play. We've got a lot
(05:00):
to talk about tonight. This is straight out of Vegas,
the pregame show you always wanted. And as they say
Joe Mauer in Minnesota, it's gonna be lit, all right.
Which famous NBA player is attributed to the following quote quote.
I've missed more than nine thousand shots in my career,
(05:21):
and I've lost almost three hundred games. Twenty six times.
I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and
indeed I failed over and over and over again. And
in those twenty six times, I missed, and that's why
I succeed. A guy you made heard of. His name
is Michael Jordan's. Look, it's a whole new ball game
(05:45):
this year in the NBA. Right, And I say that
because every day in America, a new star was born
and it's time for a new one to emerge. It's
no longer the Katie Lebron Steph Kauai League. This is
not an aberration. We're moving on. They may win another
championship again, but there's new young Turks. Trey Janice. Gotta
(06:05):
throw Paul George now, Chris Paul has never won? Is
it his turn? Or Devin Booker? Right, That's why I'm
so interested in these playoffs because there are new storylines.
I've seen enough of Lebron. I've seen enough. And for
just a second time since the NBA A B A merger,
and the first time since nine, neither number one seed
(06:27):
made the conference finals. And the four contenders that are
alive have won a combined two championships, and they both
came decades ago. The Milwaukee Bucks won in nineteen seventy
one and the Hawks won a nineteen fifty eight when
they were based in St. Louis. But these teams who
have made it to the conference finals, they deserved it.
(06:51):
Why because they exhibited mental toughness. Look, no further than
mental toughness, because that is what has carried the day
in this tournament that has become a different brand of basketball.
It is now officially a war of attrition. Look no
further than mental toughness. That's what's carrying today and it
(07:11):
always has for great athletes and teams who find a
way to make the jump to the next level. The
mental mindset is more powerful than anything else that you'll
bring to the floor of the court of the ice
human beings. You can't quantify mental toughness, but you can
recognize it. I golfing great Arnold Palmer once said, quote,
(07:35):
my father always said to me, remember, whatever game you play,
success is from the shoulders up famed, you know. NFL
football coach Vince Lombardi used to say, quote, mental toughness
is essential to success. You've got to be mentally tough.
Mental toughness is many things and difficult to explain because
it's qualities are born of sacrifice and self denial. Also,
(07:59):
most importantly, it's combined with perfectly disciplined will that refuses
to give in. It's a state of mind. You call
it character and action. I think Lombardi knows a thing
or two about mental toughness. Quote, champions are made in
the gym. According to Muhammad Ali, champions are made from
something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream
(08:21):
of vision. Everybody's got the skill, and some have the will,
but the will must be stronger than the skill. By
the way, after Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl
champions championship, he was asked what makes him or his
team so special. His answers simple mental toughness. Now, psychologists
(08:42):
have defined mental toughness that for athletes is quote having
the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to
generally culte better than your opponents with the many demands
that competition, training lifestyle that a sport places on a performer. Specifically,
can you be more consistent and better with your opponents?
(09:03):
Are better than your opponents? Excuse me in remaining determined
and focused and confident and keeping under control when pressure erupts.
Pressure brings fear. Fear is totally mental pictures of what
you don't want to happen. How do you block that out? Perform?
(09:23):
Now you know the trend here. Most people attribute mental
toughness to just eleade athletes. I just I disagree, being
Mentally tough can apply to anyone in any profession, and
it's been defined as a measure of individual resilience and
confidence that predicts success and not only sports, but education
and even in the workplace. Mental toughness is keeping everything
(09:43):
together when everyone expects you to fall apart. Mental toughness
grows in the moments when you think you can't go on,
but you keep going anyway as anybody can give up.
But to hold it together when everyone else would understand
if you just fell apart, that is true mental toughness. Now,
mental toughness comes into play when the going gets the
(10:07):
most toughness, and achievements certainly are far more rewarding when
you have to really work hard and grind for something right.
John Wooden once said, pressure causes some people to break
others to break records. So I've boiled it down to
three players that are remaining in this tournament, and of
these three, the one that can display the most mental
(10:29):
toughness and have that permeate across his entire roster, they're
going to be the ones to win the Lawrence of
Bran Trophy. By the way, the updated odds bucks are
plus one ten. Basically even money to win the whole Enchilada.
The Sons are plus one fifteen, the Hawks Atlanta Hawks
twelve to one. The Clippers are now twenty to one.
(10:50):
These are updated odds after tonight's result between the Sons
and the Clippers. But look no further than these three players.
Yes there's skill, field are clever, but their game is
rooted in mental toughness. Give it up to Chris Paul
before this series, and remember he missed the first two
games of this series and his team managed to win
(11:13):
both of them. He's averaging twenty six points a game.
He's shooting six from the field from the line. By
the way, I think he's now made about thirty five
free throws in a row. He's averaging tennisis per game. Um,
he's chipping in five rebounds a game. He's still getting
steals and these are frankly absurdain numbers, especially when you
(11:34):
consider the intensity level that comes in a postseason series.
Chris Paul has frankly taken over some games from the
mid Rage and he basically torched Denver's defense inside outside.
He created some very uncomfortable binds for their defense. They
adjusted in the Denver series and they couldn't seem to
(11:56):
make adjustments to stop Chris Paul. He himself made more
mid rate jumpers twenty two of them than the entire
Nuggets team fifteen. Why don't I bring Denver up because
that series is over now. Granted, I understand the Clippers
are down three to one, but it's not over yet.
So I've got a deal with the here and the now.
(12:18):
But in the closeout game against Denver, Chris Paul had
thirty seven points, and he had twenty seven points in
the game before that. And he was also spectacular because
in Game two, which was a huge game, he had
not only fifteen assists, he had zero turnovers. Moreover, if
you've observed Chris Paul in these playoffs, he's been the
absolute picture of poise. This is a guy who's never won,
(12:42):
and he's had a lot of pressure. And there was
always a perception that Paul was just coming to the
Suns to be a mentor. No, he's basically put the
team on his back and he's met everybody else around him. Yes,
he has set a tone of professionalism and culture, and
I think he's helped to enhance the performance of a
young team who had one eight to their own the
bubble last year. But he showed just in the Denver
(13:05):
series alone that he's at a different level mental toughness.
I think Chris Chris Paul has it in spades, and
there's just there's just no question, there's no adjustment. He
hasn't been able to dissolve, and he's the safety net
that the Sons have needed, particularly in the second half
and at the end of games when it matters most.
He made some clutch free throws. He's made Phoenix the
(13:28):
favorite right next to the Bucks. You cannot you cannot
have this conversation without mentioning Trey Young. He has showed
a competitive stamina and a will to win and unlimited energy.
And you know, in case you missed it, Trey Young
has now become a bona fide closer. And in the series,
you know, in all the playoff games in Atlanta in
(13:50):
which Atlanta has been uh, the games have been decided
by five points or fewer. Young has been key down
the stretch and every one of them. And know when
the NBA talks about clutch situations with final five minutes
to go to score within five points, this is when
he's been at his best. And head again again. The
series isn't over yet. They're just they're just you know,
(14:11):
getting going Milwaukee Atlanta. Atlanta is a four point home
dog tomorrow, kind of like him. But Trey Young's average
twenty nine points a game. His field goal percentage has
been about He's thirty from behind the arc, tennessist, he'll rebound,
he'll steal. Had a rough game, laugh time out. But
this is a kid who's incredibly mentally tough, and he's
(14:32):
defied the scouts who said that he wasn't big enough,
he was questionable on defense. We don't know how durable
he'd be. He's playing tons of minutes. He creates his
own shot off the bounce. Trey Young has been incredible
and he's created matchup nightmares for the teams that he's faced.
The third person in the conversation, you have to mention honest,
(14:55):
I get it. The jury is still out basically on
the honest for many folks, including me. But I want
to maintain some objectivity and give credit where credits due. Jann,
it's you know, at the conclusion around two again, his
stats have been superb thirty two points a game, shooting
almost fifty from the field, he only shoot from behind
(15:17):
the arc. For the life of me, I don't know
why he insists on shooting three pointers still with this shout,
you know, four assists the game, but he's rebounding as
well to the two of thirteen. He'll even block a
shot now and then. This is an opportunity for Joannice
to finally silence his critics. Will he be been only
tough to do it? I'm not tough enough to do
(15:38):
it now with mill with Milwaukee's backs against the wall
after falling down three to two to Brooklyn in the
wake of durance incredibly iconic Game five, forty nine point
game which seems like I guess eons ago. Now, remember
all Antenna Coopo did that night was go for thirty
points and seventeen rebounds, and he led the Bucks to
(15:58):
the win in Game six, and then go for forty points,
thirteen rebounds, five assists and played fifty minutes in Game seven,
including scoring over Durrant to tie the game with about
a minute ago in overtime. So we've got to give
credit where credits due in retrospect, when when be honest,
the Greek freak was aggressive and an attack mode as
(16:20):
he was in Game six and seven. The Brooklyn Nets
had no answer for him, and in those moments he proved,
at least in spots he could be unstoppable, you know, which,
you know which makes his occasional pensiant for insisting man
shooting a little three point jumpers all the more maddening.
Be Honest is most effective when he attacks, and he
(16:40):
was an attack mode at the right moments against Brooklyn.
But again, it's back to mental toughness. How do you
respond after failure? How will Trey Young look tomorrow if
he gets off to a rough start, How will Chris
Paul fair in a closeout game or Devin Booker for
that much, I should give him honorable mention here? And
how will Honest due tomorrow as the Bucks have a
(17:02):
chance to take the lead in the series and win
a road game. Back to Michael Jordan's, remember they don't
all go in. Just ask Michael Jordan's he knows the
thing about winning championships, and a lot of times it's
not what happens, it's how you react, and it's how
that affects the rest of your team. And that's where
(17:24):
this thing called mental toughness becomes so important and maybe
the predictor as to who the new NBA champion will
be this year. Discover matches all the cash bank you
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Discovery dot com slash Yes, Nielsen Report limitations apply. Come
(17:52):
it up. Last week I talked about the five NFL
teams that I thought had the worst NFL offseason. Tonight,
I'm just gonna boil it down to three. You're right, Dan,
Tennessee was one of the top five. Checked at Houston.
But we don't do We really need to talk about Houston.
Everybody knows that. But I've got three teams, and I
guarantee you two of them you might not have thought
of who had the worst offseason heading into I'm Bernie
(18:19):
Fritenwork Company Alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
This is the pregame show you always wanted, So don't
go away. You're listening to straight out of Vegas, the
great Vernie Frado. Folks. Fox Sports Radio has the best
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(18:40):
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You're back on Straight out of Vegas, the pregame show
you always wanted. I'm Bernie Fredo coming to you alive
in the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios. I want
to remind you discovered Matches. All the cash back you
earn on your credit card at the end of your
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US that take credit cards. Learn more at discover dot com. Slash. Yes,
(20:54):
Nielsen Report limitations apply before I get to the top three.
In my humble opinion, NFL teams who had very very
rough off season. I want to get to number six
of fifteen in NFL scheduling. Quirks. I know quirk is
maybe not the appropriate moniker here, but we're gonna run
with it anyway. The Jaguars, Jacksonville Jaguars coach byerband Meyer, well,
(21:18):
they faced the New York Jets in Week sixteen, So
what's the significance of that. That means there's a possibility
we'll see the number one overall pick in the NFL draft,
that would be Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, square off against the
number two overall pick that would be New York Zack Wilson.
So if both quarterbacks start that day, it would only
be the fourth time in NFL history that two rookie
(21:41):
QB starting quarterbacks selected first and second overall faced each
other the other times. The first time back in n
when Drew Bledsoe faced off against Notre Dames Rick Meyer,
Drew bleds a lot of Washington State Peyton Manning versus
Ryan Leaf, also out of Washington State, and then just
(22:04):
back in Jamis Winston faced off against Marcus Mariotta. I
bet you didn't know they went number one and number two.
That might be kind of cool if it happens in
the week sixteen. It would be I guess what, late December,
and we'll just see what We'll just have to see
what happens. So there's that, all right. I know this
is probably herresy, but I'm gonna start with the Las
(22:25):
Vegas Raiders as a team that I do not think
had a good off season. By the way, they did
hire a new defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, but he's also
got he's got problems to take care of the media.
But here's what I think went wrong for the Raiders
in the off season. Right. So, they did sign uh,
you know, uh Jonnick and Knockway, and they also signed
(22:48):
John Brown and they got they got them both for
you know, relative bargains. But the Raiders inexplicably hand Kenyan
Drake a two year, eleven million dollar contract to serve
as a second you know, running back alongside their first
round pick jobs Jacobs. If you tie up five millions,
you know, even million for two years for second strain
running back, why Las Vegas. The Raiders also, for whatever reason,
(23:11):
dismantled one of the league's most impressive offensive lines this
this last year by trading away their free agent edition
Trent Brown, their star center Rodney Hudson, and they had
a homegrown guard by the name of Gabe Jackson, all
for just mid to late round picks. The team also
used the first round pick on Alex Leatherwood to help
replace the losses. And I'm not gonna you know, I
(23:34):
like mcmayock, and I'm just going to quote other public sources.
They had regarded the Alabama tackle as an overdraft at
number seventeen. Many of them thought he was the second rounder. Fine, whatever,
we'll see. We'll see if it works out, I guess.
But they already had a good offensive line the team.
You know, maybe they always feel they have more insight
into prospects than we do where everybody else does. But
(23:56):
the problem is the Raiders have a recent track record
draft pick and I don't know if they deserved the
benefit of the doubt. So look, Gus Bradley Uh coming
over as a new defensive coordinator, was regarded as one
of the league's most promising defensive coaches when he took
over in Jacksonville eight years ago. But the problem is
his defenses haven't been consistent. They've always had to regress,
(24:17):
and he's had talent to work with. By the way,
when when Gus Bradley was with the Chargers, his defense
is ranked tenth in each of his first two years,
but then they failed to over the past two seasons.
Is that good? And his Jags defense is ranked in
the top half of the league just once in four years,
and they improved the season after he was fired. You know,
(24:40):
somebody I know that's smarter than me thought the Raiders
should have made a play for maybe Wade Phillips. He's
a real turnaround expert. All right. I don't think the
Raiders had a good offseason. They're over under total by
the way, seven and a half, and people are prouding
the ender and it's a seventeen game season. We shall
see well, obviously. I don't think you can say the
Green Bay Packers had every good offseason two unless you've
(25:00):
been living on Mars. Aaron Rodgers do not seem particularly
enthused the idea of playing for the team, and he
has stopped short of requesting a trade, but he's sulking
in public, and this is the situation. They've got to
work out and the clock is taking right. But beyond Rogers, frankly,
the roster is getting a little thinner. Their offensive line
is rebuilding kind of on the fly because David Bakti
(25:23):
has to recover from torn a c l and they've
got a gentleman by the name of Elton Jenkins taking
snaps at left tackling o t As. You know, here's
your blindside guy. You better hope he works out. And
the Packers had another option at corner with their first
rounder Eric Stokes, but most people, you know, wanted to
see offense. So look, the Packers are at the enigma
(25:47):
uh and six the first two years, which is sensational
under Matt la Floor. They go to the uh NFC
championship game both of those two years, very close to
give you the Super Bowl. And they find themselves in
this state of flux, and there's nothing in this off
season that would inspire confidence among the Green Bay faithful. Finally,
(26:08):
a team that I think always has my respect as
a historic, you know, long time performer, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
All right, well, they did not have a good season
neither offseason either, because they had to eat what I
would call their financial vegetables and watch a great player
at Bud Dupree and Mike Hilton leave for free agency,
(26:30):
and the organization has also moved on from Steven Nelson,
a cornerback that has gone from being one of the
team's biggest strengths now quarterback is one of Pittsburgh's then
its position just to lay in the third round pick
in twenty nineteen. He's only played a hundred defensive snaps
in his first two seasons. He might have to be
one of the team's top two quarterbacks this year. And
(26:51):
the offensive line is also a mess. So they lose
Marquis Palmsey to retirement, and Matt Feeler and Alejandra Villa
Nueva have moved on in free agency. Ben Roethlisberger isn't
getting any younger, so Pittsburgh's defense frankly has regressed, at
least on paper, and so has their offensive line. Be
that as it may. Mike Tomlin always seems to have,
(27:12):
you know, good seasons, especially when they followed disappointing ones.
And the reason I say it was disappointing is because
at one point the Steelers were undefeated and then they
really finished weekly and went down in a in a
heap and lost of Cleveland in the playoff game and
the most embarrassing fashion. You know, these things are speculative
in terms of my opinion having to do with who
(27:35):
had a bad offseason. But if you didn't necessarily make
the effort to get better, which is all this is
what this is about, and you make what you would
people would consider to be head scratching decisions that on
paper bearer explanation, that don't seem to correlate towards the
team getting better to any more games next year, you
(27:56):
gotta call them out. So look between Green Bay, Pittsburgh,
and the Raiders, two of the three, maybe all three
make the playoffs. I don't know. But if this sauce,
if this off season is any indication, you can't say
that the future looks particularly bright based on what we
know now. On June alright, coming up, I got a
(28:18):
whole bunch of stuff. The Oakland A's brass is coming
back to town on July eight, on the Oakland A's
moving to Las Vegas. Plus uh, I've got stuff involving
you know, the NBA and Mattress Smack and even the
Westgate Super Contest. And we're gonna get to all of it,
but first let's go to the man. He's so resilient.
(28:38):
He once got bit by a rattlesnake and after five
days of excruciating pain, the rattlesnake died. Bryan Family with
the latest I love that, Bertie, thank you so much.
The Sons, where they probably have rattlesnakes and phoenix in
that area, deliver an eight four to eighty gut punching
to the Clippers to stare with three games to one
lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Clippers went over
(29:01):
twelve in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to tie
or grab the lead. Paul George five of twenty from
the floor, one of nine from long range. He finished
with twenty three points, but the shooting misques fell on
both sides. The squads collectively missed sixteen straight shots in
the fourth period. The Clips went five of thirty one
(29:22):
from long range in the game, the Sons four of
twenty from distance and thirty six percent from the field,
and l a shot a mind numbing, inconceivable sixty six
percent from the Charity striped Phoenix was north of eighty
in that category, and Devin Booker ripped off his mask
mid game twenty five points for him, but he went
(29:45):
over five from long range. This story. DeAndre eight nineteen points,
twenty two rebounds in four blocks, and after the game
he bragged about himself, keep going, you know there's another
I reached the next level that I really need to be,
you know, be at a this this little When he
(30:07):
comes to compete afterwards, Chris Paul, seemingly working as Aiden's
hype man, said quote, to see his growth, I get
goose bumps. I genuinely love him. Phoenix Gonna get him
a bag this summer. Close quote. In baseball, the Giants
manufactured two runs in the bottom of the tenth that
ink to stick it to the Athletics six to five.
(30:28):
The bottom feeding Diamondbacks crushed the Padres ten to one.
Two nd San Diego's eight game winning streak, the Red
Sox side swiped the Yankees for to Boston is five
and oh against the Yanks this season. Cody Bellinger swats
walk off solo home run to lift the Dodgers over
the Cubs three to two, and the Astros and Tigers
(30:49):
split a doubleheader. With that, let's get back to a
man who has never done the splits, or maybe he has.
It's Bernie Fratto. Do you mean like a banana split?
Every we'll go with that. Is it is again, Folks
are the deuce of Tones, the silver tongue devil, Brian Finley,
Brewin Finley All right, by the way, real quickly, I
(31:11):
really should interject this because now that the enforcement for
the spider Tech better Grip phenomenon is well under way.
Before June three, the cumulative batting average of Major leaguers
is two thirty six. Actually, just been a slide uptick.
Now hitters hitting two forty seven. WHOOPI do ops is
up seven thirty five. This strack out rate has gone
(31:32):
down one and you know the fastball slider spin rate
is down. Stay tuned. I'm sure you'll all be on
the edge of your seat, but I gotta tell you
we are seeing historic performances. Jacob Degram his old point
five e r A and twelve starts this season. It's
tied for the second lowest d r A in any
twelve starts spanned within a season since arnun average became
(31:54):
an official stat. Bob Gibson did it in nine six.
That was the year of the picture. And if you recall,
the pitching mounds were fifteen inches above ground, they were
lowered to ten. I'll be curious to see if baseball
makes any adjustments. But look, d Graham has won two
side On awards in and and look what he's doing
(32:16):
this year. All right, stick sticking with baseball ever so quickly.
The Okans have visited Las Vegas twice because if they
don't get a stadium in Oakland, the commissioners encouraged them
to look elsewhere it I I think Portland's on the list,
Montreal is on the list, Nashville's on the list, but
Vegas apparently is their first choice. All right, Well, they're
(32:39):
coming back to town July and ninth. Uh and this
will be their third visit since the beginning of June.
And they're doing their due diligence. They just left Arlington,
Texas to look at the retractable roof and how that
was built, because that's they're going to have to do
that here, which to me, he's going to be a
(32:59):
real hell of a political football. Uh, it's a It
would be a billion dollars to build a stadium and
that you know of that ilk and you've got you're
gonna need probably at least half public money half private money,
which means taxpayers, et cetera. I don't know if Las
Vegans got the appetite for that. Well, what we'll see.
What do I really think it's happening here? Seriously? All right,
(33:22):
I'm just gonna say, I think this is a leverage play.
Why would they come vincit three times before July when
they'll vote for the uh, you know, the Waterfront Stadium
will take place on July. I think it's a leverage play.
And the still have through as an obligation with their
current stadium. So look, stay tuned. We got hockey here,
(33:46):
We've got you know, the Raiders here. Could major League
Baseball happen? We had not anytime soon, but you just
you just never know. I'll tell you what is happening,
William Hill. Uh look a bet this past week that
by the Road admission is the largest wager in terms
of what the path potentially could be and in the
(34:10):
history of Las Vegas sports books. Now he's back. You
know him as Mattress Mack. His real name is Jim
McInville He's a seventy year old gentleman whose eyes in Houston.
Quite a guy, and he placed a two million dollar
wager to win twenty million dollars on the Houston Astros
attend to want to win the World Series. William Hill
confirmed that this last week. Interestingly enough, the bet was
(34:33):
not made here in Las Vegas. It was actually made
in Indiana on an app and the sports book. This
is where we're at now with legalized sports betting. This
is pretty cool stuff. But again to repeat, William Hill
is confirmed that this would be a possible twenty two
million dollar payout. He'd get his two million back clost
to twenty million dollars. That would be the largest reported
payout in US sports betting history. Barn On, all right,
(34:58):
the NBA team that the sports books are now slightly
nervous about are the Atlanta Hawks. With the Lakers and
Nets out of the picture and the lake, you know, basically,
the books just about guaranteed themselves a free role for
the playoffs unless because of all the dead money that
(35:19):
was placed on the Lakers started in October and continuing,
unless the Atlanta Hawks finished the job. And right now
they're twelve to one they could. Anything could happen. As
I said to the top of the show, a new
star is born every day. Why not the Hawks. Well,
they're the biggest liability remaining for several Las Vegas sports books,
(35:40):
with some outstanding bets worth some high six figures and
even one worth one point five million the West Gate
to two bets totally and nine thousand in April and May,
when Atlanta was considered more of a fringe contender. And
back then they were about to one favorite. Whether they're
down to twelve to one, but that's only because Milwaukee,
(36:03):
you're getting it's it's a situation where Milwaukee looks like
they've taken control. But if there's one thing we've learned
to expect, it's he unexpected uh bet. MGM also confirmed
that they took a ten thousand dollar wager to win
a million and a half on the Hawks to win
the title and a hundred and fifty one. That means
that payout would be one five million. William Hill said
(36:23):
it also took a five thousand dollar bet to win
five thousand back when the Hawks were a hundred one,
and later five thousand to win three hundred thousand added
all up and it's well into the seven figures in
terms of liability. Will it happen. The odds are against it,
but it could happen, and the books have their eyes
on that. Coming up, I want to talk about the
(36:44):
Westgate Super Contest. There's a bit of a shake up
in a good way. The contest evolves coming out of COVID.
They've made some changes, more opportunities to win, less money
to join up. And I want to give some quick
observations about tonight's Suns Clippers game and how it's becoming
a metaphor for the playoffs and what I have called
last year. Remember how I joked around and I call
(37:05):
it the Hotel California Playoffs in the bubble because you
can check in, but you can never leave. I'm calling
this year it's a war of attrition and if you
watch the last five minutes of that game to night,
it was painful. But I think it's an indicator asked
to who might prevail over the next two weeks based
on who has the competitive stamina and the mental toughness
(37:25):
to get the job done. I'm Bernie Fratto. I'm coming
to you alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
Keep it locked right here. This is the pregame show
you always wanted. Don't go away. You're listening to Straight
out of Ace, one of the best in the business,
Bernie Fratto thunderstruck adjective Shocked and amazed by the power
(37:48):
of Carnival riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster would
see probably and got thunderstruck so hard is ninety three
year old grandmother felt it three thousand miles away in
Nebraska and immediately booked the crews. Get Understuck starting at
two eighty nine. Carnival Shoes on Cruiser in US. Always
(38:09):
properson Double documentcy Texas fees and port expense aditionalstricts and
apply for details on cardival dot com SIPs red Street.
Adoption of teams from foster care is a topic not
enough people know about, and we're here to change that.
I'm April Denuity, host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption,
presented by adopt us Kids. Each episode brings you compelling,
real life adoption stories told by the families that lived them,
(38:30):
with commentary from experts. Visit adopt us Kids dot org,
slash podcast, or subscribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt
Us Kids, brought to you by the U S Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
and the ACT Council. You're back straight out of Vegas
to pregame show you always wanted. I'm Bernie Fado Company
Alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios and yes,
(38:54):
we exclusively feature Motown Bumper music. Discover matches the cash
back you earn on your credit card at the end
of your first year. It's amazing because Discovery is accepted
at the places in the US that take credit cards.
Learn more at discover dot com. Slash Yes Nielson Report
limitations apply. Before I go any further. Tonight, I want
(39:16):
to thank my broadcast team back in Los Angeles. That
would be Brian Finley, Chris Perfett, and of course Bull
Benson turning all the dials, keeping us glued together, doing
the updates and when all the behind the scenes thing
that enables us to bring this show to a greatful nation.
Thanks so much, guys, and quick programming. Note. I will
be back on these airwaves tomorrow night, five pm Pacific
(39:36):
to eight pm hosting with Katino Mobili and boy do
we have a lot to talk about. We've got great guests.
We're gonna bring you up to date on things happening
in the NFL and in Major League Baseball and certainly
these NBA playoffs. And I've got a couple of feature
oriented items I think you might getting kickoff, including a
big project that Wheaties is coming out with that I
(39:57):
think is long overdue. That's going to honor an athlete
who came under fire during the nineteen Olympics. You will
want to hear what that's about before I get to
the changes in the Westgate Super Contest, which are very important.
It's considered one of the most prestigious contests anywhere in
the world. Alright, my guy, Jake Cornegie, who is the
sports book director over at the Westgate. It used to
(40:22):
be the Hilton Super Contest, and that's the Westgate Super Contest.
I would just say this, He's made a lot of
what I consider very innovative changes that not only make it,
uh you know, easier to enter, but also more opportunities
to win. I'm gonna get to that in a minute,
but right I watched the Phoenix Sens Clippers game tonight,
and I want to preface this by saying, I'm very
(40:43):
much enjoying these NBA playoffs. All right. Uh, the Katie
Lebron Steph Kawaii League, it may be gone, how do
we know? But this opens the door for Trey Janice, Paul,
George Still, Chris Paul, who's never won Route, Devin Booker.
But I've called it the War of attrition because people
(41:05):
just started healthy. And what I saw tonight is was
it which really contributed contributed? Maybe try that to get
an English folks, which really contributed to a lower scoring game?
What I saw was fatigue. I saw, you know, good defense,
very good defense, and shots simply not dropping. Phoenix scored
(41:27):
thirty six seven second half points, still one. No field
goals for the Phoenix Suns in the last three minutes
and thirty seconds, still one. Clippers zero field goals in
the last five minutes, and they got beat. The fourth
quarter clutch time, crunch time. Both teams combined three or
thirteen field goals. The Suns were one of five and
(41:49):
the Clippers two of eight. Is it nerves? Is it
physical fatigue, is it metal fatigue? Whatever it is? The
result was is the game wound down. I saw teams
that were indecisive both of them. They held the ball
too long, there was over dribbling. I think that you know,
there was self induced pressure. The ball felt heavier and
(42:11):
it was a very ugly offensive game. But still credit
Phoenix they won. Sort of my recurring motif mental toughness
is going to get it done this year? Who's going
to have it all? Right? The Westgate Super Contest has
been around a long time as he originally was the
Hilton Super Contest and you've probably heard me see it
many times. Steve Ezik, who joins me on the show
(42:33):
during football season. Uh, the only two time winner wanted
back to back. So it's very prestigious. People enter from
literally all around the world. You have to enter in Vegas.
You have to show your I D. You have to
give yourself security number. You have have they have to
know it's you, but you can you can personally interrupt
to two or three times. I have to double check that,
(42:54):
but for sure at least twice. And uh and if
you you know, you don't have to live here because
there are plenty of very reputable proxy services that will
get your picks in for you every week. And frankly,
most people to win the contest don't win here, and
contest winners come from all walks of life. We recently
had a Starbucks barista win it. So it's become what
(43:16):
I what I call sort of the um American idol
for sports football contests. Football contest, I don't know. Yes,
it's a handicamping contest, but what you deal a lot
of large numbers. Somebody always manages to go to anything
that's unheard of. Alright, So here's the deal. They're cutting
the price. The west Gate is cutting the price of
(43:36):
the Super Contest, and they're expanding the number of ways
to win. Here's the lowdown the Super Contest. You only
have to pay a thousand and in or out used
to be, and the competition itself will have nine in
season contests to go along with the overall title to
win the whole thing, which now means basically, because there
are multiple payouts, that if you win the overall first place,
(43:59):
you're projected it probably win about five dred thousand wards.
The last few years it's been over a million, but
the top thirty finishers will receive payouts. And another thing,
this year's Super Contest will have three six week contests
at six three week contests. Think about it. That fits
its symmetrical because we now have an eighteen week schedule.
(44:22):
Remember the seventeen games, but it's gonna be played over
eighteen weeks. Like, here's what's cool. The six week contests
will have payouts of a hundred thousand, fifty thousand, and
ten five for the first five places. So look, if
you get off to a bad start, you have a
good six week period, you can still make yourself some
nice coin. The three week contest will pay three spots
(44:43):
at s and five grand. The Westgate also announced that
its Super Contest weekend will take place August and if
you come out and join and playing the golf tournament,
they'll be giving out ten free contest entries. And it's
a lot of fun and a good reason took come
out to Las Vegas. Yes, the NFL is almost a promise,
(45:04):
and it stays in the news. That's gonna do it.
For this week's edition of Straight Out of Vegas, I'm
Bernie Fratto. Next up the man from Nashville. His name
is Jason Martin. Keep it locked right here on Fox
Sports Radio. Thunderstruck adjective shocked and amazed by the power
of fun on Carnival Riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster,
(45:24):
would see probably and got funderstruck so hard his ninety
three year old grandmother felt it three thousand miles away
in Nebraska and immediately booked the cruise. Get Understruck starting
at two eight nine. Carnival Shoes on Cruiser in USA
was pro person double documency, Texas fees and port expense,
(45:44):
additional restricts and apply for details on Carnival dot com ships,
Red Street, Bahamas, Panama. What Girls in the Forest, our
imagination and our family bonds. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and discover the
fourth dot Org brought to you by the IT States
Force Service and the ad Council. Adoption of teens from
foster care is a topic not enough people know about,
(46:07):
and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinuity, host
of the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt us Kids.
Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption stories told
by the families that lived them, with commentary from experts.
Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast, or subscribe
to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt us Kids, brought to
(46:27):
you by the U. S. Department of Health, that Human
Services Administration for Children and Families, and the ad Council
Fox Sports Radio News
Host
Jonas Knox
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