Bernie Fratto Peels Back the MLB's Rocky CBA Negotiations with the MLBPA

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Don't listening to Fox Sports Radio. Do not, do not,
do not touch that dial. You heard the man. It's
time for Fox Sports Sunday, and the sports calendar is
off to a rousing start. And on that note, please
put your seed backs forward, your trade tables up right.
We are ready for takeoff. My name is Bernie Fratto.

(00:23):
I'm com to you live from the Las Vegas Fox
Sports Radio Studios. Will take up to three am Pacific
six am eatern along with my savvy and capable crew. Now,
Bull Benson is out tonight. Chris Profet is out tonight.
They're both under the weather. I want to thank Bobo.
I want to thank Ricky Horrara for stepping up and
pinch hitting. Great job, guys, appreciate the team. Where of course,

(00:44):
Brian Finley will be with us on the updates. As
these gentlemen man the ship from our Los Angeles compound,
they will be turning all the dials, keeping us glued
together so we can bring this fine show to a
grateful nation. We have got a ton on the agenda tonight,
including a deep dive into the Major League Baseball lockout
in the negotiations, which really they're not negotiations. There are

(01:07):
more of a game of chicken or a test of wills,
certainly a crusade on both sides. How we got here,
what happens next? Plus, by the way, it looks like
legalized sports betting is coming to one of Scott Shapiro's
favorite states. I'll talk about that little later in the show.
I'll have details. I'm also going to weigh in on
John Howard's handshake line situation, have some historical perspective on that.

(01:28):
And and since there isn't any baseball right now, maybe
we'll have a little fun and share our some of
our favorite baseball movies. You can still watch a baseball movie.
We've got that much much more. Plus what kind of
brand new fool are you? And what my name? In
the final hour. But first we take a hard look
at the game of Chicken to test the wheels and
the crusade known as the Major League Baseball negotiations. The

(01:53):
owner said that if there's not a deal in place
by Monday, they will start to cancel games. It's a
shame because today would have been the first day of
regular spring training games. Here's what's happening. The concerns of
the players are very far ranging, but first and foremost,
their biggest concern is there's been a shrinking percentage of
revenue going to the playoffs going to the players, with

(02:15):
Major League Baseball using very creative accounting to show why
players are keeping an even share, yet the numbers really
don't lie. Okay that the big elephant in the room
is the CBT, which is the Competitive Balanced Tax, which
used to be known as the luxury tax. Currently that
threshold is two hundred and fourteen million dollars. The players

(02:37):
have asked for two hundred forty five million dollars. To
give that some perspective. In two thousand eight, when baseball
was a five billion dollar industry, the luxury tax threshold
was two hundred or checked out a hundred and fifty
five million dollars. Fast forward baseballs and eleven billion dollar industry.

(02:59):
It's bay sickly doubled. Yet the threshold last year was
two and ten minutes. It only goes up thirty seven salaries.
You know, major League baseball payrolls have dropped. They dropped
four percent in one and they've dropped four print seven
percent since the high of seventeen and baseball pay rolls
in one were the lowest since meanwhile, the game's revenues

(03:26):
are rising, so falling pay rolls and a drag on
payrolls has really sort of sparked the labor unrest that's
led to this first work stoppage and really since nine
when the collective bargaining agreement expired and the owners locked
out the players on December second. Now why did they
lock out the players? I'll tell you why. We've got

(03:47):
to go back to I covered that strike. The collective
bargaining agreement. Uh, that that expired in December thirty one,
um meant that the owners and players would have to
negotiate a new one. Well they do. They agreed to
sort of do it in good faith. Uh, there wouldn't

(04:07):
be a lockout. And as they got into the season
it became very contentious because it was pretty clear that
the owners wanted a salary cap. All the sports have them,
they want one to. Well, they didn't get it, and
on May the players union voted to strike on August
eleven if they didn't have a deal. I began my
radio career in Junia ninety four, so I covered this thing.

(04:29):
I was right in the middle of it, and none
of us could truly believe it when they actually struck
and walked off the field on August eleventh, August twelve,
whenever the case, maybe Matt Williams had forty one home runs,
would they would he catch Roger Marris uh Cleveland Indians
were in first place. It was a glorious season everybody.
So there's too much money. Everybody's making money. They'll never
do this. Well they did, and then they canceled the

(04:50):
World Series. He started to hear some of that same
right right now that I heard the past few months,
and even going back to um jun just follow my
tweet timeline. I've never shot away from the fact that
this was coming down the pipe because the same dynamic
exists because the owners are trying to use the luxury
tax and the competitive balance tax as a de facto

(05:12):
salary cap. And the truth of the matter is that
is what's I think grinding the players more than anything else.
So what the players who look for maybe are a
couple of creative ways on how we can bridge that gap.
So you know, when a when a player enters the
major leagues, he doesn't really have the hammer for six years.
You've got to be in the league six years before

(05:33):
you can be a free agent three years for arbitration.
So they're talking about the Super two's. That's a class
of players that would be eligible for arbitration before the
third year. I can't agree on that. The players have
suggested what's called the pre arbitration bonus pool. What does
that mean. Let's say, uh, a rookie Brian Finley comes
out hits thirty eight home runs his first year, the

(05:54):
Dodgers win the Pennant and he's only making the minimum
of six and thirty grand a year. Well, they this
pool would say, okay, let's give him a million dollar
bonus for such a great year, and then he can
march toward his negotiations salary at that as his basis.
Versus six hundred thousand, you jump to a million six
every win win for everybody sort of. So players said,

(06:14):
why don't we put a hundred and twenty million dollars
into a pool that could benefit up to a hundred
and fifty players. You want to say, yeah, we'll agree
to that. Why don't we have ten million dollars in
the pool and they can benefit up to thirty players. Well,
there are a hundred million dollars a pirate. That's not
really a negotiation. So finally last week the owners raised
their demand or raised their offer five million up to

(06:37):
fifteen million, and the players lowered their demand to you
know what, hundred and fifteen million. There's still a hundred
million dollars apart. This is not a negotiation. The minimum
salary currently in Major League Baseball is less than all
the other sports, including the NHL. So the owners last
week UH agreed a ten tho dollar increment for season

(07:00):
for first four for four seasons starting at six forty
in against six eighty. The players want that threshold and
started seven seventy five. They're far apart. There there are
about twenty issues. They are far apart, okay, But the
real elephant in the room is the competitive balanced tax. Again,
let me reiterate history. Owners wanted a salary cap in
that led to the strike. When they finally dropped the

(07:23):
cap idea in February, their fall MAC position was a
luxury tax. That's what it was called. Then it was
the act as sort of a breaking mechanism against runaway
payrolls to large revenue teams wouldn't have an unfair advantage.
And then at the time they asked for seventy five
percent tax on thirty five million dollar perils as the

(07:43):
first threshold. And to what, I'm not gonna go and
give you a bunch of numbers and layers, because he
will bore everybody to death. But the truth of the
matter is every subsequent cb A in the last twenty
seven years has brought tweaks to the tax rates and thresholds,
and it's risen increminentally over the years, but not in
concert with the amount of revenues that are being brought

(08:04):
into Major League Baseball. Don't be fair. The luxury tax,
which is not called the CBT, the competitive balance tax,
which was designed to help balance competition. In that regard,
you can say it's working. No team has repeated as
a champion for twenty one straight seasons. That's the longest
streak in the World Series era. And for the eight

(08:26):
winning is teams over the past c b A, Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Milwaukee,
and Oakland, they never carried a payroll in the top
half in any of those five seasons. Although none of
those teams have won actually won the World Series. The
bottom line is that you have a situation where revenues
are growing perils are shrinking, and let's take a closer

(08:48):
look at that, all right, perils. As I mentioned, they're
down four point six percent from their record high of
just under four point two billion. That was the first
year of the Jeff expire at c b A and
according to information sent by all the clubs to the
Commissioner's office, UH, spending on major League players has not

(09:09):
been this low since the three point nine billion dollar
cumulative payroll amount in Yet players are Baseball revenues continue
to rise, right, So what are the what are the
key differences? Okay, here's the issue regarding UH. Let's take
the arbitration and pre arbitration pool. The union wants to

(09:32):
get young players paid more. It's proposed two ways to
do so. First, you could get them to arbitration more quickly. Currently,
only the players are arbitration eligible after two years of
service time. Now, the union's last proposal was to make
it eight and include a hundred million in a bonus pool,
which I just said, And for decades the players have

(09:53):
needed three years to reach arbitration. The owners don't want
to keep on this issue. This is a key issue.
They don't need. They can't even really get to this issue,
and people think they're gonna get get a deal done Monday.
I don't see how the CBT, which I just talked about,
the owners are not gonna go to two hundred forty

(10:14):
million per team. That's what the players want. The it's
currently a two fourteen. Now, somebody thought there was progress
made today. You tell me if you think this is
a negotiation or slap in the face. They walked into
their meetings today in Florida, and when they walked in,
the players had been offered two hundred and fourteen million
per team as the luxury tax threshold per team. The

(10:37):
owners raised it one million dollars to take effect in
three min You're not this year to take effect in
three They raised it from to fourteen to two fifteen.
Does that sound like negotiation to you. They still gotta
fight about minimum salaries and again the revenue sharing. This
has just been in the works for a while. I

(10:59):
know that the layers union has been angry since you
could say they lost that last negotiation, all right, and
they remained dissatisfied with their share of the revenues, and
they're very frustrated in the belief that any of the
owners layers proposals or future proposals just aren't going to
do enough to improve their overall standing. And so you

(11:22):
basically have here's what's happening. You have three extremely contentious
issues which they're really not tackling in those meetings. The
Collective Bargaining Tax, in which they're about thirty one million
apart per year. Again, the players want that threshold to
be two hundred forty five million per team, not two

(11:43):
hundred fourteen million per team, and that means any of
the teams could spend up to two hundred million per
team without having to pay the luxury tax. And mind you,
if you don't think it's acting as a de facto
salary cap. They're only two teams last year that exceeded
the threshold of two than ten million of the CBT.
That was the Daughters and Potteries. Several other teams came

(12:04):
up close and butted up against it, but they didn't
cross over it. So you have that situation. The second
situation is the pre arbitration bonus pool. All right, you
can't get to our you can't get the arbitration for
three years, you can't get to free ag D for
six years. But if a guy has a bust out season,
let's set aside a hundred and twenty million dollars in
a pool to reward players who have performed their contract

(12:27):
in their first or second year. Throw um a bone,
give a bonus. The owners agreed to it. They just
agreed to amount around fifteen million instead of a hundred
and twenty million unreal. That doesn't feel like a negotiation
to me. Then the minimum salary. The players want the
threshold and start at seven dred and seventy five thousand
a year. The owners want to start at six hundred forty.
That's three of about seventeen to twenty issues that are unresolved.

(12:51):
But those are the key three ones. Why does it
feel like ninety four? Because the owners are pulling for
a drag in salaries even though the game is growing.
Regardless of what you may think. Are regardless of whose
side you're on. And keep in mind, during the strike
of the New York Times due to pool and about
eighty percent of the players are eighty percent of the

(13:14):
respondents were on the side of the owners. I saw
a pole the other day. About sixty percent of the
folks are on the side of the players now because
they're really not asking for more that juice actually to
keep what they've already had. Why are revenues going up
and payroll's going down. There's one other thing about this,
and it has to do with what I characterized as

(13:35):
a moral component. I feel the owners are playing dirty pool.
I'm sure you all remember back in when Chris Bryant
was all set to be called up to the Chicago Cubs.
He was major ly g retty. He was ready to
step right into the starting lineup, but they kept him
out of the big leagues until April sixteen. They delayed
his debut into the major leagues until April sixteen. Why

(13:57):
did they do that? Here's why they want to intentionally
delay his ability to march towards his eligibility for free
agency in six years. If he had been on the
roster day one that first year, he would have accumulated
one of six years towards his eligibility for free agency.
Now let me spell this out for you. A major

(14:18):
League baseball season consists of about a hundred and sixty
six hundred eighty six days on the roster. If you're
on the roster for the full season, you're on the
roster for about a hundred and eighty six days. But
you only need a hundred and seventy two days on
a major league roster to be considered a full year
of service, which would be one of the six years
you need to be eligible for free agency, or one

(14:40):
of the three years you need to be eligible for arbitration.
So by keeping Chris Bryant out, he only accumulated one
hundred and seventy one days that year, they made him
fall short by one day. You tell me, does that
sound like dirty pool to you? Does that sound like
a moral turpitude issue to you? There is a moral

(15:03):
component to this. It doesn't feel like the owners are
fighting fair. And I gotta tell you, I think the
players might start to win the court of public opinion
for a simple reason. Most of us by now it's
not you didn't have social media, then you didn't have Netflix.
Then by now a lot of folks have seen a
lot of Netflix specials about billionaires. And if you get
to be a billionaire, I don't want to cast dispersions,

(15:25):
but it's fairly likely you're a tough customer and you
stepped over some smaller people to try to get to
where you wanted to get. Let's bring in the crew.
We've got some great sports fans, Bobo, Ricky, Brian and uh.
I want to hear what they've got to say. So
we'll bring those guys in and we'll chop this up
and get their thoughts on the baseball debacle currently known

(15:47):
as a negotiation. I'm calling it a test of wheels,
a game of chicken. All right, Bernie fret over company
line from Laus Vegas. Fox Sports Radio Studios. Keep it
locked right here. You're listening to Fox Sports Sunday on
Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports
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(16:11):
I'm George rice Stir, host of the Rice Ster or
Wrong Podcast. This is the intersection where sports, business, society
and pop culture beat the truth absolute fire on Monday's,
Wednesdays and Friday's Facts Only. Make sure you check your
feelings at the door, because nobs is allowed. We keep

(16:31):
it one hundred. This is where real conversations happen. Listen
to the Rights Are Wrong podcasts on the I Heart Radio,
Apple Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts or
right back on Fox Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio and
Bernie Freddo come to your line from Las Vegas, Fox
Sports Radio Studios. We are talking the Major League Baseball

(16:53):
debacle negotiations, better known as a game of Chicken, a
test of wills, and meanwhile, our own burns. We've had
spring training baseball today. The regular season would have been
slated to start a four weeks check that four weeks
from thursday. I don't think it's gonna happen on time, Bobo.
Let's get your thoughts. You're learning man um what Bernie?

(17:16):
First of all, thanks for having me today, Bobo. Thanks
for jumping in under these conditions. It's not easy. I
want everybody to know Bobo stepped up. Sometimes guys get sick.
Nice job, Bobo. Hey, it's no problem. Uh my thing
on this whole, I don't know if you want to
call it, uh, I don't. I don't know what to
call it. Man is, to me, it's always just rich
people fighting on who needs more money? Like that, that's

(17:37):
all it is to me. Like and I mean the
owners are getting all this money, they never want to
share it. The players want more money. I don't know.
It's just weird to me. I love baseball. I would
like for it to start, but they just need to
figure it out. I don't see what the problem is
with them raising the minimum salary. Would you say the
six hundred forty, the seven hundred and twenty, we'll the

(18:00):
owner's threshold is at six forty, and the players wanted
to start at seven seventy five. I don't see a
problem with that. That's not that big of a deal.
A ticket price is going to go up a little bit,
but I mean, it's a hundred and eighty six games.
You can spread it out over a couple of games
and they'll make it up. Just give it to them.
They just don't want to cough up the money. We
need a radio thing like that. It's not a radio

(18:21):
petition for all of us to get some money. Does
swear well? Cee cee? Okay, you bring him an interesting point.
You can draw a parallel here. This is a game
that's growing from one billion to five bion to eleven
billion since the strike, and so the game isn't dood shape.
What I don't understand is that the revenue's rise, why
don't they continue to rise? In concert with the players.

(18:42):
It's like saying, Bobbo, you've done a great job. You
haven't missed any work. As a matter of fact, that
you work great. We're gonna go and cut your pay
for three Why wow, you know this place. I'm sorry
I didn't say that. I love that so but look,
you're not wrong, Bobbo in the sense that they're basically
fighting about a way to DIVI divide up eleven billion dollars.

(19:03):
And the reason I'm so angry is because to get
from one billion to eleven billion dollars you had to
have an econometric model that was working. So why mess
with something that is working? Brian Family your thoughts. Yeah, Bernie,
it's sad, it's disgusting. It's not like we didn't see
this coming. You were one of the first people, Bernie,
to mention that this was going to happen, that the

(19:25):
sides would sort of hit a stalemate and there was
that potential of games being canceled. And that's what it
looks like again, and barring something eleventh hour here by Monday,
if both sides don't agree on something, then they are
going to cancel games. And regards to the regular season,
and I just feel like, I think Bobo brought up

(19:46):
a great point for the common man. It all looks
so petty. It all looks like, my goodness, what is
one hundred thousand this or a million that to somebody
that already is is well off. And and that's a
perception out there. But I just feel bad for the
fan because they're being pulled through this, and I feel

(20:07):
like it's going to have an alienating factor on them.
And it's not like baijor League Baseball can't rebound from
this burnie, because you've been talking about the strike into
and how despite that fans have come and banded back
together and the money has gone up. But more so
than anything, I think we gotta be really wary of
the fan. And I know that gets lost in this conversation,

(20:30):
but you know how many people depend upon Let's just
talk about the concession, concession workers and and and all
those who depend on getting a paycheck from baseball. These
are people that are providing for their families. Like they're
not getting the multimillion dollar contracts, Bernie. As you know,
they get forgotten here, and it's sad that they get forgotten.

(20:54):
And we I just want to give more attention to them.
That's all fair, Ricky Herr. What are your thoughts? Yeah,
burning credit to you. You did you did call this one.
And I'm looking at the definition of negotiation discussion aimed
at reaching an agreement. But this doesn't feel like that

(21:14):
whatsoever in terms of the owner's approach to this whole
um CB a debacle. And like Brian said, uh, no one,
no one's winning. The only the only ones winning during
this uh negotiation are the owners because they're they're essentially
not affected by it. So it's a sad situation all around.

(21:37):
I'm just saying my life, that's all I'm saying. You
live in l A. You already know how what rein
is out here? How to pay my rough for six days? Like?
Come on, the gas parts is going up to on
a thousand? Please, you're not wrong, by the way, real quickly,
do you have a dictionary in front of you, Ricky?
And I'm being serious here, do you have it? Like

(21:58):
you can call it up on the internet or whatever.
I want you to do me a favor. I want
you to look up the word in transigence I N
T R A N S I G E N C
E and read the definition. That's what I characterized in
ninety four, and that's what I characterized now when you
read the definition, I think you're gonna see, Wait a minute,
this is kind of how both sides are acting. Let

(22:18):
me know when you have it called up, because go ahead,
intransigence refusal to change one's view or to agree about something.
Does that fairly well, you know, sort of characterize what's
happening right now. Spot on. So guys, we're gonna continue
to follow this. We're gonna talk about this a little
later in the show. We'll talk about maybe some favorite

(22:38):
baseball movies. Eventually, at some point someone's going to blink.
But I don't think it's gonna be the players this time.
My concern is this could get very ugly. I gave
it a five percent chance to get to do by Monday,
because you never say never. But I just can't see it. Then.
What happens beyond that and the sense of urgency and
how much pain either side can flicked or how much

(23:00):
painting your side can endure, will determine how they get
back to the table. But guys, I gave those members
in those gaps, and the main thing, the real lef
elephant in the room is the competitive balanced tax. And
until they come to an agreement on that, they're not
gonna have an agreement on that. Why they weren't discussing
that back on December two when the players locked out

(23:21):
were locked out and Rob Manfred said this would uh
the commissioner. Rob Manfred said, this will jump start negotiations. Well,
why the hell did you wait forty three days before
he sat down at the table for fifteen minutes. That's
why they lose credibility be that. As to me, I'm
a slappy The minute they're back on the field, I'm
all over like a whole ball on a ham sandwich.

(23:41):
Coming up. By the way, I mentioned this earlier in
the Open. Legalized sports betting is coming to Scotch Schapiro's
favorite state. I'll have details, but first let's go to
the man. He's in the starting rotation for the Los
Angeles Dodgers if they ever get back on the fielders.
Brian Findley, Brian fastball Friendley with the lady like that, Bernie,
except that'd rather be with the Padres. I'm a Sandy

(24:03):
Agan and how dare you include me and the Dodgers? No,
I'm just kidding. I got a few holes in my hand.
You know, you know you're good. And somebody who's got
great game and showed it on the basketball court last night.
That would be Kyrie Irving thirty eight points and that
led to a nets one three win against the Bucks.
And let's not forget about Bobby ports here thirty points

(24:26):
and twelve rebounds. Jaw Moran put on a show acrobatic
plays all over the place forty six points for his
Memphis Grizzlies as they torched the Bulls won sixteen to
one ten. The Nuggets got a triple double out of
Nicole Yo Kitsch as they are able to find a
way against the King's one fifteen to one ten. The

(24:48):
Heat take down the Spurs one nine. Damn at a
bio thirty six points, and how about those calves? What
Lebron James. They've got twelve games over five hundred in
regards to their record right now, and they see saw
past the Wizards ninety two to eighty six. In the
world of college basketball, a ton of teams were upset

(25:11):
inside the top ten of this week's EIGHTP Top twenty
five pull. That would include number one Gonzaga their first
and only conference loss of the season, and they go
down at number twenty three St. Mary's sixty seven to
fifty seven. Tommy Lloyd, who used to be an assistant
coach for gonzag and I'll leaves the number two Airs
on a Wildcats well, they fell on the road to

(25:34):
Colorado seventy nine to sixty three. Third ranked Auburn continues
their losing ways as they fell on the road to
number seventeen Tennessee sixty seven to sixty two. Fourth ranked
per Due had a chance to win at the end
of the second half a turnover, and then Michigan State
is able to prevail sixty eight to sixty five. And

(25:55):
then lastly number ten Baylor, the national champs from last season,
grooving against Number five Kansas eighty two seventy. As Bernie mentioned,
and we've been discussing, according to several outlets out there,
the negotiations between the Major League Baseball Players Association and
the league in regards to a new labor deal spiraling

(26:16):
in the wrong direction. On Saturday, as the Union I
wasn't happy with the way things were going. They still
don't have decided to man up and will show up
on Sunday for more talks with the league, and that
will mark the seventh straight day the sides will convene
and still a lot of hurdles between them. We were
talking about the money factor earlier in the hour and

(26:40):
how both sides are very far apart. But keep in
mind Monday is a huge day February because if no
deal is done by then, then the league has said
that games will be canceled in regards to the regular season.
And finally, Bertie, we had a We had an NHL
game outside play the tight Nissan Stadium. It was the

(27:02):
Lightning winners against the Predators. Three to two, sixty eight
thousand plus were there and it was really a cool
made for a television event. With that, let's get it
back to a man who's done some television. He's doing
it in the radio sphere as well. It's Bernie Fratto.
All right, thanks so much, Brian. I mentioned earlier in
the show legalized sports betting could be coming to one

(27:24):
of Scott Supiro's favorite states that, of course Minnesota has
I always opened my show It's gonna be lit like
legal sports betting in Minnesota. You can think of representative
there by the name of Zach Stevenson. Now they're not
home yet, Okay, they Minnesota's got some hurdles, but the
train is on the track. And he's one of the Uh.
He's in the Minnesota legislature, and he's an admitted daily

(27:48):
Fantasy League player, and he hails from the great city
of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, place I've actually been to. I
went to a pool hall there once, had some pancakes.
Probably too much information, but a good buddy of mine, Dave,
sweet Minnesota native, he took me. He took me there.
So what's interesting is there are twenty six states in
the District of Columbia that have adopted some form of

(28:10):
legalized betting on college and professional sports. But Minnesota is
about to get in line to be another one. What
has to happen is Zack Stevenson has to put together
a bill, and they're getting very close. All right. A
year ago he started to do it, and they got
tied up with the state budget and they had the
COVID pandemic or this might have been done by now.

(28:30):
But since then, uh, he's met. Zack Stevenson has met
with all eleven recognized travel councils in Minnesota. All of
the professional sports teams to colleges companies involved, and there's
been a lot of conversations in Minnesota lawmakers on both parties.
They've actually introduced sports UH sports betting bills since the

(28:53):
Supreme Courts eighteen ruling, but they haven't had a lot
of success. However, according to an analysis by the National
Conference of State Legislatures, when you look at the states
that have legalized sports betting and the and the states
that are negotiating, although Minnesota is not one of them, admittedly,

(29:14):
they just simply move slower on these types of things.
So if I'm a betty man, do I think Minnesota
is is going to have sports betting in the next
year or two? I do. Um. The sports betting industry
has geared up to begin lobbying in Minnesota, and there's
an organization called the Sports Betting Alliance that's actually contacted

(29:37):
five lobbyists UH and I could mention the names of
these guys, but it reten wouldn't really matter. But they're
also being supported by, you know, some very substantial companies
like FanDuel and DraftKings and bet MGM. And it's the
same alliance that's backing the initiative in California. So I
think eventually when you see the when you see the

(29:59):
numbers coming out of New Jersey, and when you when
you when you see what has happened nationally, and when
you see just here in Las Vegas, we set a
record for Super Bowl betting for a New Handle hundred
and seventy nine million, up from the previous hive a
hundred and fifty seven million, which is four years ago.
That's incredible, that's incredible growth. Back to Minnesota, one of

(30:22):
the main issues that Stevenson is trying to get across
is that using cell phones and apps to place bets
within the jurisdiction of a tribe or state without crossing
political lines has been the biggest challenge. One of the
reasons that New Jersey has been so successful and their
handle and I give them top credit for their innovation

(30:45):
and top credit for using the latest technology. So you
don't have to walk into a brick and mortar facility
to place your bet. You can do it right from
your phone. You can open up on a count on
your phone. There's there's plenty of choices and great us
out there, and all of that it enables you to
take part in in game betting and halftime betting and
prop betting, these types of things we don't never really

(31:07):
leaving your living room, and it's all legal, and in
the industry is really now dominated by mobile gambling, and
the truth, the truth of the matter is this Minnesota
would and this is where it gives Dax Stevenson a
lot of credit. He realizes the state would stand and
lose a ton of control, a ton of revenue if
it doesn't allow mobile betting. And again you create a

(31:27):
situation where you don't have to get in the car
and go to uh a brick and mortar sports book,
which is still something that if it's if you have
one buy it's fun to do, fun to go hang
out watch a game, and do it all the time
here in Las Vegas. So the long and short of
it is a report released a couple of weeks ago
by a national research firm. I hope I pronounced it right.
These guys are great guys at semi emails all the time.

(31:48):
They're llers and kragic, I believe is how you pronounce it.
They estimate that the revenue via state sanctioned sports betting
reached over four point three billion. Now, that's a hundred
and seventy increase over the previous year. That's the amount
wagered minus the amount paid out to betters and winnings.

(32:10):
That's an incredible number. I'll give you a perspective on
how big that number is. If you started to count
from one to a million, one second at a time,
it would take your twelve days. If you started to
count from one to one billion, one second at a time,
that twelve days jumps to thirty three years. When you're

(32:33):
talking four point three billion, you're talking a very robust number.
And I think Stevenson's act. Stevenson and the lawmakers in
their House and the Senate all friends, all dfl ers.
They back legalized sports betting and they believe you can
produce revenue for the state. Long and short of it is,
Can Minnesota be part of the mix as one of

(32:55):
the states that has legalized sports betting year in the
not too distant future, I say yes. Coming up, we
bring it back out to Las Vegas, macking on sports.
McKenzie rivers. You know him, you love me, can't live
without him. Yes, the events in Ukraine have affected the
world of sports. And he'll tell you Why are Bernie
Friddo Wild coming to you live from Las Vegas, Fox

(33:16):
Sports Radio Studios. Stick at stay. You're listening to Fox
Sports Sunday on Fox Sports Radio. 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 all right back on Fox Sports Sunday,
Fox Sports Radio. I'm Bernie Friddock coming to you live

(33:39):
from Las Vegas. Fox Sports Radio Studios. Will take after
three m At this time we bring him back out
to Vegas. You know him, you love me, Candlee without
him macking on sports with Mackenzie Rivers. Mackenzie, Uh, we
have a worldwide event that is taking place. Uh. That
is frankly tragic in my view. However, like a lot

(33:59):
of things, you can disrupt the world of sports and
this is no different. Yes, Polish superstar Robert Lewandowski said,
Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, obviously
talking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But we cannot
pretend that nothing is happening. I think that's a very
powerful statement, especially coming from him. A little context for

(34:21):
you that are not as involved with the soccer community.
How good is Robert Lewandowski. Well, there's been three players
in the last fifty years to score fifty goals in
a season. Maybe you heard of the first two. Messi
did it, Ronaldo did it, and Robert Lewandowski did it.
And he made a big statement today, not only him,
but the Polish federation. They're scheduled to play in March

(34:43):
Russia Federation for a chance to go to the World Cup.
It's it's the playoffs. It's the biggest game of the
World Cup season, you know, entering the World Cup, and
they're not gonna play at Poland has refused to play
Russia because of the conflict, and Sweden just recently joined
in them in that and that they're not going to
play Russia. So it remains to be determined obviously, you know,

(35:05):
lots of dollars at stake, lots of private stake. You know,
people work their whole lives to try to be part
of the World Cup. So it's a very difficult and
fascinating dilemma. What do you think should happen? There's a
three teams vying for one playoff spot. One of them's Russia.
The other two teams don't want to play them, So
let's set this up Poland, as you said with rob
feature you know who featured by Robert Lewandowski. Chris did

(35:27):
that in one of his SACER reports a few weeks back,
that it's my understanding that that game versus Russia, the
winner that game automatically advanced to the World Cup. That correct, Yes, okay,
so just pulling forth shit, Now are they out there
they're sacrificing your World Cup. Well, it's it's a it's
a pool, and there's four teams vying for two spots,

(35:49):
and two of those teams are Russia. Three of those
teams are Russia, Sweden and Poland. Two of them are
are opting out and the other one, the other third
team that's vying for the fourth playoff spot. Don't have
that name right in front of me of the Czech Republic.
But and that's a question whether or not the Czech
Republic is going to make a stand and say I'm
not gonna play Russia. If they do, if all three do,

(36:10):
then arguably the three could you know, kind of skirt
Russia to the side if they all made that statement.
I don't know if that's fair. I don't know if
that's uh, you know, opportunizing a political moment in order
to advance in the stage. So that's it's it's all
up in the air at this moment. I believe you.
EFA just canceled the tournament in Russia as well. Correct, Yes, huge,
I mean the super Bowl every year is the Champions

(36:31):
League Final. Uh it rivals super Bowl numbers a hundred million,
two hundred million worldwide viewers watched this thing this year
in two is set to be in St. Petersburg, Russia.
We don't know who's gonna be in it, but we know,
like l A Rams, I mean, like the l A Stadium,
we know where it was gonna be. Not anymore a
huge huge, I mean, the biggest sporting event in the

(36:53):
world was supposed to be in your hometown and your
and you're and you're selling pretzels, and now they're not
going to be there. As a Russian citizen, that hurts.
That's that's not you know, it's not a happy thing.
We're really on on charted territory. The only thing I
can remotely compare this too in nineteen seventy nine, when
the Russians attacked Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter, who was president at

(37:15):
the time, decided we were going to boycott the nineteen
eighty Olympics, which were to be held in Moscow in
nineteen eighty, and the in fact were I think they
were about twenty or thirty nations who boycotted those Olympics.
The Russians paid back the favor when they boycotted the
Olympics in four in Los Angeles. I was living in
southern California at the time. Went to several Olympic events.

(37:35):
Beyond that, in terms of individual sports, where you're talking
about team sports like soccer, you know, baseball, football, basketball,
I don't know. I think we're on charted water here.
I have not seen anything affected to this degree. And
this is a big deal. World Cup is a big
damn deal in Poland's got a good team and I'm
curious if if begging off of this game causes them

(37:56):
to be essentially eliminate themselves. I don't think there's one
citizen of the world that would want to see Poland
have to be reprimanded for for this kind of statement,
because I think most people around the world would agree
with this statement. Not only soccer and w n B
A I mean Diana TRROSSI has made the majority of
her salary in her life in Russia. There's a big

(38:19):
question mark is how how many American players will continue
to play in Russia all the players that were playing
in the Ukrainian League. That our w NBA players have
been safely evacuated. It was announced by NBC. Now I'm
a little remiss to say this, but there are betting
odds when it comes to things like international invasions. And
someone asked us on Twitter, what are the odds that tonight. Well,

(38:42):
it's not out there yet, but there are you know,
there's a lot of money out there, a lot of
pools out there, there are international what they call prediction markets,
and there are some odds. And I gotta say there
has been. Um I've been heartened and inspired by Ukraine
fighters ukne sticking in this thing. I didn't think that
it would be a conflict. I thought that would lay

(39:03):
down arms. Obviously I'm not known, but the market has reacted. Thursday,
this line opened keep to fall to Russia by April one.
It was on Thursday when it looked like it was
just gonna be a sweep. Now it's down to seventy
as as Ukrainians are. This gentleman who tweeted at us
said there was a line in Nigeria, and I would

(39:24):
have been curious to know what the line was and
if it corresponds with your seventy because as you know, McKenzie,
you do this for living. Lines correspond with percentages of probability.
By the way, if you're holding a ticket on Poland
to win the World Cup, you could have got them
at two hundred to one. So this affects the betting
markets as well, although this is a you know, a

(39:45):
much more benign aspect of this, but that's part of it.
Mckenzy got the last word on this. Yeah, a couple
other lines will throw at you. German nuclear power, will
they be able to be energy independent well to get
a nuclear power up by three? And will Russia do
the possible and bade another country this year? Thankfully, there's
only a five percent chance according to this one prediction

(40:05):
market man, I got right. Yes, you really can literally
bet on anything. But as we've talked about here in
Las Vegas, it's got to be in a box score, right,
it's gotta be it can't be a situation where you
might know the outcome before it's actually done, you know,
kind of like the UH national anthem in the Super Bowl.
Right McKenzie, You'll be back in an hour with more

(40:27):
making on sports and we'll pick it up where we
left it off. You'll have the NBA Sunday Card and
three best bets for the NBA on Sunday. Coming up.
I want to talk about handshake lines. Do you want
Howard and I want to give my two cents? Keep
it locked right here. I'm Bernie Frido. This is Fox
Sports Radio, Fox Sports Sunday, the Fox Sports Sunday Train Rules.

(40:48):
Right on. I'm Bernie Friddo. Come to you live the
Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios. Will take you up
to three am Pacific, six am Eastern, two weeks away
from so Action Sunday March Madness. Will get to some
odds a little bit later in the show. The top
six teams go down today. That's why this time of
year is so much fun. You can script everything but

(41:11):
the ending. Speaking of basketball games, speaking of handshake lines,
there was a little incident that took place last week
in Wisconsin, and the net result has been John Howard
a five game suspension. He'll be suspended through the remainder
of the regular season and uh and then he'll be
reinstated for the Big Ten Tournament. I'm a little surprised

(41:35):
Greg Guard didn't get at least a one game suspension,
and it leads to a larger discussion that I'm going
to have right now. But first, let's set this up, okay,
because what's been skipped over are the steps that really
led to this little scuffle, the you know, dust up,
whatever you wanna call it. The optics were bad. Beyond that,

(41:57):
boys being boys, I guess. Look, there's an old adage. Okay,
you coach your team and I'll coach mine. But both coaches,
neither of their shorts are clean when you consider what happened,
because in the final minute of Wisconsin's victory over Michigan,
they ended up winning seventy seven to sixty three. Well,

(42:17):
Greg Guard called time out Wisconsin's head coach with fifteen
seconds left. Now why do you do that? Well, he
had five walk ons on the floor, and even though
Michigan was down by fourteen with fifteen seconds to go,
they had two starters on the floor and they were
pressing Wisconsin full court press. Again, you coach your team,

(42:39):
I'll coach mine. Greg Guard didn't like that, so we
called time out. Calls his guys, who barely ever get
to play over the side. Didn't want them to be
in a situation where they were embarrassed. Play resumes and
the game ends. Now you could say that this was

(43:00):
a teaching moment. Juwan Howard wanted to teach a couple
of those players something to do with the full court press.
With fifteen seconds to go, can you coach your team,
I'll coach mine? Is that plausible? Why not? Maybe Greg Guard, Well,
he wanted to teach his player something, so he called
time out. He is neither coach liked the other's actions,

(43:25):
and that triggered a small francas that really sort of looked,
you know, like not such a great event for either
Big ten school. You know, there's an old saying class
never goes out of style, respect never goes out of style.
And the truth of the matter is, to a great degree,

(43:46):
on the sports field and then the court and on
the ice wherever, to a great degree, your success is
predicated on how will you do and how will you
react when you lose? How you react when things don't
go well. Let's go back three or four years. Tony
Bennett and Virginia Cavaliers were the first to ever sixteen

(44:07):
seed to lose or the number one seed to lose
to a sixteen sea and they lost to Baltimore, Maryland County.
But they were classy. There were no post game issues.
They congratulated and wouldn't you know it, Virginia rebounded and
one the following year. That's how you react. Now, look,
I know it's easier said than done. Let's let's unpack this.

(44:30):
So the handshake line is proceeding, and again Juwan Howard
tries to walk past guard without shaking his hands, but
tells him, I'll remember this. Guard couldn't let him go,
all right, but in the heat of battle, he stepped
in front of him physically and put his hand on him.
That escalated the issue. Now Howard's even matter. He puts
a finger in Guard's face and he was yelling, probably

(44:53):
about the end what he considered to be an unnecessary
time out. There could have been a much larger melee,
and Howard through some kind of open hand slap on
top of Wisconsin assistant coach Guy by the name of
Joe kravinhoft and then a couple of players got involved
and a couple of real punches worth he all, but
no one was injured. It was kind of an ugly scene,
but in the grand scheme of things, it causes us

(45:15):
to reflect and how we as a civilized society deal
with situations when they don't go our way. Now, handshake
lines have been around forever, and there's been issues forever.
In the nineties Texas high school football and if you've

(45:35):
ever been to a Texas high school football game, they're amazing.
They don't play there, man, Uh, they get thirty fans
a game, big time stadiums. You feel like it's really sensational.
Years ago in Texas, a couple of their conferences banned
and I'm called I'm talking. In the nineties they banned
handshake lines at the end of games because there were

(45:57):
too many, There were too many brawls. It be came normal,
it was normalized, so they stopped it. Um. You know,
players can spit on each other, they can push and shove,
and you know what is supposed to be a show
of sportsmanship. You know, the truth of the matter is
something like this happens the other day, and people act
like this is a brand new phenomenon. Handshake lines have

(46:21):
had issues for decades, not just in the pros, where
you really don't have them in the pros, but in
college and in high school and even youth leagues. Only
the NHL has been the most dignified. It's amazing. They
beat the crap out of each other in a seven
game playoff series and then they shake hands, and uh,
how they do it? You know, the the emotions are
running high, but they still do it. And I think

(46:42):
to a great degree, Juwan Howard is a good guy
and he's very likable. He had a bad moment, but
I also think the frustration has bubbled up from what's
been an underachieving season. Michigan was six in the country preseason,
and now they're on the bubble to make the tournament.
And I think Juwan Howard's feeling that heat little bit
from his E. D Award manuals. I think he's in

(47:02):
the hot seater, could get fired, No, but he's feeling heat,
and I think it all built to a boil. It
wasn't just that game, it wasn't just that time out.
It wasn't just that press and Greg Guard. It was
everything adding up. Like I coached travel baseball in Michigan
around here two thousand. We had a nice team. I've
done a couple of periods of my life. Had a
great contumact team in southern California in the early nineties

(47:24):
and around two thousand we had a situation where we
got into a tournament. In the quarterfinals, we went to
shake hands. My kids came back to me and their
hands were all wet with the other team had spin
on their hand and they shook hands with my kids.
And these kids were only thirteen years old. So I
went in confront with their coach and I said, you
know my team and apology. And the coach said, what
happened because your kids spin on your hands and shook

(47:46):
my kids hands. I got lucky. That guy was very
reasonable man. He wouldn't apologize to my team. He said,
I try to teach my kids the fundamentals. It's not
always easy to teach sportsmanship. He was a class act,
but that was a youth team. Look, these things have happened.
There have been chronicle situations of you know, high school

(48:07):
handshake lines where newspaper articles have been written about hand spitting, shoving,
arguing during postgame handshakes, right or you know, instead of
slapping a high five, they slap each other. There was
even a stories back in the sixties were a gentleman,
uh some some trainer who had been a trainer for

(48:29):
New Jersey high schools for like fifty years wrote an
op ed piece about this many years ago. He said
he got knocked to the ground after a brawl once because, uh,
during the handshake line, a cheerleader got punched, if you
can believe it, right, And so there is sort of
an element to this. Are we playing with fire? And

(48:52):
what we now have is this highly charged society where
people get so bent at the drop of a hat.
And you've got social media it where people that are
nameless and faces not have a voice, and they can
come at you and say what they want. They want power,
so they try to steal yours. You're trash talking each
other and during the games and you're knocking each other
silly than Bengo. You're supposed to walk down the line

(49:14):
and the guy who just got his butt beat has
to shake the other guy's hand. Yeah, that's the way
it works. That's the way it works. Because the truth
of the matter is you learned some of your greatest
lessons in life after suffering failure. And again, I think
this situation, maybe in retrospect, is going to be proven
to have been a little blown out of uh, out

(49:35):
of what I would consider. You know, what's the word
I'm looking for? They we blow out of proportion, I
guess is the word I'm looking for. But the truth
of the matter is UH. In Los Angeles high schools
they banned postgame UH handshakes back in because there was
a public outcry that there was too much on sportsmen
light conduct having to do with handshake lines after the

(50:00):
games UH. In Southern Texas, as I mentioned earlier, not
only in football, they did it after volleyball matches as well.
In Columbus, Ohio in the nineties, they didn't have handshake lands.
They finally reinstated him in after a seven year band.
So you can go on and on and you talk
about the traditional handshake, and I don't really know what

(50:23):
the ideology behind the traditional handshake is. You do it
in basketball, you do it in high school basketball, you
do it in college basketball. You certainly do in high
school football. College football not so much. Players kind of
gravitate to each other's same with the NFL. You don't
do it in the NBA. You only do it in
the NHL after a seven game you know, playoff series
or whatever, after series in or after the Stanley Cup finals,

(50:46):
and there's actually a discussion. Now I'm of the belief,
and I'm gonna bring in the crew here in a minute.
I'm of the belief, don't change anything. Don't throw out
the baby with the bathwater. There are thousands and thousands
and thousands of games played throughout the course of every season,
and and only a minuscule portion of those games does

(51:09):
something truly happen that would cause you to give you pause. Okay,
so I I don't think we run from what has
been a tradition. And I'm not really sure how and
why the tradition started. But I don't think you throw
out the baby with the bath holder. I think part
of life, and certainly part of advancing in the sports

(51:30):
world and being the best person you can be to
learn the life lessons you want to learn has to
do with your ability to take the l when your
team didn't perform that day. But you're gonna have a chance,
maybe to get him next time, all right, and congratulate
your opponent. Do the best you can't. I know that's
easy to say in the heat of battle when I'm
not doing it anymore. I played to sports and high

(51:54):
scoolpid football and baseball, played baseball in college, and they
had At the Cincinnati Reds organization, You're dealing with highly
charged athletes who get ticked off. And I think, again,
it's a situation it's worth discussing when I share something
of this nature. I'm not telling you what to say,
what to do, or what to think. I'm just trying
to give you something to think about. And when you

(52:17):
look back on what happened last Sunday, it's superimber that
both even our leaders like a Juwan Howard and Greg Guard,
can be better. And I think maybe they've acknowledged that
can be better. Coming up, I want to bring the
crew in and get their thoughts on this. Obviously they
have observations and maybe they have an alternative view. Maybe
maybe they feel that the handshake line is an idea

(52:40):
whose time has come and gone for multiple reasons. I'm
Bernie Friddo or Company Alive from the Las Vegas Fox
Sports Radio studios, don't go away. You're listening to Fox
Sports Sunday on Fox Sports Radio. All right back on
Fox Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio and Bernie Freddo Company
Alive the Las Vegas Fox Sports Its radio studios are

(53:02):
talking about the incident that took place in Wisconsin between
Michigan and Wisconsin and the subsequent handshake liient kerfuffle and
Juwan Howard's five games suspension. But what are your thoughts
in terms of a what was your knee jerk reaction
when you saw what took place in Wisconsin? And you
have a thought on the concept of handshake lines and

(53:25):
should they continue? Um? First of all, handshake line shouldn't continue? Uh, well,
you know what they should. I like the fact that
the show's you know, good job and everything like that.
Like in UFC, you got two dudes literally beating the
crap out of each other, and then at the end
of it, you know, they go give each other handshaking,
a hug, covering each other's blood and you know, a
good job, good game, thank you for letting my fist

(53:45):
hit your face a couple of times, you know, in
the last twenty minutes. I think Juwan, uh, John I
always say his name wrong, Juwan Howard Um. He overreacted.
I think he needed more self control. This is a
and it played in the NBA. You've been pushed around
by a lot bigger man, a lot stronger and taller
guys and the coach that you went face to face with.

(54:09):
And it wasn't like the guy was holding you when
you hit, like there was already a crowd there and
you swung across people to reach this dude. I think
the suspension to suspension suspension is warranted. I think he
needs better self control, and I do think that the
handshake like should continue. It does show a better like
a you know, just just camaraderie. I guess I would

(54:31):
say team sportsmanship because in the n b A I
know when and even in the NFL, when the losing
team just walks off the field. That's one of the
biggest stories in the media. Tom Brady lost the Super
Bowl and left like I actually no, he didn't. He
spoke You guys just didn't see it. No, it's all
It's all fair. And at the same situation, Cam Newton
was unfairly portrayed in he walked across the field and

(54:54):
gave a Peyton Manning a little hug. The truth of
the matter is, as he said at the top, Uh,
respect never goes out of style, class never goes out
of style, and it's easy to show those things when
things are going well. I think you're spot on, Bobo.
He just lost control and he had a later moment
situation and there was a build up that overflow. But

(55:16):
I'm in agreement. I don't I don't want to throw
away the baby with the bathwater, because if you're gonna
at the end of the day, if you're gonna compete
at a high level, you have to respect your opponent metaphor, yeah,
but you have to really respect your opponent and if
you're going to have success on this high level of
division one of basketball or even or beyond. Brian Familey,

(55:39):
what are your thoughts on what happened last Sunday and
your take on handshake lines in general? Bernie, I think
that this is not a story about, or it shouldn't
be about whether or not handshakes are something that needs
to be continued. This is more so a look at
John Howard in this sense, as Bobo mentioned, and overreaction

(56:01):
and him not able to administer self control This was
somebody who has been feeling the pain of a really
embarrassing season for a very proud man who has led
a team a year ago to the Elite eight, really
resurrecting the program, and then a year of adversity and
hurdles and losses have been piling up, and to me,

(56:26):
it just kind of came out this was his way
of venting, and it wasn't a healthy way of venting.
It's sort of like, let's say, Bernie, you had a
bad day at work, maybe a boss yelled at somebody,
and you get in your car and somebody drives in
front of you. You think that they're cutting you off.
You get into some form of road rage and it's like,

(56:47):
you gotta find better places to release that. It comes
down to him not having those outlets, and then it
kind of comes out sideways, gets him in trouble and
obviously in some some negative attention to Alright, so how
about the future handshake, land school and all the way
down to high school and little legue? Do we keep them?
I really don't think they're necessary, because Bernie, I've had

(57:09):
the same stuff that that you were talking about with
Like I remember as kids, you know, they would like
spit in your hand and do all these things. It's
it's what are you doing there? Other than you have
to think about it from a greater good. The greater
good is you're playing a game. And I get the
whole sportsmanship thing, but you don't need to do some

(57:31):
things for the sake of I mean, what do you think, Bernie,
The purpose of this is to do what to teach
the kids about sportsmanship? Is that sort of what what
they think when things aren't going I think so, I
think so, and I and I respect anybody's opinion who
thinks they're out dated. I still say sports teach great
life lessons. And since the vast majority of these handshake

(57:54):
lines proceed without incident, I I don't see the point
in in canceling goals, But maybe I'm willing to listen
to an alternative opinion. The key is is, like you said, yeah,
of course, it's a sportsmanship situation. Think about it. If
you're on the winning side and you competed the other
team competed, you played within the framework of the rules,

(58:16):
and all of a sudden they turned their back on
you when the games is over, that's not right either. Well,
you're not going to bat a thousand. You know, no
one goes undefeated, unless, of course, you're you know, Floyd
Mayweather or Rocky Marciano or the seventy two Dolphins. But
I digress. Uh, Ricky, what are your thoughts on what
happens Sunday? And should we continue with handshake lions? Juwan

(58:39):
Howard's reaction was totally totally overboard the fact that he
explained himself and said he felt um threatened that this
man put his hands on me. I'm not buying it.
I'd respect him more if he just said I don't
like the man and I wanted to hit him and um.

(59:01):
In terms of handshake lines going forward, I don't think
they're necessary. I'm I'm with Brian. They just seem they
seem like, uh almost like a like they have to
do it for for and and to hold an image

(59:23):
or something like that. They don't seem genuine. They might
not be. I think you got you know, like, what
would you said, you get to a UFC guys knocking
the crap out of each other, you gotta kind of
bite your lip and and and stand up. You know,
every year every four years of presidents elected and sixty

(59:43):
million people voted for the person who lost. You still
got to get up in front of the crowd and
face the music and it's love. You're you mean like
when Hillary didn't show up exactly? Yeah, well that's true,
that's true. I'll tell you what. I want to circle
back around, guys, because I want to I want what
I like to do. He's interject a situation that took

(01:00:08):
place last Sunday that's been sort of neatly ignored. Shouldn't
Greg Guard have maybe got at least one game because
he had chances to let the situation simmer but he didn't.
He shouldn't maybe perhaps should not have stepped in front
of Juwan. Howard should have let it go and dealt
with it. Larry could have called him on the phone

(01:00:29):
three days later. Whatever. I know, it's easy for me
to say, Bobbo, your thoughts. Shouldn't Greg Guard perhaps received
at least a one game suspension? Um he should have
been suspended and fined. I mean, I didn't. I didn't
see that much of a touch to make Juwan have
to reach across those people to hit him. And the
touch that I saw happened way ahead of time, and

(01:00:52):
he didn't even hit the person that actually originally touched, right,
which I never got. Ye. Yeah, so I don't No, No,
he shouldn't have been suspended. No, he was fine. Tan
grant that that's fine. That's fine because you did stop
this man in the middle of a thing and yeah,
no suspension, Fine is fine, no suspension. I think Jawan's

(01:01:12):
uh punishment was was perfect. Though. You know, it's interesting
because Dick Vitale, who's a great guy, he believes the
time has come to eliminate the line after games is
shaking hands, doesn't like it anymore. Patrick Ewing basically said
he went on a sports talk station in Toronto and
said he doesn't like the handshake line. He's never liked

(01:01:33):
the handshake line. You just get done with a heated
battle and the heated game. Um, Brian, what do you
think do we continue with handshake line? Or should great
guard have been suspended? That's the question. Well, yeah, and Bernie,
just quickly to your first point. It's interesting because when
you do the media after a game and you're a
player in the NBA or your coach, they give you

(01:01:56):
like a cooling off period, like that's right. So if
they're doing that for media, they should do that for
the handshake line, because you see that there could be
problems that manifest and how you can avoid some of that.
It's also an unwritten rule to do a handshake line.
And we've seen Bernie and baseball, as you know, a
lot of unwritten rules sort of dissolved. But should Greg

(01:02:17):
Guard be suspended? No, coaches are lovey dovey. They're very
affectionate with one another. It didn't come off to me.
And looking just right now looking back at how both
he and Guard and Howard sort of connected afterwards, and
coaches are they all? They hug each other, they do
all this stuff. Clearly there was something deep down that

(01:02:41):
was festering within Howard. He didn't have an outlet and
he just burst. So I don't think that Guard did
enough to warrant a suspension. Alright, fair enough, good stuff, Brian,
Uh coming up. You can't watch baseball, but you can
watch some of your favorite base ball movies. I'll tell
you what mine are. But first let's go to the man. Well,

(01:03:05):
you know, he's always asking intellectual questions. He wanted to
know the other day, why is it that hot talks
coming packages at ten but buns coming packages of eight.
Brian Finni with the latest thank you Bernie, questions that
I have never thought about, but but thanks to you,
they come to mind. Kyrie Irving thirty eight points for
the Nets. As we look at the NBA here on

(01:03:28):
three Brooklyn victorious over the Bucks. The Grizzlies are unpassed
the Bulls one sixteen to one ten. A career high
forty six points for Shaw Moran, who was having just
an incomparable season by his accounts. The Heat overcome the
Spurs one nine bam at a bio thirty six points.

(01:03:49):
We saw the Kelvs triumph over the Wizards eighties six
Yearrett Allen had a double double, and then there was
a Nicola Yoki's triple double where so you us to
seeing those from him, and the Nuggets paced past the
King's one fifteen to one ten. In college basketball, upset

(01:04:09):
city inside the top ten of the AP Top twenty
five pull this week we had number one Gonzaga going
down on the road to number twenty three St. Mary's
sixty seven to fifty seven. The gael fans they stormed
the court afterwards, the students were excited. Number two Arizona
got an l on the road to Colorado seventy nine

(01:04:32):
to sixty three, and what do you know, the buff
students section, they came onto the court afterwards in celebratory fashion.
Number three Auburn goes down on the road sixty seven
to sixty two to seventeenth ranked Tennessee Michigan State and
Tom Izzo. They battle back and take out number four
Produce sixty eight to sixty five. And number ten Baylor,

(01:04:55):
who is trying to defend their national championship. Well they
got a signature winning. It's number five Kansas in a
way go eighty two seventy. We've also been discussing Major
League Baseball and those negotiating and as Bernie would probably say,
putting negotiating in air quotes here those talks between the

(01:05:16):
league and the players Association regressing on Saturday in regards
to getting a new labor deal so that they can
actually have a season. Although things took a step back yesterday,
the union and the league are going to meet today,
which is gonna be the seventh straight day they have convened.

(01:05:37):
And if you follow a lot of the insiders, the
pundits that are closely following these negotiations, there still seems
to be so much between both sides that they haven't
really hashed out. And finally, Honda Classic p G E
two or third round complete in Daniel Berger eleven under

(01:05:57):
five stroke lead. Heading into Sunday later today, he will
tee off had a sixty nine on Saturday. With that,
let's get it back to our man in Las Vegas,
Bernie Frado, All right, thanks so much, Brian. Think I'm
gonna call an honorable I'm gonna move the favorite baseball
movies to the next hour after we do what in
my name and what kind of brand new fool? Because

(01:06:18):
there's another name of the news I'm gonna loopen the
crew real quickly on this as well. Between Juan Howard
Aaron Rodgers, his name has been in the news every day.
The question is will he return to Green Bay? What
does that mean for Davante Adams, who would replace Aaron Rodgers.
It's not so easy because Rogers still for him to

(01:06:39):
say I'm not going to be back in Green Bay.
He'd have to retire or he can demand a trade,
and it's up to the Packers whether or not they're
willing to trade him. I certainly wouldn't I don't think
that Brian Goodacons wants to be the guy known as
a guy who traded uh Baron Rodgers. Of course, this
starts to come a little or clear. March six, that's

(01:07:01):
the final day to use the franchise tag. And if
they franchise tag, Davante Adams and Tom Clements, one of
Rogers former quarterback coaches, is there. It's all set up
for Rogers to go somewhere and start over. It seems
to me would not make a hell of a lot
of sense, but um, you never know what can happen.
Stranger things have happened. What started this whole thing is

(01:07:24):
the last Tuesday, and after his appearance on the Pat
mcamy Show, Aaron Rodgers comes out with this gratifield gratitude
filled Instagram post and hasn't said he's decided on his future,
but his future is linked to Davante Adams and the
team's offseason plans. And he went on to thank Shaley
and Woodley and everybody all the way down to his
fifth grade teacher. It got pretty sappy. So finally I

(01:07:46):
started to kill myself with a chainsaw, but I couldn't
get the chainsaw to start, so I've had about enough
of Aaron Rodgers and the drama. Are you coming back
or not? Bobo? Is Aaron Rodgers coming back to Greenbay
or not? Don't care? Right? No, no, no, I get that, man,
I get that. I get that. But you got an opinion,
you don't have an opinion? Yeah, I don't care, Like
Aaron Rodgers is just doing this because he's Aaron Rodgers

(01:08:08):
and people care like, I don't know. It's it's like
that fret boyd that go to your high school that
just wants all the attention talk about me, talk about me. True,
how you said him going somewhere starting fresh, it wouldn't
help him. I mean it helped Tom Brady, so it's
a chance he can go somewhere that actually will work
for him. But I just just don't don't care, Like

(01:08:28):
I'm tired of talking about this season after season after seasons,
you got mad that they drafted Jordan's Love. Then you
went on a little hissy fit Rent, then you didn't
want to play there. Then you come back and play
you blow the first game. And the whole topic of
last year was does Aaron Rodgers still have it? Well,
he proved that he still has it, which means that
Green Bay is not gonna get rid of him. He's

(01:08:50):
not going anywhere. He's gonna be there next year, and
there's nothing he can do about it because he signed
that damn contract. That's the way I feel as well.
And to be fair, just to set the record straight
on Brady, his contract had fulfilled, been fulfilled and completed,
and it was pretty obvious that New England was not
going to offer from a new one or the one
they did was sort of a token contract for a

(01:09:11):
lot less money, so that was sort of a green light.
You're free to go. Rogers not so much. But to
your point, I I I I underscore your sentiment. I
don't really care. He's not nearly as interesting as he
wants himself to be to be. He's a smart guy,
he's a thoughtful guy. I think it's quarterback, no doubt

(01:09:31):
about it, the best. Like I would never take that
from you. Just don't care where you play anymore. I'm
just tired of talking about it. It's like almost like
when Lebron did that years ago, I'm gonna take my
talents to South Beach. It was cool then, and then
when he left, I was like, so I don't care
where he plays after this. You came, you went somewhere,
he chased the ring. You went back to Cleveland and
give him ring. I don't care where you win. I'm

(01:09:53):
happy you're in the Lakers uniform, but I don't care. No.
You bring up a good point because it feels like
they drag it out milking for all. It's fourth and
if you look at Aaron Rodgers history, I said this,
uh last summer when I did some shows. I think Bobo.
We did the shows five to eight, uh, several shows
last July, and I talked about Rogers as a guy
who's growing up with a chip on his shoulder, who

(01:10:14):
always felt like he had to do twice as much
to get half as much respect. He was unheralded on
his high school football team, didn't have a single scholarship,
had to go to a junior college, ends up with
cal has to fight his way through there, dropped on
draft day, sat behind Brett Farr for three or four
years in a debacle, and now for some reason, he's
never let I don't think he's ever let go of that.

(01:10:34):
You're right, he's a great quarterback. I make the distinction
between the two between the quarterback and the person and
just you know, tell me when you made a decision already,
I really don't care. He's gonna go back on the
Pat Mcam Show this Tuesday with more sappiness, and I
don't think I'll be listening. Brian Finley. Is Aaron Rodgers
back in green Man next year? Oh, he is definitely back.

(01:10:55):
And Bernie, of all those things that you pointed out
where he's been slighted, he can't let go of that
because that fuels his drive. And because it fuels his
drive on the field, it's part of him and that's
where it also leaks out off the field, and you
see all these other things that sort of complicate him
and make him such a mercurial person. But it all

(01:11:17):
stems back to like you said, Bernie, he's been slided
time after time, and whether it's on the field or not,
he has to find a way to kind of stick
us back to everybody. Ricky Herrara bring us home? Is
Ricky is uh Aaron Rodgers staying in Green Bay? Bernie
the total Aaron Rodgers movies to create as much premeditated

(01:11:39):
speculation as he can and stay in Green Bay. Will Yeah,
We're an agreement, gentlemen. Good stuff. All right, coming up,
We're bringing it back out to Vegas. You know him,
you love you, can't leave without him. Macin on Sports
Mackenzie rivers, This is the part you want to pay
attention to. McKenzie was hot in the NBA last year.

(01:11:59):
He's gonna look ahead to the Sunday NBA card later
today and give you three best bets. I'm Bernie fratto
Were coming to you live from the Las Vegas Fox
Sports Radio Studios. Keep it locked, don't go away. You're
listening to Fox Sports Sunday on Fox Sports Radio. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.

(01:12:22):
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. All right back on Fox
Sports Radio, Fox Sports Sunday. I'm Bernie Frattock come to
you live from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
We bring you back out to Vegas. You know him,
you love me, can't lee without um. At this time

(01:12:43):
last year, he uncovered an NBA trim that ended up
being I think North the six percent, and it may
involve the first of three best bets. You have as
the Sixers invade New York. Indeed it does. And by
the way, Bernie how time lies, it was actually more
than two years ago, early February that I came on this.

(01:13:06):
You gave me the opportunity to come on a national
radio show. Pretty exciting, and I said, hey, this is
the number one trend I'm seeing right now. NBA road
favorites between five points and ten points, so that mid range.
I said, they just seem to be running away with
these games late. The weak scoring keeps going up. I
don't think the algorithms at the NBA markets bookmakers are

(01:13:28):
using are catching up to it. Well, it's been two years,
has been more than two years, and here are the
results of just that simple you know back I mean,
no handicapping, no sophistication, just road favorites in that mid range.
Hundred eight winners, hundred and sixty four losers better than fifty.
Just betting that trend the last two plus years. Now,

(01:13:49):
let's get into it. Obviously that's not a great percentage,
but you could bet every single one and make a
little profit. That's good numbers. I like the Philadelphia seventies
Sixers tomorrow in the early game the men in a
game at the New York Knicks. Let me get into
the Knicks first, and then I'll touch on the Sixers.
The more exciting story the Knicks. Tom Thibodeaux has had
a Coach of the Year season and each of his

(01:14:10):
first years in a new team, three different teams, and
he's had a very disappointing, injury plagued season. The second
game seems like he's just playing his players too much.
Julius Randall most minutes in the league last year, Dereck
grows old age ton of minutes. He hasn't been able
to stay healthy. And the Knicks have been disappointing. And
when the Knicks are disappointing, you see it in the

(01:14:32):
crowd enthusiasms. Last year against the spread at home, we
saw it in the playoffs with a Tree Young chance,
they were, they were raucous. This year they're fort No
one really cares they're outside of the playoffs. It's not
that loud in there. In fact, if you take out
last year and you go and look at the last
fifteen years of New York Knicks basketball, only forty seven

(01:14:53):
percent against the spread at home not getting it done.
I think the Knicks have another quiet not quiet evening
or rather mattenee. Let's get into the seventies sixers. Twelve.
That is the number from James Harden's debut against the
Timberwolves that you have to keep intention to because if
he plays like this, they are a serious contender. James
Harden scored twenty five points on twelve field goal attempts,

(01:15:17):
and he had twelve assists to go along with it.
To feed the m v P favorite Joel Embiid, I
talked about the last hour, how Yokich I think has
more value. I think the way the way Hardens playing,
that's why he has more value, and Bead is gonna
get a little bit less shine if Harden plays this well,
I think they keep it up. I think they're excited
to play again together. I like the seventies sixers minus

(01:15:38):
seven and a half at the New York Knicks tomorrow
in the early game. Here's a question for you. So
you're brought up the next record against the spread moribund
correction from last year, Phillies right around the number. They're
thirty and twenty nine against the spread this year, which
means they're fifty point nine a t S what with
Harden in the lineup, and I don't know that line

(01:16:00):
would have been. I still still think it would have
been right around seven. So I don't know if they've
they've adjusted for Harden or have they It's funny because
they adjusted for Hardened. Uh, Clearly, from him not playing
to playing is a big deal. But from that move,
from having seth Curry and having Andre Drummond the two
pieces they traded up for Hardened, it was actually not

(01:16:21):
that big of a power ratings adjustment that I saw,
only a point and a half. I think that's kind
of light. And I think he showed in his debut
Harden did against the Timberwolves. He's much more ready to go,
much closer to the m v P level he was
at his peak than than he went than we've seen
so far this season. Maybe he was kind of sandbagging
in Brooklyn so far. That's what the early early results
tell us. So your second best interesting as well, because

(01:16:43):
the Boston Celtics have been absolutely hot of late lane
and fairly big number. They're right down the middle against
the spread this year. Meanwhile, Indiana about forty seven on paper,
though Boston a much better team, yes on a for
the metrics. And speaking of metrics, if you go to
NBA five dot com right now, you know lauded prediction

(01:17:07):
website the number one team to win the NBA Championship
according to their metrics, the Boston Celtics. I'm seeing a
lot of the same love when I break down the numbers.
If you look at since the turn of the year,
and a lot of teams had COVID stuff in December,
a lot of teams had injuries. So let's say since
the since the calendar changed, who has been the best teams?
The Boston Celtics have been the best team power rating.

(01:17:31):
I mean defensive wise, it's not even closed between them
and the second best team. And now we faced Indiana,
a team that's completely in flux. Last year there were
a defensive, slow team centered around Sa Bonus and Turner.
They're changing all of that around. They brought in Buddy Healed,
they brought in Halliburton, They're experimenting. They're scoring a lot
of points, but their defense is giving up even more.

(01:17:52):
I think the Celtics in a wild one maybe up
and down game with a few lead changes, break it down,
break it away in the fourth core to end up
covering the seven point number. Now, this next game has
been the most intrigued by far Utah catching a short
number at Phoenix. Phoenix has covered the number fifty at
the time this year at thirty three and twenties seven. Meanwhile,

(01:18:13):
Utah well under five. However, no, Chris Paul, how much
do you factor that into your handicap? I think it's massive.
I think it's massive because of the fact that Cameron Payne,
the Sun's backup point guard, has not been healthy. He's
been dealing with a wrist injury. Now let's look at
Chris Paul. Obviously, before the bubble, he wasn't with the team.

(01:18:34):
Devin Booker and co. Won eight straight games amazing and
he didn't miss me money games. But he missed four
games last year and the Suns ended up going for
and oh based one game this so far this year.
They win the first game, but then they lose the
second one, so they break that streaks end in thirteen.
I've said it a million times. It's funny how that works.
I do think the Utah Jazz have to make a

(01:18:55):
statement here. I think the Phoenix Suns are are content
there took a troll the number one seed. I think
Monty Williams is gearing up for what would really make
a difference in that season, and that's playoffs success. The
Jazz have to make a statement. They've had in fighting
the entire season between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. They
had a terrible January where they lost eight of nine

(01:19:16):
at one point. Now they got to clause themselves out
of that hole, try to get back to where they
were last year as the number one seed. Well, Donovan
Mitchell is making his case for being a number one
NBA All NBA team because since he's been back to
Jazz like they turned on a dime. Have immediately looked
like the Jazz have looked the last two years. He

(01:19:36):
came back from an inkle injury seven games ago, Donovan Mitchell,
the Jazz are six and one straight up, four and
two against the number and there plus minus net rating
per game plus nineteen. That's like double what we expect
from the best team in the league. So the Jazz
getting it done with Mitchell back, I expect them to
beat the Sun's. I like them plus one at Phoenix

(01:19:57):
just got about five seconds, but the Lakers laying a
point in a half of New Orleans tomorrow. What am
I missing? I don't understand it. The Lakers, they have
the better players. All these lines are wrong, but they
just underperformed time after time. Alright, good stuff, mackenzie will
catch you next week, Buddy, coming up your favorite part
of the show. What kind of brand new fool are you?

(01:20:18):
The Fox Sports Sunday train rolls right on, three down,
one to go on, Bernie Freddle Company You alive from
the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios, joined by my
capable crew Bobo. Great job stepping in tonight. Of course,
Ricky Herrera also sitting in for Bowl and Brian Finley

(01:20:40):
on the updates. But it's just that time in the show.
It's your favorite hour because every day in the world,
or certainly right here on our US soil, somebody does
something ridiculous that we affectionately refer to as what kind
of brand new fool are you? What kind of brand

(01:21:03):
new fool are you? Well? You tell me, because today's
segment takes us to Broward County, Florida, where a gentleman
by the name of Matt decides he's going to hold
up a hardware store. What is he doing with he
walks in with a bow and arrow. Can't make this
stuff up, folks. Matt and Broward County walks in with

(01:21:24):
a bow and arrow, gets arrested, promptly finds out while
he's arrested. Yet, yes, yes, you're not gonna believe it.
He actually had a warrant for his arrest for a
prior burglary. Now all of that makes him plenty foolish.
But you know what makes him? What kind of brand
new fool are you? He stole the bow and arrow?
And how did he stare it? Steal it? He stuffed

(01:21:47):
it down his pants? What kind of brand new fool
are you? Bobo? Welcome to the show, buddy. What kind
of brand new fool are you? What kind of what
have you got for us? You know what? Man? This
one goes back to actually happened today at the gym.
There was a lady that was pulling into a parking

(01:22:09):
spot at the gym. So as the as you come
into the parking spot, the lady is in her sub
and she's trying to we think, go forward into her
parking spot, like into the parking spot that she had
pulled into, so traffic kind of stopped. I was the
second car behind. When she goes to make that right turn,

(01:22:30):
we all think, okay, she's in her parking spot. So
the car in front of me goes up. The car
that the lady in the car just starts to back
up and literally almost nixed the car in front of
me because she was backing into another spot. So she
pulled perfectly into one spot and then decides, you know what,

(01:22:50):
I'm gonna park back here and backs up and almost
hits the other car. We almost had bumper cars here
fell on pretty much. Alright, nice stay you by Bobo.
What kind of brand new fool are you? Uh? Brian
family done? Yeah, so Bernie and Bobo and Ricky. So
here here's how it goes. Sometimes you're famous for what

(01:23:12):
you do, and sometimes you're famous because you're related to somebody.
Jackson Mahomes, he's been in the news. He's had some
shenanigans before. Now this is according to TMZ Sports, So
Jackson Mahomes, of course, is the brother of Patrick Mahomes,
the Chief's quarterback in Super Bowl winning QB. Jackson recently

(01:23:32):
reached out to this snack company called Rare Munchies, and
their owner tells TMZ Sports that Mahomes, not Patrick, but Jackson,
who has found himself in trouble before via social media,
sent a d M to the owner of Rare Munchies
and said, hey, man, can I get like a two

(01:23:54):
fifty dollar care package? Can you just like send it
to me? So the replies back it says absolutely, with
one condition. Can you please make sure that when you
receive it that you posted on social just to give
us some publicity, right, some love? And Jackson says, yeah, sure,

(01:24:15):
no problem. So the d M was sent, Hey, it
should have arrived, and then there was no response from Mahomes,
and the owner kept trying to ask Jackson, have you
received the package? Nothing from him. You can see that
if you look at his d M Instagram that he

(01:24:36):
looked at it but never wanted to respond. Eventually, it
came to a point where the owner of Rare Munchie's
went on TikTok blasted Jackson. Mahomes, who then heard a
word of found out about this and finally responded but

(01:24:58):
honestly admitted that he didn't get the package. And essentially,
what's going on here. I'll leave you with this, Bernie,
and what a brand new fool are you? Is that
Jackson Holmes wanted free stuff, didn't do his part of
the deal, got called out, and still is not one

(01:25:19):
to say I did it when clearly you know he
was in the wrong. What are you doing? What kind
of brand new fool are you? Well, that's what happens
when you try to take advantage when you're the brother
of a famous brother of the perhaps the best quarterback
of the National Football League. All right, Ricky Herrera, what
have you got for us? What kind of brand new
fool are you? Okay, Bernie, So I'm going to take
us back a couple of years, and we're going back

(01:25:43):
to the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World. Yes, I remember, well,
Paul George. We all remember his infamous side of the
backboard shot and uh complete collapse in that playoffs to
the Denver Nuggets. And now we come to learn that

(01:26:05):
he is blaming it on not being able to sleep
and the sleeping gummies he was recommended to remedy the
problem did not work. He was on Sergey Bakas podcast
and relate all of this a couple of years later,
finally giving everyone an answer. But I have to ask,

(01:26:26):
what kind of brand new fool are you, Paul George.
Outstanding work there, Ricky and I remember that very well.
As a matter of fact, I commonly referred to it
as and Brian, I remember this the Hotel California League
playoffs because you can check out any time you want,
but you can never leave. All right, that's for you
Eagles fans. We take that, great job, guys. We'll be

(01:26:46):
more fright into another fan favorite, a little quiz show
that we call what My Name? All right, so why
don't we do this. Let's dive right into the game
what my Name? And if we can find the ticker, great,
If not, we've all got five seconds. Today's theme. Today's
theme has to do with baseball work stoppages. There have

(01:27:07):
been eight work stoppages in the history of Major League
Baseball since collective bargaining began. Five of the eight there
were no games lost. This one might be a little different.
But let's play the game called what My Name? So
let's go back to nineteen seventy two, and in nineteen
seventy two, baseball had a work stoppage. I was the
commissioner in nineteen seventy two when they had that work stoppage,

(01:27:31):
Bo Bo, What my Name? Go to go to Brian.
I need a second on this one. No problem, Brian Finley.
What my name? I was the commissioner in the first
work stoppage in nineteen seventy two. There, Brian, Yeah, I'm okay.
Now Now, Teddy Roosevelt, very good, guess. I'm sorry the

(01:27:54):
judges would not allow it. Ricky Herrero, what my name?
I was the commissioner during the work stoppage and Major
Baseball in nineteen seventy two. Uh, it's not Pete rosel
I'm gonna say Bud Sea leg Not a bad guess,
and Pete Roselle was actually the football commissioner back then.
The answer is Booie Coon. I'm sure you guys remember

(01:28:15):
that name. Bowie Coon Coon. Five. There was another workstop,
and just one of the lasted a couple of days.
I was a commissioner during the work stoppage in the
summer of night five. Bobo what my name was it?
Bobo close, very close. His nickname might have been Bobo
for all I know. Uh, let's move on to Brian Friendly.

(01:28:39):
The work stopples are just a few days. What my name?
I was the commissioner. The next commissioner that comes to mind.
I don't think it's the right sport. Paul Tagliaboo, you're close.
He was actually the commissioner in the NFL before Roger Goodell.
But good guesses, guys, All right, Ricky Harris, see if
you can save the day. I was a commissioner during
the several day work stoppage in Major League Baseball. Five?

(01:29:00):
What my name? Five? Don Henley? You know what? I
believe he was in a band called the Eagles, wasn't he?
Don Hanley? Might think I have the wrong guy again.
Very good guesses across the board. Again, I think you
guys might kick yourself. It was Peter huber Off. Remember,
Oh yeah, I know him. Yeah, talk to him two

(01:29:21):
days ago. He was actually guy well, he actually presided
over the eighty four Olympics in Los Angeles and did
such a stellar job. Ended up being baseball commissioner. Alight,
And this next one is a little tougher, But he
was a gentleman who presided over the Pete Rosta. There
was a work stoppage in spring training. There was a lockout,
but they got it worked out and only missed twenty

(01:29:42):
seven days or something. I was a commissioner during the
work stoppage. What my name, Bobo close, very close. One
of my favorites, the Pride of Philadelphia Hall of Famer,
were you we did you like him when he was
on the Dodgers. I loved him. That's why I actually
became a do You're very nice? All right? All right?
I was a commissioner in ninety during the work stoppage

(01:30:06):
in spring training Brian family with my name Pete Rose
very close, very close. Perhaps he should be commissioner since
now we have legalized sports betting. All right, Ricky, we'll
see if we can uh bring it home. I was
a commissioner during the work stoppage in spring training in
Major League Baseball? What my name, I'm gonna try this again,
bud Sea Lake Close, No cigar Faye? Vincent, Faye Vincent?

(01:30:32):
Hang on, Oh no, he's sluck again. All right, we're
gonna get We're gonna get this one, guys. I guarantee it.
I guarantee you We're gonna get this one. N four No,
this was the one that canceled the World Series. Lasted
two thirty two days. I was a commissioner that presided
over that tobacco in what my name Bo Bo you

(01:30:58):
know what, it's crazy. I think I might know it,
and I want to say his name is Bob, Like,
I'm going with Bob. Close. You're really not that far off.
And while we're at it, if you ever seen the
movie What About Bob with Bill Murray? Why not? Because
you can't watch baseball? All right? Close, No, cigar. I
was a commissioner. They presided of the debacle to cancel

(01:31:20):
the World Series Brian family. What my name? Well, I'm
going with Bobo. Is it Bob Tewkesbury. He just wrote
a great book, by the way, interesting guy about psychology
and sports, former Major League Picture. What I like about
this is you guys are coming up with damn good names.
I mean, I know you're goofing on it, but that's
part of That's all part of the fun. Okay, all right, Ricky,

(01:31:41):
I don't think we've ever gone oh for nine, and
I don't think we're going to tonight. I got faith
in you, Ricky. I presided over the Debaco canceled World
Series two two days. I was a commissioner. What my name?
Who is Bud? Winner? Winner? Winner? Although the judges will
remind you, will admonish you, you don't have to phrase

(01:32:03):
it in the formula question. This is not jeopardy, but
I love the effort. I love the effort. Alright, great job, guys.
Coming up. You can't watch baseball, but you can watch
some baseball movies. I'll give you my favorite baseball movies. Five. Well,
maybe we're bringing the crew here too, not away I
think is the best or whatever? Just my favorite. Why
not have a little fun. You can't watch baseball, but

(01:32:25):
you can still watch a baseball movie. I'm Bernie Freddo
or Company alive from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
So keep it locked right here. You're listening to Fox
Sports Sunday and Fox Sports Radio. We're back on Fox
Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio. I'm Bernie Fradd will come
to you live from the Fox Sports Radio studios here
in Las Vegas, and we've devoted a significant pound of

(01:32:45):
time tonight talking about the Major League Baseball players and
the owners uh putting their heads together making a rock pile,
almost assuring that the season will not to start on time.
I've been talking about this for a couple of years.
Is follow my tweet line. You can even see what
I tweeted last money. So since we can't watch baseball games, well,

(01:33:07):
we can watch baseball movies. And you know, it's a
topic that's sometimes kind of lame, but I think at
this point it's appropriate because it reminds us why you
fell in love with the game in the first place.
My favorite movie Baseball of all time baseball movies by far,
Moneyball and what it did to chronicle the two thousand

(01:33:27):
two Oakland A's and it really took you behind the scenes.
Another concept of reevaluating and scouting talent could employ a
series of numerical patterns and with a with a reduced payroll,
they made it to the playoffs. And it's based on
a book and it's the real story. Basically, the advert
the adaptation of metrics and saveror metrics, and it's a

(01:33:50):
complex story in Brad Pitt actually does a great job.
He sold it. Jonah Hill does a great job. But
it really highlights the demarcation between the in the laptop
right and the moment baseball jumped over. At the fact
of the matter is I respect analytics. I always have
believed that they are an inflexible They are a guideline,

(01:34:12):
not an inflexible anker. So you need both the games
played by human beings. But moneyball was wildly entertaining to me.
I'm a huge baseball fan, obviously, and I talked about
this bubble. May remember last summer I did some shows
on the Sunday night five to eight slot Field of Dreams.
I talked about it at length. It was around the
time Baseball did their Field of Dreams celebration and they

(01:34:34):
played that game, which again they're gonna do another one.
I think I was Sam went to that game. But
the Field of Dreams, it's not really a movie about
baseball anyway. It's about unresolved conflict and the power of
faith and belief and hope. It resonates though, because baseball,
like no other sport, it transcends the adolescent bond between
fathers and sons. And although there's a little fantasy and

(01:34:55):
most sports dramas and overcoming obstacles and and looking at
magical moments, you know, I think Field of Dreams also
becomes a story about believing in the magic of sports. Okay,
fathers and sons, the hard work, the play, disconnecting the past,
reconnecting it could be as simple as a game of catch.

(01:35:17):
Powerful performances by Kevin Coftner and and James Earl Jones.
It's a movie that very much resonated with a lot
of people, and I know there are factions of people
that make fun of it, but they're very much in
the minority. Thirty the movie came out in eighty nine
and it's still still very relevant. And it just you know,
it's it's spiked the the old phraseology, if you build it,

(01:35:38):
they will come, all right. The Natural is actually also
one of my favorite baseball movies. It's It's it. Maybe
some people think it's the greatest baseball movie all time.
I don't really know, but it's one of the great
sports films because it tells a story. It's a fable.
A lot of movies don't tell stories anymore. And it's
obviously the story of Roy Hobbs. He's a promising young prospect.

(01:36:00):
He's got this great career ahead of him. It's in
the nineteen thirties when he uh he's shot by a
female uh and uh. Sixteen years later after the fact,
he's nineteen. Now, all of a sudden, a thirty five,
he's not ready to let go of his love of
the game, and he gets signed to this team called

(01:36:21):
the New York Knights. Now again, it's more than a
story about baseball. It's about someone who's approaching your middle
age in life and they're living their dream despite the naysayers.
And it's a tale about a guy who, against all odds,
discovers he's gonna find this fulfillment through the game of baseball.
And then of course at the end, you know, it's

(01:36:41):
a lot of Hollywood hobbes hits, the two big home runs,
the one that breaks the clock and the show stopper
at the end, it knocks out the lights literally. One
of the things that one of the things to me
that can make or break a great movie or make
a movie greater is the soundtrack. And Randy Newman's soundtrack
is incredible. Just play the soundtrack without even watching the
movie and it takes you over and it's sort of

(01:37:03):
like the ultimate you know, I seen on the Cake
and it was a great summer classic back in eight
Men Out to Me is also one of my favorite
top five favorite. Again, it's a true story. It's it's
it's the probably the enduring reason, the primary reason why

(01:37:24):
Pete Rose will never be voted into the Hall of
Fame because what it does it chronicles the story of
the Blacks Black Sox and how they conspired to fix
the World Series because they were unified against their chief
skate owner and they fell prey to the lure of
big money from gamblers. But the price they would pay,

(01:37:44):
especially that of Shoelis Joe Jackson, who was never vindicated,
would be rendered basically over an entire lifetime and even beyond.
I mean there are organizations now still trying to get
Shulis Joe Jackson um into the Hall of Fame posthumously.
But try to imagine you go back a hundred years
in a world where baseball players, I mean, they were

(01:38:05):
not paid millions and millions of dollars back in you know,
when you played Major League Baseball, you have to get
a job in the off season, and you had trouble
paying your bills. And they threw the World Series because
they're what they considered to be their chief skate owner
who promised him bonuses if they've made certain thresholds the
year before, he yanked those back off the table. And

(01:38:28):
the movie, if you really watch it, it's obviously not
in the theaters anymore, but you gotta turn off all
the lights turn off your cell phones, get away from
any distractions, because this is not a feel good baseball
story like The Natural or Field of Dreams or any
of the other ones. Was Okay, it's not about redemption.
It's not about this big, glorious tale of overcoming. It's

(01:38:50):
a sad story about men who became very desperate and
they were forced to live with the dishonor of their
actions for the rest of their lives. Obviously, it's spaw
on the catch line catch phrase that you've no doubt
heard over the years. Uh say, ain't so Joe talking
about Joe Jackson who had three eight in the World
Series and allegedly didn't know anything about the games being fixed. Allegedly,

(01:39:16):
Joe Jackson was illiterate. He but he took the money.
And so therefore here's a guy who, by all accounts,
is one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball.
But what is he linked up to? What is he
most noted for his involvement with the nineteen nineteen Black Socks. Now,
I'm gonna give you another movie that comes in out
of left field. It's it is super entertaining. It's on Netflix.

(01:39:40):
You can find it it's called the Battered Bastards of Baseball.
It's a again, a true story, right. Kurt Russell had
a dad by the name of Bing Russell, who is
the ultimate showman, and he puts together this team. He
puts together this independ minor league baseball team with a

(01:40:01):
bunch of cast offs. And it's true. And the team
was called the Portland's Mavericks. And I want to say
it took place in the mid seventies. I think nineteen
seventy seven was was the last year of their existence.
But the team was owned by Being Russell. Again, he's
Kurt Russell's dad, and they were based in Oregon, and

(01:40:24):
almost immediately they caught the attention of important people like
Joe Garagiolo, who was with NBC. He did he did
special on them, and they had players on their team
like Jim Boughten, who had been blackballed from baseball. Uh
he um. Obviously, Bouton wrote the Bookball for He had

(01:40:44):
a fairly distinguished career and interestingly enough got called up
by the Atlanta Braids for a cup of coffee back
in nineteen seventy eight. After this happened. But uh they
even had the first woman general manager, and and and
the first It was a series of first Okay, they
had a gentleman who who had played first base. His
name escaped me. He ended up being the advent or

(01:41:05):
of big league quo. And then you had a gentleman,
a young kid who wanted to be the bat boy
in the worst way, and he won being Russell over Uh,
and his name is Todd Field. Todd ended up going
on to being an Oscar nominated screenwriter for a movie
called In the Bedroom, and he was just he was
the ball boy. But this was like a great minor

(01:41:27):
league story. Now I highly recommend you watch this because
it's true and it's a documentary and there's real footage.
And Bing's goal was to bring what he called the
joy and fun of minor league games back to minor
league stadiums. Portland had a team and they vacated because
they weren't selling any tickets. He sold out and they

(01:41:47):
were making four dollars a month. But their motivation was simple.
They wanted to They wanted revenge. All of these guys
had been blackball they they had been you know, released,
kicked out of the league. And the in the long
and short of it, is even though a lot of
them were past their prime, Miraculously they bound together and
they beat teams they were away above five, and they

(01:42:10):
got the biggest kick out of of you know, you know,
hitting home runs off college bonus babies that weren't even
old enough to shave yet. If you are a fan
of the underdog and you want to watch a documentary
about underdogs and it involves baseball, and it's a true story,
and you'll get a particular kick out of Kurt Russell's
dad being Russell, I strongly recommend this movie The Battered

(01:42:32):
Bastards of Baseball coming up. Yeah, I know you've got
a lot of what I would call NFL withdrawals, But
if you look at the calendar coming up right around
the corner, there's more NFL stuff. Just no games until
next September. But in the meantime a lot of stuff
on the NFL calendar. So market calendars will tell you
all about it. But first let's go to the man again,

(01:42:55):
a man of great intellectual curiosity. Just the other day
he asked, being Burnie, why the seven and elevens have
locks on the doors when they're open twenty four hours.
It's Brian Finny with the latest great questions to consider, Bernie,
and we begin in the NBA, where the Nuggets get
the job done against the King's one fifteen to one ten.
Nicola Yo kitch At himself a triple double. The Nets

(01:43:16):
winners against the Bucks one twenty three, Kyrie Irving coming
in strong with those thirty eight points. John Morant with
forty six points make that a career high for him
as he pilots the Grizzlies over the Bulls one sixteen
to one ten. The Spurs fall short at the Heat
one thirty three to one twenty nine. Bam At a

(01:43:37):
Bio had himself a thirty six point seven rebound in
four US his performance in college hoops. A ton of
top ten teams in the a P top twenty five
pull this week that lost on Saturday, including Number one Gonzaga.
The Zags fall short at number twenty three St. Mary's

(01:43:58):
sixty seven to fifty seven. So for the Bulldogs that
is their first loss in conference this year and their
regular season conference play is now done. Colorado wins over
number two Arizona seventy nine to sixty three. That one
was played in Boulder, Colorado, and afterwards they were storming
the court to celebrate Jabari Walker, the son of Samaki Walker,

(01:44:23):
had fifteen points in fourteen rebounds for the Buffaloes, Seventeenth
ranked Tennessee sticking it to Bruce Pearl and number three
Auburn sixty seven to sixty two as the Tigers continue
to lose. We also saw number four Purdue stumble at
Michigan State sixty eight to sixty five. Tenth ranked Baylor

(01:44:44):
holds it down against number five Kansas eighty to seventy
Eighteenth ranked Dark kninsas the seventy five to seventy three
triumph over number six Kentucky, both teams both twenty three
and six on the season, and we also saw number
seven to win convincingly against Syracuse to seventy two. Later

(01:45:06):
on today, for the seventh straight day, Major League Baseball
and the Players Association are going to convene, but reports
say that Saturday's meetings did not go so well and
that the talks as they're trying to get themselves a
new labor deal, actually regressed to the point that there's
a lot of speculation that with that deadline for Monday,

(01:45:30):
which would be if they don't get a deal, done,
then games are going to be canceled. It seems like
that's more of a possibility here, but you never know,
right Bernie, You never know. I know you gave it
five per cent, so there is still a chance. We're
hoping for it, but chances are not probably in favor
of this getting done in time for a full one

(01:45:50):
sixty two game regular season, as they sent it back
to a man who played some professional baseball, was a
great college player, and knows a thing or two about
baseball itself. Brian. You you check my uh pin tweet
currently on Twitter and I it's time stand from last Monday,

(01:46:10):
and that was the last and long line a long
series of tweets essentially being as emphatic as I can
humanly be that there's not gonna be a deal Monday,
and since then the whole week has been a disaster.
But anyway, great stuff, Brian. And also next week we'll
dive into another one of your intellectual questions. Why is
it that kamakaze pilots bother to wear helmets? So you

(01:46:32):
can share with that next week. Good stop, Brian, Thank you, Bernie.
All Right, NFL key calendar dates, this is real, I
know you're all having some NFL withdrawals. Don't act like
you're not. I've heard people talk about it. Tomorrow's Sunday
where two weeks you're moved from the super Bowl. A
great super Bowl, a great Super Bowl tournament. Once again,
top credit to Matt Stafford in the Rams for finishing

(01:46:53):
the job in the most poetic way. But it won't
be long. You're gonna have more stuff as a matter
of fact. March one, Yeah, time flies. It's Tuesday, NFL
Scouting Combine, commonly known as the Underwear Olympic because it
gets started in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. You'll watch it,
you know you will. March eighth, those are the deadline

(01:47:13):
for clubs to designate, franchise or transition players. You'll keep
an eye on that because that affects Green Bay, that
affects Davante Adams. Then you morph into March fourteen. You've
got a forty eight hour period there where players who
don't have agents or become unrestricted free agents as their
contract expires can begin a two day negotiating period. For

(01:47:37):
if you're an un unrestricted free agent, you get to
March sixteenth, it's the trading period that begins at four
o'clock on March sixteen. Listen, there have been trades. There
have been trades, and and you never know what can
happen this year. And one of the things that I
would say is most interesting is how many folks might

(01:48:00):
really continue to follow the model that the Rams which
got them in Super Bowl, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
the year before. Then you've got the annual league meetings
in March thirty, and then things start to really take
off from there. On April four If you're an NFL
team that just hired a new coach after the end

(01:48:20):
of the regular season, you can begin your offseason workout
programs on April eighteenth. Clubs with returning head coaches, they
may begin offseason workout programs. As you recall, believe, there
are eight new hires this year. Uh and so those
eight new teams, eight coaches, can start April fourth. All

(01:48:42):
the returning coaches, including Sean mcvaan. I really believe he
was gonna go to TV. The man loves to be
around football, coach football his day outcome. But he's a
young pup. Been to the Super Bowl twice already in
five years. He's done a phenomenal job. They do want
to run it back. Be fun to watch next year.
April twenty that becomes the deadline to bring draft eligible

(01:49:04):
players to you your respective NFL facilities for physical examinations.
Because guess what comes up eight days after that first
aw that's the deadline for restricted free agents to sign
offer sheets. April that becomes the deadline for prior clubs
to exercise their right at first refusal for restricted free agents,

(01:49:26):
and I do expect there to be a fair amount
of movement again this year. In April, it's the last day.
It's the deadline for an NFL team to time you
to test, you to interview draft eligible players. Because guess
what happens next April here, before you know it, between
April and April Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the NFL draft right

(01:49:47):
here in Las Vegas, Nevada. So the NFL, they marched
right along, and they've got a collective bargaining agreement may
not be perfect, I think runs another nine or ten years.
So if Baseball continues to delete Alley, the NFL will
have no problem taking their spot in the sun and
continuing to be the real hot stove league. Baseball used

(01:50:07):
to be the hot stove league. Not so much anymore.
There are plenty of activities in the next eight weeks
to keep you interested and engaged in watching the NFL.
Coming up, we're two weeks away from selection Sunday. What
are the odds? What teams are capable of? Cutting down
the nets on April four in the National Championship game

(01:50:29):
in New Orleans, Las Vegas. Songs makers handy cappers have
weighed in. We believe it's a wide open tournament. Will
share the numbers with you. Coming up, I'm Bernie Fratto
will come to you live from the Las Vegas Fox
Sports Radio Studios to keep it locked right here. You're
listening to Fox Sports Sunday on Fox Sports Radio. Fox
Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation.

(01:50:52):
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 all right back on Fox
Sports Sunday, Fox Sports Radio. I'm Bernie Fratto come to
you live from the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios.
Before we go any further special thanks to my crew. Tonight,

(01:51:13):
things happen in life and it takes pros to step
in so we can keep the train rolling. Uh, Bo Benson,
who's been solid, he's sick tonight. Ricky Herrera steps right
up to the fine job, Ricky. Are you working on
any shows tomorrow or or Sunday later today, We'll come
back to you, Ricky. Bobo at the last minute found

(01:51:34):
out Chris Perfett, who's been rock solid for me. Uh,
it's very sick. Bobo steps right up. Uh you know,
it doesn't miss a beat, goes right through the show.
Bobo can't thank you enough. Are you working on any
shows Sunday or No? I'm actually it was they actually
to come in. So this is a long shift. It's
kind of hard for sure to have me do that
flip Rick here too, he was actually playing for the
night show. Yeah, yeah, I was right through it to Ricky.

(01:51:56):
I'm not sure if you heard me, and I didn't
know if he was okay, same situation because I know,
aren't you with Covino and Rich Typically on Sunday atch
bow Bowl or I usually come in around like four thirty,
and I'm here until about eleven. Yeah, but because I'm
not getting off today until like eight thirty, it's like, yeah,
it's gonna be kind of a tight turnaround. That's right
now that No, you gotta get your beauty rest man.

(01:52:19):
Good night folks. You and of course Brian Finley on
the updates. Rock solid listen. Great job guys, this all
kind of came together at the end. Can't thank enough
for your dedication and professionalism. Uh, this is an easy
The idea is to make it look easy, and you
all did so. Good job tonight on the show and
keeping the train uh rolling along. So two weeks from today,

(01:52:42):
we've got selection Sunday, and it's for whatever reason, and
I'm gonna get into this. I've got some good guests
the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure if it's
me or what does it seem like March Madness and
the whole n c A tournament For some reason, this
year has not really had liftoff for lack of a
better term. And I'm not sure if it's the you know,

(01:53:03):
the recognized marquee names, star power. There's not a lot
of household names. There is no real top I would say, uh,
dominant team like Kentucky was back in, or Kansas has
been in, Duke has been in. Certainly last year, you
had Gonzaga and you had uh Baylor. They were the

(01:53:24):
two top dogs, and Gonzaga was the favorite, but they
were like powerhouse teams that you expected to be in
the finals. You can't really say that this year, and
here in Vegas, I can tell you that with Selection
Sunday just two weeks away. Even though Gonzaga is the
favorite to win the tournament their plus four fifty bet MGM,
and remember they're fresh off losing to Baylor in the

(01:53:46):
championship game last year. What's interesting is there are eleven
teams with odds of less than twenty two one, twenty
six teams with odds of less than a hundred one.
It's regarded this year as the most wide open turn
it in decades. There really is a Caesar Sports book.
They put the numbers out and the belief is there
are a lot of very good teams. You can call

(01:54:09):
Gonzaga the top dog, but oddsmakers here in Las Vegas,
they can actually see a path that we're potentially fifteen
teams have a shot of winning the title. I'm not
talking about a long shot, you know, be shooting babies
at the moon, needling a haystack, but legitimate shots because
I just mentioned Gonzaga was plus four fifty. That means

(01:54:32):
a hundred dollars if you bet on Gonzaga would bring
back four fifty, and I don't. I don't particularly think
that's great value. They've got to win six games in
a row. And right behind them our Kentucky, Arizona and Auburn.
They're all eight to one. Auburn was a hundred to
one earlier in the season. Arizona was sixty two one

(01:54:56):
earlier in the season. They're both down to be eight
to one now. The bottom line is that if you
looked at what happened today, were the top six teams
that were ranked all lost. That tells you this isn't
gonna be so easy this year. I think a lot
of brackets are gonna be busted up. I will have

(01:55:17):
you know. We'll devote some time next week in the
week after in tips and filling out your bracket. But
for me, it always comes down to who do you
trust when the heat gets hot and it's hard to breathe.
I look at coaches, I look at backcourt play, point
guards particularly, and I also look at conferences, and I
gotta tell you, when I look at the SEC I'm
not sure who they're gonna match you up against and
who you know, what seeds they will be and what

(01:55:39):
gauntlet they'll have to individually face. But I would say this,
the SEC is a conference I'm gonna trust because I
don't whether it's Alabama, whether it's Auburn, whether it's Kentucky,
whether it's Tennessee. These teams get on the floor and
you better pack a lunch. They're gonna wear you out
and make sure you have to work for everything. And
I would say, uh not. I would say the books

(01:56:00):
are telling me that of the top contenders, Auburn is biggest.
Is definitely the biggest liability. And here's the situation why,
Because you had a team that started out with very
high odds. As they just mentioned, they were hunter to
one people bet then, so the books have liability there.
And then they continue to play well, and they start
playing well, and they continue to play even better. People

(01:56:23):
start to go back to them, and folks back them early,
they backed them currently, and people are still to this
day taking a shot that they'll continue that progression. So
when you look at a team like Auburn coach by
Bruce Pearl, they're gonna be a very very very tough out.
Well they win at all, I don't know if they
can win six games. I don't know who they're gonna play.
I don't know if they're gonna stay healthy. You know,

(01:56:44):
last year I give U c l A a lot
of credit because they took so much out of Gonzaga
and that game in the semifinal game on Saturday night
as a huge underdog that I'm not sure sure how
much Gonzaga had in the tank when they played Bail
Monday night. Now that's not to say Baylor might not
have won the game anyway, but Gonzaga really left it

(01:57:06):
all on the floor at empty the tank and beating
U c l A. And if you're interested, and U
c l A coach by mc cronin all those years
in Cincinnati and is right out of the gate at
U c l A. He gets into the final four,
you can get U c l A at to one.
The Bruins always seem to have a tournament tested roster,
and they've added a quality rim protector. They had a

(01:57:26):
kid transfer inform Rutgers named Miles Johnson. They've got a
veteran point guard and Tiger Campbell, and of course, I
haven't even mentioned Johnny Choosing. He's the elite scorer who
can carry a team on any given night. I would
say the Bruins will probably be a number three seed.
There are a dark horse at to one that's pretty
damn good value. So I've already told you who the

(01:57:48):
biggest liability is for the books, Which people have put
the most on any individual team? Gonzaga. They're the ticket leader.
There's more tickets on Gonzaga. There's more money on Gonzaga
at Caesar's. They even took a plready thousand dollar winjur
this past week at five to one to one d
and fifty grand on the Zags. They're not the biggest
liability because they've been short odds all year, but there

(01:58:09):
have been folks holding Auber tickets at a hundred to one.
If you really like a long shot, take a look
at Alabama. They're sixty four to one. The problem is
they're a very big, jekyl and high team. But I
think a coach by Natots there are a hell of
a group that can beat anybody un given any given night.
And if you look at Alabama's resume this year, they've

(01:58:31):
got wins over Baylor, Houston. They've already beaten in Zaga
in in Seattle, and they've beaten Tennessee. That's a nice
looking resume. So there you have it. I mean, Prudue
is also knocking around at ten to one, Dukes at
twelve to one, Baylor's at fourteen to one Villanova. You
can never count out Jay Wright. Sixteen to one, Kansas

(01:58:53):
sixteen one, Texas Tech not so much. Sixteen to one Houston.
Kelvin Sampson got them to the final four last year.
I'm not so sure they're as good this year. They're
forty two one, Texas is forty two one. Michigan State
proving you can never count out tom Ize. They got
it done at home today against Purdue. You can still
get Michigan State at fifty one, USC sixty one and

(01:59:15):
right out and down the line. So the next couple
of weeks will have a lot more March Madness coverage
as it is upon us in concert or conference tournaments
will also be starting. Alright, folks, I want to thank
everybody for listening to that. Again, thanks so much to
my crew. I'm Bernie Fratto. Keep it locked right here
for Brian no and Andy Furman

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