March 11, 2022 • 39 mins
Dave "Softy" Mahler (possibly Ben's long lost relative) has been ruling the Seattle airwaves for 30 years now and joins Ben MALLER to talk shop and the huge Russell Wilson trade! What is next for the Seahawks? What will and won't Softy and his listeners miss the most about their Super Bowl winning QB? How will Wilson do in Seattle and why Dave compares him to both Urkel (Family Matters) and Kip (Napoleon Dynamite.) Maller and Mahler also have fun discussing the big news of KJR being added to the FM dial, Mahler's legendary run in the Emerald City, the Mariners, if the NBA will ever come back post-Sonics, and more. Follow Softy on Twitter @SoftyKJR , Follow Danny G Radio on Twitter @DannyGradio , Follow Big Ben on Twitter @BenMaller, and listen to the original "Ben Maller Show," Monday-Friday on 400+ terrestrial Fox Sports Radio affiliates, iHeart stream, and SiriusXM Radio channel 83, 2a-6a ET, 11p-3a PT!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
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(01:06):
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Break Free for something Special. The Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller starts right now, nine in the air. Everywhere it
(01:33):
is another weekend. We're kicking it off right now on
the Friday Friday Friday edition of The Fifth Hour with
Ben Maller and Danny ge back again. You can't stop
us from talking. There's always something to discuss. And it's
been a big week here in the sporting world with
(01:54):
the start of the silly season in the NFL. And
you know the mantra that I have head if you
listen to my yapping over my time at Fox, and
you know, I believe the better story is in the
losing locker room. And the biggest transaction in the NFL
for my money, dollar for dollar, was the trade that
(02:17):
sent Russell Willson out of Seattle and into Denver, as
Russ will be cooking in the mile high altitude. So
the better story is in the losing locker room. Yeah,
that would be the Seattle locker room. As the Seahawks
(02:37):
are now heading into uncharted waters without a big time quarterbacks,
so they're gonna have to pivot on the fly, and
who better to get to the bottom of what's going
on in Seattle than the voice of sports talk radio
in Seattle when you think, at least for those of
us who work in the in the radio, because the
people that matter in Seattle sports radio, there's only one
(03:01):
name that really rises all the way up to the top,
and that's Softy and a man who I often have
been accused of being related to that we are brothers
from another mother. And because it's Softy Maller and Ben Mallard,
and I've always been just we're gonna bring Softly on
right now. Softy, I've always been jealous that your surname,
(03:23):
while it's similar to mine, is pronounced in a much
more masculine way. That Maller is much more impressive than Mallard.
So we'll start with that. And also we've been on
the radio in Seattle for years. We are on the
obviously overnight show on kJ are the great sports talker.
You are the big afternoon drive sensation there in Seattle.
(03:44):
And I semi regularly will have a listener that that
is in the Seattle market that will say, hey, are
you you related? They are convinced that because we have
a similar sounding name and we work in Adeo that
we are somehow we are d n A related. Have
(04:05):
you gotten the same reaction there, softy, that's probably were related.
I mean, you're kind of bursting my bubble. I saw
the story where Jerry Jones is getting sued by somebody
who claims that Jerry is for father, and I don't know.
I thought I thought you and I were related. Maybe
I should play all law student have like a DNA
test and make sure that you know we we are
(04:26):
not related. But I've been walking around forever people ask
me my claim to fame. It's like, yeah, me and
me and Ben Maller were related. That's my claim to fame.
And now you're telling me that we're not. Man, this
is just a whole new world for me, and I'm
not sure if I can go forward now knowing that
we are actually not related. No, man, I mean, here's
the thing, dude. Um, it's funny how some people get
(04:48):
this stuff mixed up. I didn't think it was that difficult.
Apparently for some people it is. But places like Twitter,
for example, have reminded me that not everybody is on
the same page as we are, and that stuff that
you would not think would need explanation indeed does need explanation.
So yes, Ben and I are not related, which is
(05:08):
better news for him than it is for me. By
the way, well, no, and I filled in for you.
I don't know if you remember. You were on a
tropical island somewhere with the family, and I filled in
remotely before it was cool to fill in remotely on
the powerful kJ R. And uh, clearly management heard that
(05:28):
show softly because I've not been invited back, So clearly
they heard that broadcast and said, Mallard not as good
as Maller, and uh, get out of here, stay away,
stay away, stay I think, no, I think what happens.
They realized how good you were, and they said, if
we put this bastard on the air again, we're gonna
happen to pay you, actually compensate the guy. So forget that.
(05:50):
Let's go back to Maller, who's just cheap talent. We
can get away with putting his asks on the air.
So anyway, yeah, man, it's good to be on with you.
And what a what a crazy couple of days in Seattle, Man,
it has been. We're gonna get to that. But I'm
not done b s thing about radio because I'm I'm
waiting now. So you you are a star. You are
like the Mike Frances of Seattle. I don't know if
(06:11):
that's a compliment or not, but you've been on there
for a long time. You're very successful. But when is
the trickle down gonna happen? I see these contracts softly
with Aikman and these guys, and I'm I'm happy for
these broadcasters in the NFL. But I have always believed
I'm biased here because I work in radio as you do.
But people tune in to hear what the radio guy
(06:31):
has to say. When you will watch an NFL game,
if the teams are good, you're not necessarily watching because
of Troy Aikman or any of these guys, no matter
how good they are. You're not watching because of the broadcasters.
So when is the money give me the answer here softly,
When is the money gonna come down to guys like us? Yeah,
I would say it's a word that rhymes with never
number one because number two and And I really realized
(06:54):
this when I get to go to the Super Bowl
for Radio Row or the Final Four for Radio Row,
and you look round Radio Row and you see all
these bumbs and you see all these clowns and you think, man,
that's me. I'm I'm one of those bums. I'm one
of those clowns and sports talk radio. So in the end,
and I always say this, that you and I are
(07:14):
just monkeys and a carnival man, and all they do
is just throw peanuts at us, you know, our entire career.
So maybe one day they'll give us more peanuts. Maybe
one day they'll give us more bananas. But they ain't
gonna give us more cash, man, There's no question about that.
So you and I work on the toys and games department.
Other people out there have real jobs and they're you know,
(07:35):
busting their ass twelve thirteen hours a day construction, hard labor,
things like this. So we got nothing to bitch about, man,
no matter how little they pay us. But uh, it's
a hell of a run. It's been twenty seven years
for me. I decided to new deal. They'll take you
to thirty with kJ R, and I just wonder every
day when they're gonna pull the plug. And they haven't
done it yet. So it's a freaking miracle. Congratulations, you
(07:57):
have dominated. You are the king of Seattle Radio. But
I and and speaking of that, I know from my
little overnight show and we have you know, listeners in
Seattle and you guys just moved to the FM down Now.
This fascinates me, Softie, because people were like, oh, you
sound so much better on the FM dial. The the
power of terrestrial radio still because you can listen to
(08:21):
your show on I Heart Radio and the streaming and
all that, and same with obviously my show. But so
many people are just creatures of habit. They just love
the old school radio and they listen that way. To me,
it's fascinating. If you've gotten a similar response. It's a
big deal to be on the FM dial now. It's
a huge deal. And it's even bigger for our broadcast partners,
(08:42):
you know on the crack in the Huskies, Washington basketball,
Washington football, the Sounders, you know, you know Westwood One
for example, I have all those games and and FM radio.
But you're right, I mean there were people when we
made the move that were irritated. You know, I want
my my listening to nine am for forty years or whatever,
(09:03):
and and and and and here's the funny thing. Then,
yesterday was actually the one hundredth anniversary of kJ R
getting their very first broadcast license in nineteen two. So
our radio station has been around for over a hundred
years now, and we finally made the switch full time
to FM. We're gonna simulcast for a little bit and
(09:25):
then make the switch in a couple of months. Officially,
we actually tried this about ten years ago to simulcast
on an FM station with nine a m. And the
ratings for like four hours were off the charts and
the management was going bananas. I gotta look at this.
And then a week later, yeah, they stuck again. So
I don't know, man, maybe maybe this will be the
(09:45):
boost everybody is looking for. But I think I think,
I mean, you're you're kind of a radio junkie like me.
I think the biggest difference is that the music stations
are struggling because they can't compete with all the music
you know, streaming platforms. Uh for example, like I hearts app,
where you can get all the music you want on
the I Heart app. But if you still want local
(10:06):
sports talk until they start streaming that on all the
other platforms, there's only one place to go. Yeah, no, absolutely,
I mean that's music radio. Will you listen in the morning,
and it's just talk radio. Like the music stations are
just talk stations. That's been that way for years. But uh,
I mean it's it's absolutely and people like to listen.
When it comes to music. A lot of people want
(10:27):
to hear only what they want to hear, and you
never know what you're gonna get when you listen on
on radio. But as as our boss over a Fox is, uh,
don't better leave my man. Uh So we need to talk.
We we need to talk football soft that you are
the king of Seattle. Are you still sitting shiva here
for the end of Russell Wilson as a Seattle Seahawk. No,
(10:50):
I'm not doing that. I gotta be honest with you, man.
I I appreciate everything Russell Wilson did for this franchise,
everything you did for the organization. It doesn't take a genius, uh,
you know to look back and say, hey man, the
ten years of Russell Wilson quarterback, we're pretty damn good
for this franchise. But I I was kind of growing tired,
(11:11):
started bitching about his offensive line and then all of
this controversy erupted, all this rumor, all this innuendo, and
Russell didn't say a damn thing. He didn't put an
end to any of it. He just sat back with
his hands behind his head, kicked his feed up and
smiled and just enjoyed being in the spotlight. And I
even asked him, you know, at a press conference, I said,
if you really want to be in Seattle long term,
(11:33):
why would you allow all that rumor and innuendo to continue?
And he said, well, because we had some stuff to
figure out behind closed doors, blah blah blah. Well then
you're really truly we're not as invested here, And it
really truly was not as harmonious a relationship as you
guys have been leading people on. You can't have it
both freaking ways. So there was a lot of drama
(11:53):
with him. There was a lot of nonsense with him.
He became all about him. He became all about his brand,
which is line, if you're playing great football and winning
m vps the way Aaron Rodgers is, but he wasn't
doing that. You know, the guy comes out and complains
about the line. He wants more talent, he wants this,
he wants his legacy to be secure, which he never
talked like that. Bobby Wagner never talked like that. Richard
(12:16):
Sherman never talks like that. Uh you know, K. J. Wright,
Earl Thomas Camp Chancellor. Those guys never talked about themselves
in that light, and Russell Wilson never did until about
a year and a half ago. So things started ben
to become about Russell and his brand and his legacy
and his campaign. And then he picks that opportunity and
(12:38):
that time to go out and start playing bad football
in the back half of two thousand twenty breaks his
finger and was playing poorly even before that in the
first half of two thousand twenty one. So all of
it created the student that a lot of people were
just kind of getting tired of. To be honest with you, well,
I don't know about you, softie, but that that bread
football thing that Russ was selling, that that's a solid
(13:00):
item there. And the nano bubbles, right, he had the
nano bubbles going to yea, yeah, he claimed to have Ben.
You know what's funny about that, as you mentioned the
nano bubbles, that that that really was the only thing
that he had done that he had even remotely approached
any controversy when he claimed to have this water that
can cure concussions, and that went away real quick. And
(13:21):
then all of a sudden, you know, again, he met Sierra. Uh,
he started turning into a bit of a diva. The
analogy that I've used before with him. You remember the
movie Napoleon Dynamite, obviously, when when his brother Kipp was
this nerdy computer geek sitting at home online talking to
babes all day, and then he meets Lafonda and he
(13:42):
totally changes. He's got the do rag on, he's got
the medallion with the thunderbird hanging around his neck. He's
walking differently, he's talking differently. That's what happened to Russell.
I'm telling you, go look at Russell Wilson. His first
three or four years in the NFL. He was like
Arkell of NFL quarterbacks. And then he meet Sierra, and
all of a sudden, he becomes this totally different person.
(14:04):
He's dressing differently, he's walking differently, he's talking differently. He's
got a different hairstyle, he's using different voices. I swear
to god, Ben, we have a Russell Wilson sound wheel
where he's got seven or eight different accents, and everything
just got weird with the guy and then he started
playing poorly and all hell went to you know, hell
(14:24):
hand bucket. So it was just a big, freaking giant
recipe of nonsense. Well you are the expert on Russell
Wilson sound bus. My personal favorite was the Mr Unlimited
rant that he did that I gotta get you, I
gotta get you, and when we're done here, have your
producer give you a buzz. I gotta get you some
of these drops because you'll have a field day. It
(14:47):
is unbelievable. I could play you six or seven different
clips and if you didn't know it was Russell Wilson,
you would think it was six or seven different people
talk and I swear to God. Well, the thing too
about him, and it's obviously, as you has changed recently,
but Russell Wilson, for years it sounded like he was
mimicking Pete Carroll, like the same tone, like the phrases.
(15:10):
It was like he was the doppel gang or a
Pete Carroll like that. He was just trying to copy
the exact language. So is he gonna copy the broncos
coach over that is the guy from the Packers there?
Is he gonna rip that hacket? Yeah? Yeah, Well, that's
one of the funny things that Seahawk fans are gonna
keep their eye on sand You know, this guy like
to end every press conference with go Hawks, which was
kind of fun. Whatever blah blah blah. And then when
(15:31):
he didn't do it, Seahawk fans from panic. Oh he
didn't say go Hawks. What does that mean? He didn't
say go Hawks. So now we'll see if he says
go Broncos in Denver. But that was one of the
things that made this thing work is that him and
John Schneider and Pete Carroll were always on the same page.
You know, they would they would agree on, you know,
how they were going to present themselves in public, what
(15:52):
they would talk about, what they would not talk about.
Russell Wilson was the master of the cliche. He was
the master of deflection. It's what made him so great
that he was a good player, very very good player.
But they also had the l ob. They had Marshawn Lynch,
they had the highest grade offensive line in football when
they won the title in two thousand thirteen, and Russell
Wilson never ever, ever even thought about locking the boat.
(16:16):
And then things began to deteriorate, and he became a
little more brass. He became a little more bold, which
I have no problem with. The guy that spent eight
nine years in the NFL should have that, you know,
confidence that he can speak his mind. But like I said,
it became about him and it got weird, and he
would do all this weird stuff on social media. I
(16:36):
don't know if you remember, but there was a photo
about four or five, three or four years ago that
he sent out where he's buck naked with a nine
percent naked Sierra and a buck naked Huture junior and
they're all wrapped up like a big serpent, and he
puts the picture on social media. I'm like, dude, if
(16:57):
I got pictures like that with me and my wife,
know what I'm doing with that. I'm taking it above
my bed, or it's in my bathroom above the toilet
so nobody can see it. I'm not showing that the people.
It's just weird, man, just stuff that guys just don't do.
Very odd, and players in the locker mortality, they would
(17:18):
roll their eyes at this stuff. I talked to one
guy that spent nine years with him in Seattle, and
I asked him. How many times did you go out
with Russell Wilson after practice, after a game for a beer,
a stake, that or whatever. He said, Not one time,
Not one time did I ever go out with Russell Wilson.
So it's just the kind of guy he was. And again,
when you're winning games and find no problem, when you're
(17:39):
playing well, find no problem. But obviously at the end
that wasn't happening. Hey, it's been This segment is sponsored
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Administration for Children and Families, and the ad Council. All right,
so you are on the pulse of the people as
(19:34):
the voice of Seattle Sports Radio. So what what is
the rank and file, soft thee. I mean, I know
you're the you're the opinion guy, but the people that
you're around are the Seahawks fan, the hardcore Seahawks fan.
Are they in lockstep with you? Or they like, wait
a minute, we are screwed now, We're not gonna have
a quarterback for the next five ten years. Well, I
think everybody understands how hard he is gonna be to replace. Uh.
(19:57):
They don't have Aaron Rodgers or a Steve Young waiting
in the wings the way the Niners or Packers did
when they lost Montana and Brett Farve. So that's gonna
be an issue. And obviously, Pete Carroll seventy years old,
how much longer does he want to deal with this
before he walks away and plays with his grandkids and
goes to a place in Maui. But you know, as
far as the reaction, I mean, I I just put
a poll on Twitter yesterday. Not that Twitter polls are
(20:20):
the end all be all, but just a small little sample. Uh.
And I asked, you know, my followers, um, how you
know are you more sad to see Bobby Wagner or
Russell Wilson go and se said Bobby Wagner over Russell Wilson,
And you know it's like what I mean, you know,
I mean, come on, you guys know the in fact,
the middle linebacker has over a quarterback. But I just
(20:41):
think it shows you that people were just ready to
move on. The Hawks have some draft capital now, They've
got a bunch of salary cap space, second most in
the NFL, and people are excited, I guess, in some
ways to see how the Hawks spend it. There's also
a side of the Seahawk fan base that doesn't trust
John Snyder or Pete Carroll as far as they can
throw him. Because the drafts have been arable for the
most part, the free agent spending has been awful, and
(21:03):
it seems like every move they make has been a disaster.
The Jamal Adams deal disaster, Jimmy Graham deal disaster, Percy
Harvin deal disaster. Every big move this franchise has made,
except for the early drafts in two thousand and ten, eleven,
and twelve, really have not worked out. So the track
record was solid and they built a great foundation, but
(21:26):
in the last seven eight years they've been they've been
really slipping in that for dark so three years from
now and we're looking back at this. Is Pete Carroll
a still the coach of the team, and is Russell?
Do you think Russ is gonna light it up in Denver?
You think he he continues as you said, he hasn't
been playing well the last couple of years. You think
he falls off the cliff. Well, I think they're gonna
let him cook. And you know what that means. That
(21:48):
means letting Russ throw the ball forty five times a game.
That's what he wanted, That's what he wanted here in Seattle.
That's what Brian Schottenheimer wanted for him in Seattle. And
then Seahawks went six and two in the first half
of the two thousand twenty season. They went to Buffalo,
they got destroyed. Russell Wilson threw a bunch of picks
and Pete Carroll said, that's the end of that. Enough
(22:09):
of that, and they went back to his roots. The
problem with Pete Carroll is he thinks it's still two
thousand thirteen. He doesn't want to take any chances on offense,
doesn't want to turn the ball over, wants to rely
on a great running game and an elite defense. The
problem is they haven't had either one of those things
for the last four or five years. I don't know.
Maybe Pete Carroll's in a coma and he wakes up
(22:31):
every day and his dream and he's he's dreaming that
it's two thousand thirteen. I got no freaking idea. But
if they want to get back to where they are
with Pete Carroll, they gotta get serious about the offensive line.
They gotta get serious about the defensive line, and they
gotta find a way to start dominating people on the ground.
And that hasn't happened. Chris Carson can't count on him,
but Shot Penny can't count on him. They are options
(22:52):
have been guys like Alex Collin's, Carlos Hide, and Taul Homer.
Excuse me, Travis Homer. So they just need if they're
going to make this work with Pete Carroll, he's got
to find a way to get back to his roosts,
all right. So you have to get a quarterback this
year for the Seahawks. So what what do you hear it? Soft?
Is it gonna be Drew Lock? Are they gonna sign
one of these other stiffs that are free agents? Are
(23:13):
trade for somebody. Yeah, I think the next great Seahawk
quarterback is probably in diapers right now, probably, honest, honestly,
all right, I mean seriously, because I just don't see
anything in free agency. I don't see anything on the
trade market. Maybe they make a running a guy like
a Marcus Mario, and maybe they'll bring a guy like
a Gardener of Minshew in here and see what they
can do provide some competition. I mean, that's really what
(23:36):
we're talking about right now. The other option is to
Shaun Watson, and we'll find out what happens on Friday
with the Grand Jury. I love the Shaun as a player, obviously,
right now he's a no go zone because of all
the accusations against him, and that's got to be dropped.
And if those are dropped, I think the Hawks are
very much gonna be involved with the Deshaun Watson sweep steaks.
(23:58):
I mean, Ben, you gotta understand and and I know
that you do that. Pete Carroll seventy damn years old. Right.
He may think he's young at heart, and he may
think he can coach until he's eighty years old. Pretty's
freaking seventy. There's only a handful of guys in the
NFL that have had any success past that age. Uh,
and he's gonna have to be another one, you know,
to pull this off. So I don't think he's you know,
(24:19):
interested in rebuilding this thing from the ground up and
training a rookie quarterback and you know, building a new
offensive and defensive line. That's why he left USC to
come to the Seahawks in the first place, for crying
out loud, because the guy had no interest in rebuilding
USC when they were about to go on probation. So
I think Pete Carroll is going to take the path
of least resistance. And if that means getting a Mariota,
(24:42):
if that means getting the minshow if that means drafting
you know, a Malik Willis with the number nine pick
that got the Bronco deal, or getting into the Watson sweepstakes,
I think that's what he'll do. But right now there's
only two quarterbacks on the roster. It's Drew Lock and
Jacob Eeson. So right now it's the Drew Locks. Oh
until something changes. Well, yeah, I was just gonna bring
up that I was around Pete when he was coaching
(25:04):
at USC, and once once he saw the writing on
the wall that that was not gonna go well with
the n c A. He hied tailed that out of there.
He got he got going, and uh, you wonder if
he's gonna stick art. Yeah, well, I I agree with you.
But you think within the next five years that the
Seahawks are gonna have a legit Super Bowl contented? It
seems unlikely at this point. They have a bunch of
draft picks. But but you know, Softie, the problem with
(25:26):
draft picks is most of them don't live up to
the hype. You gotta actually pick the right players. That's
always it sounds great to have draft picks, but you
got actually get the picks right. And these teams screwed
up all the time. And they've been screwing it up.
I mean they've you know, they've had a couple of
hits here and there, but for the most part, and look,
here's the thing. What they did between two thousand ten,
(25:47):
two thousand eleven and two thousand twelve. They brought in
Russell o'coum. They brought in Earl Thomas, they brought in
Richard Sherman, they brought in K. J. Wright, they brought
him Bobby Wagner, they brought in Russell will Wilson, they
brought in Doug Baldwin is an undrafted free agent. They're
never gonna have that kind of success. Again, that was
a once in a career type of run for John
(26:09):
Schneider and Pete Carroll when it comes to the draft
and when it comes to undrafted free agent. So, of
course I agree with you that in the next five years,
is it likelier than not that the Seahawks are not
going to be a dominant football team. Of course it is. Yeah.
I mean, this is absolutely going down the road of
a rebuild, there is no question about that. And Pete
Carroll is gonna be seventy three, seventy four years old, uh,
(26:32):
in the time frame that you're talking about. And the
other part of this equation that not a lot of
people have been mentioning is that Paul Allen is dead.
I mean, Paul Allen was one of the great owners
in the NFL. Everything Paul Allen touched when it came
to the NFL, from hiring Mike Holmgren to hiring Pete Carroll,
(26:53):
to be willing to fire Jim Mora after one year
of a four year deal when Todd light if he
convinced him it wasn't working, he didn't give a damn.
He just wanted to win games. I mean, look at
the look at the playoff appearances with Paul Allen from
the late nineties on compared to what they had before.
Paul Allen was the owner, and he passed away a
(27:15):
couple of years ago. His sister Jodi is now in charge.
Nobody even knows what the hell she sounds like for
crying out loud. Nobody even knows what her plans are
long term for this organization. So there's a little bit
of a question mark, Ben, if not a big question
mark about the ownership structure in Seattle. How long does
Jody hang onto the team if they do want to sell.
(27:37):
There's gonna be plenty of people in Seattle, namely a
guy like a Jeff Bezos. Maybe Bill Gates finally steps
up and buys a team. Um, But that's a big, big,
big concern for me because as long as Paul Allen
was here, this organization was firing on all cylinders, and
now that he's gone, nobody has any idea of the
future that of that structure and what that looks like,
(27:58):
how great would it be though for this Seahawks fans
if they Bezos ends up getting the team with all
his money, Oh my goodness, insanity. But as four, you
know what I'd rather. I'd rather have him buy the
Mariners with no salary captain baseball better. Well, they're debating that, right,
so they have the owners have their fake salary kept,
their through gazy salary kept that they put in baseball,
which is ridiculous. Bazos would take that luxury tax by
(28:23):
the neck and sweet so hard that tideballs would pop
out exactly. He wouldn't give a damn. He would not
get And I've always argued that pall out and own
the wrong team. If he had owned the Mariners instead
of the Seahawks, oh my god, we'd have six World
Series titles by now. Yeah, I'm sure. And look at
your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest.
(28:43):
It's a storybook world for them. You look and see
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(29:04):
the Forest dot org brought to you by the United
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And there they go, almost on time. This morning. Mom
is coming out the front door strong with a double
arm kid carry. Looks like Dad has the bags. Daughter
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(29:25):
wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere. Oh but mom
has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler.
And now the eldest daughter, who looks to be about
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Dad zips the bag clothes and they're off. Ah, but
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That's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't
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Find a forest near you and start exploring. I discover
the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. Uh No, as
far as you know, I'm thinking this is actually good
for you, Softy, that the Seahawks, because there's a lot
of passion for the Seahawks from an outsider's perspective, right,
it's a lot of I've been to see how a
few times, a lot of passion. But if the team's bad,
(30:52):
that's great sports radio, right, that's great for you because
people are angry. It's to me, it's always been better
when things are kind of rocky as post when everything's
great and you're winning for sports talk radio purposes only,
of course. What do you think about that? Well, I
think there's no doubt that anger drives passion. You know,
people tend to communicate with sports talk radio stations more
(31:15):
so when they're irritated and angry than when they're happy. Uh,
you know, look, I mean it's obviously a controversial thing
for this for this town. This team has been good
for a long long time, and and now that's all
about the fall apart. So I'm curious to see how
people respond to it. But it's not just the Russell Wilson,
Bobby Wagner, Pete Carroll, you know, DK Metcalf's contract is up.
(31:38):
You know what about Jamal Adams future. We've spent a
year and a half hammering Jamal Adams on the either
and and and not just hammering the Seahawks, but hammering him.
I mean there's been some plays that he's made or
plays that he's not made, or I've looked at him
and asked if he even gives a damn about playing football.
And then there's there's there's plays that will make your
skin crawl with this guy. And you know, look, here's
(32:02):
the thing. He was all he was all pot in
New York because the Jets weren't winning. He comes to Seattle,
they make the playoffs. The guy likes a freaking cigar
at a podium to celebrate finally making the postseason. And
now the Seahawks suck again with Jamal adds. So now
he's going right back to where he was with the
Jets two or three years ago. So I'm curious to
(32:24):
see how Jamal Adam tangles all this, you know, uh,
all these tough times that are about to be on
the horizon for the Seahawks. But yeah, it's gonna be
an interesting offseason, interesting couple of years. People are fired up.
The interaction with the fans is always awesome. But I
don't know, man, I'm at a point in my career
where I don't even give a damn anymore. You know,
(32:46):
whatever happens, it's gonna happen. Just get me the hell
off the air so I can be on the first
tea by you know, three o'clock. Well, the great thing
about these jobs is whether the teams are good or bad,
we still have to we still have to talk, so
it doesn't really matter, but talk about it and more.
Now I gotta I gotta ask, you know, one of
the one of the NBA guys gonna get back in Seattle.
What what are you hearing there? We I've heard rumors
(33:07):
for the past five years. Softly, my guys in the
NBA that Seattle is getting an expansion team. They're gonna
add two teams Seattle and I had recently in Vegas,
but I've heard some other cities, Meestion. So what are
you what are you hearing on that? Anything close? Really close? Well,
here's the funny thing. Here's the funny thing about that.
First of all, can you believe it's been fourteen years
since they left to Oklahoma City? Ben? Yeah, Ben, Ben.
(33:32):
The sad part about it is is that you've got
I don't know, we've we've We've had this conversation before
on our show. How how old do you have to
be to have like a real conscious sports memory, you know, six, seven,
eight years old? I don't know. I mean, the Sonics
won the NBA title in seventy nine. I was five
and a half. I got no memory of that whatsoever.
(33:52):
I was more concerned about where my next booker was
coming from, you know, versus nity A basketball. So I
have no memory of that whatsoever. I have some memories
of the yearly eighties when I was seven eight years old,
But you know, if we just use that as a benchmark.
There's kids graduating high school this year, college freshman and
our area that have no idea what NBA basketball in
(34:13):
this town is all about. You gotta be in your
mid twenties early twenties to have any memory of NBA basketball.
So you're starting over with an entirely new generation of fans.
And guess what. A lot of people have moved on
their sounder soccer fans, their cracking hockey fans, their w
NBA fans. They're sitting home playing freaking video games all
(34:35):
day with their buddies online. There's a lot more competition
now for the sports dollar than there was fourteen, fifteen,
twenty years ago. So I'm curious to see how the
city reacts to it. They reacted great to the cracking.
They sold out all their season ticket deposits. But here's
the nutste thing. You know the name Todd LYE. Wicky.
You know the named Tim ly Wicky. Obviously two of
(34:55):
the great sports executives in the country. Todd was the
president of Seahawks when they hired Peak Carol back in
the day and did great things for us. These are
the guys that are telling everybody that the NBA is
coming back, and you would think that those would be
the guys that would say, hey, look, we just got
you at damn hockey team. Why don't you enjoy the
(35:16):
NHL for a while and we'll work on the NBA later.
It's not been the It's not been the case. These
guys are the ones telling us they're coming back. They're
coming back. We've got to be patient, but they're coming back.
Tim ly Wicky and Todd Lane Wicky, who have done
so much for the town already getting this beautiful arena
built and by the way, it is really awesome. You
come to town, will get you a game, by the way,
(35:38):
and they get us a hockey team, and you would
think they would want you to just enjoy that. But
they are the ones that are fanning the flames for
the NBA to come back. So I would be fairly
surprised if in the next three to five years we
did not have basketball back. And see you and they
gotta come. I know there's there's business involved, those oil
barons in Oklahoma. They gotta get the Sonic name back.
(35:59):
Though I I'm gonna go full old school. Don't don't
change some dopey name. Go with the Sonics. Bring it back,
bring back well. And you've seen, you've seen how that
franchise is doing. They're not doing well. They're not drawn
fans or lose the money right and left. And I'm
shedding a tear. I'm playing a little violin over here
for Clay Bennett and the issues they're having in Oklahoma City.
But I gotta be honest with you, man, it's uh,
(36:20):
it's a wacky thing to think about how long it's
been since this basketball team was not around. And I
think it's great the amount of passion that you hear
and see around the country. People are always tweeting and
talking about how Seattle deserves a basketball team, and I don't.
I would just challenge anybody whether San Diego after they
lost the Clippers, Kansas City after they lost the King's uh,
(36:43):
Louisville after they you know, fourteen fifteen years later, was
there still this kind of passion in those towns to
bring the NBA back? And I would say no. I mean, dude,
we got a freaking store. We got a store simply
Seattle dot com that sells Sonic gear and they sell
a lot of it, and people are running around town
(37:04):
wearing this stuff. It's crazy how the plane is still going.
I love it. Yeah, I know. And we're around the
same h So, I I mean I remember, you know,
I'm not. I wasn't a Sonic, yes exactly. I haven't
aged in many years, but I remember those Sonic teams.
I was like wow, I mean that was great basketball,
and it was always like a it was always the
always seems to have competitive teams in those days. But anyway,
(37:25):
I've kept you for way too long, Softy, I appreciate it.
You're the man, you're the myth, you're the legend. You
own Seattle. And it's coming up on thirty years. You
sign your new deal. So we're gonna they're gonna have
like a day for you, Softy Day in Seattle. They're
gonna have that whole thing. Yeah, the yea, the Softy
Day better come along with that being the next day
is my last day on the year. That's all I'm
(37:45):
asking for. Just get me the hell out of here,
get me up here. Now. This is great because this
this keeps me from having to go do work around
the house. So if you want me to hang out
for another four or five hours, like, I no problem doing. Yeah,
I think I would producer will kill me though, so
I appreciate it. But if thank you of adoption of
teams from foster care is a topic not enough people
(38:06):
know about, and we're here to change that. I'm April Dennuity,
host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt
us Kids. Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption
stories told by the families that lived them, with commentary
from experts. Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast,
or subscribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt Us Kids,
(38:27):
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(38:50):
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(00:23):
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what does the chicken say? Uh? Giraft draft really? Giraffe? Giraffe?
(00:44):
You're not gonna get it all right. Just make sure
you know the big stuff, like making sure your kids
are buckled correctly in the right seat for their agent's eyes.
Get it right visits n h S A dot gov
slash the Right Seat, brought to you by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the AD Council. Ka Boom.
If you thought four hours a day, minutes a week
(01:06):
was enough, think again. He's the last remnants of the
old Republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He treats crackheads
in the ghetto cutter the same as the rich pill
poppers in the penthouse. The clearing house of hot takes,
Break Free for something Special. The Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller starts right now, nine in the air. Everywhere it
(01:33):
is another weekend. We're kicking it off right now on
the Friday Friday Friday edition of The Fifth Hour with
Ben Maller and Danny ge back again. You can't stop
us from talking. There's always something to discuss. And it's
been a big week here in the sporting world with
(01:54):
the start of the silly season in the NFL. And
you know the mantra that I have head if you
listen to my yapping over my time at Fox, and
you know, I believe the better story is in the
losing locker room. And the biggest transaction in the NFL
for my money, dollar for dollar, was the trade that
(02:17):
sent Russell Willson out of Seattle and into Denver, as
Russ will be cooking in the mile high altitude. So
the better story is in the losing locker room. Yeah,
that would be the Seattle locker room. As the Seahawks
(02:37):
are now heading into uncharted waters without a big time quarterbacks,
so they're gonna have to pivot on the fly, and
who better to get to the bottom of what's going
on in Seattle than the voice of sports talk radio
in Seattle when you think, at least for those of
us who work in the in the radio, because the
people that matter in Seattle sports radio, there's only one
(03:01):
name that really rises all the way up to the top,
and that's Softy and a man who I often have
been accused of being related to that we are brothers
from another mother. And because it's Softy Maller and Ben Mallard,
and I've always been just we're gonna bring Softly on
right now. Softy, I've always been jealous that your surname,
(03:23):
while it's similar to mine, is pronounced in a much
more masculine way. That Maller is much more impressive than Mallard.
So we'll start with that. And also we've been on
the radio in Seattle for years. We are on the
obviously overnight show on kJ are the great sports talker.
You are the big afternoon drive sensation there in Seattle.
(03:44):
And I semi regularly will have a listener that that
is in the Seattle market that will say, hey, are
you you related? They are convinced that because we have
a similar sounding name and we work in Adeo that
we are somehow we are d n A related. Have
(04:05):
you gotten the same reaction there, softy, that's probably were related.
I mean, you're kind of bursting my bubble. I saw
the story where Jerry Jones is getting sued by somebody
who claims that Jerry is for father, and I don't know.
I thought I thought you and I were related. Maybe
I should play all law student have like a DNA
test and make sure that you know we we are
(04:26):
not related. But I've been walking around forever people ask
me my claim to fame. It's like, yeah, me and
me and Ben Maller were related. That's my claim to fame.
And now you're telling me that we're not. Man, this
is just a whole new world for me, and I'm
not sure if I can go forward now knowing that
we are actually not related. No, man, I mean, here's
the thing, dude. Um, it's funny how some people get
(04:48):
this stuff mixed up. I didn't think it was that difficult.
Apparently for some people it is. But places like Twitter,
for example, have reminded me that not everybody is on
the same page as we are, and that stuff that
you would not think would need explanation indeed does need explanation.
So yes, Ben and I are not related, which is
(05:08):
better news for him than it is for me. By
the way, well, no, and I filled in for you.
I don't know if you remember. You were on a
tropical island somewhere with the family, and I filled in
remotely before it was cool to fill in remotely on
the powerful kJ R. And uh, clearly management heard that
(05:28):
show softly because I've not been invited back, So clearly
they heard that broadcast and said, Mallard not as good
as Maller, and uh, get out of here, stay away,
stay away, stay I think, no, I think what happens.
They realized how good you were, and they said, if
we put this bastard on the air again, we're gonna
happen to pay you, actually compensate the guy. So forget that.
(05:50):
Let's go back to Maller, who's just cheap talent. We
can get away with putting his asks on the air.
So anyway, yeah, man, it's good to be on with you.
And what a what a crazy couple of days in Seattle, Man,
it has been. We're gonna get to that. But I'm
not done b s thing about radio because I'm I'm
waiting now. So you you are a star. You are
like the Mike Frances of Seattle. I don't know if
(06:11):
that's a compliment or not, but you've been on there
for a long time. You're very successful. But when is
the trickle down gonna happen? I see these contracts softly
with Aikman and these guys, and I'm I'm happy for
these broadcasters in the NFL. But I have always believed
I'm biased here because I work in radio as you do.
But people tune in to hear what the radio guy
(06:31):
has to say. When you will watch an NFL game,
if the teams are good, you're not necessarily watching because
of Troy Aikman or any of these guys, no matter
how good they are. You're not watching because of the broadcasters.
So when is the money give me the answer here softly,
When is the money gonna come down to guys like us? Yeah,
I would say it's a word that rhymes with never
number one because number two and And I really realized
(06:54):
this when I get to go to the Super Bowl
for Radio Row or the Final Four for Radio Row,
and you look round Radio Row and you see all
these bumbs and you see all these clowns and you think, man,
that's me. I'm I'm one of those bums. I'm one
of those clowns and sports talk radio. So in the end,
and I always say this, that you and I are
(07:14):
just monkeys and a carnival man, and all they do
is just throw peanuts at us, you know, our entire career.
So maybe one day they'll give us more peanuts. Maybe
one day they'll give us more bananas. But they ain't
gonna give us more cash, man, There's no question about that.
So you and I work on the toys and games department.
Other people out there have real jobs and they're you know,
(07:35):
busting their ass twelve thirteen hours a day construction, hard labor,
things like this. So we got nothing to bitch about, man,
no matter how little they pay us. But uh, it's
a hell of a run. It's been twenty seven years
for me. I decided to new deal. They'll take you
to thirty with kJ R, and I just wonder every
day when they're gonna pull the plug. And they haven't
done it yet. So it's a freaking miracle. Congratulations, you
(07:57):
have dominated. You are the king of Seattle Radio. But
I and and speaking of that, I know from my
little overnight show and we have you know, listeners in
Seattle and you guys just moved to the FM down Now.
This fascinates me, Softie, because people were like, oh, you
sound so much better on the FM dial. The the
power of terrestrial radio still because you can listen to
(08:21):
your show on I Heart Radio and the streaming and
all that, and same with obviously my show. But so
many people are just creatures of habit. They just love
the old school radio and they listen that way. To me,
it's fascinating. If you've gotten a similar response. It's a
big deal to be on the FM dial now. It's
a huge deal. And it's even bigger for our broadcast partners,
(08:42):
you know on the crack in the Huskies, Washington basketball,
Washington football, the Sounders, you know, you know Westwood One
for example, I have all those games and and FM radio.
But you're right, I mean there were people when we
made the move that were irritated. You know, I want
my my listening to nine am for forty years or whatever,
(09:03):
and and and and and here's the funny thing. Then,
yesterday was actually the one hundredth anniversary of kJ R
getting their very first broadcast license in nineteen two. So
our radio station has been around for over a hundred
years now, and we finally made the switch full time
to FM. We're gonna simulcast for a little bit and
(09:25):
then make the switch in a couple of months. Officially,
we actually tried this about ten years ago to simulcast
on an FM station with nine a m. And the
ratings for like four hours were off the charts and
the management was going bananas. I gotta look at this.
And then a week later, yeah, they stuck again. So
I don't know, man, maybe maybe this will be the
(09:45):
boost everybody is looking for. But I think I think,
I mean, you're you're kind of a radio junkie like me.
I think the biggest difference is that the music stations
are struggling because they can't compete with all the music
you know, streaming platforms. Uh for example, like I hearts app,
where you can get all the music you want on
the I Heart app. But if you still want local
(10:06):
sports talk until they start streaming that on all the
other platforms, there's only one place to go. Yeah, no, absolutely,
I mean that's music radio. Will you listen in the morning,
and it's just talk radio. Like the music stations are
just talk stations. That's been that way for years. But uh,
I mean it's it's absolutely and people like to listen.
When it comes to music. A lot of people want
(10:27):
to hear only what they want to hear, and you
never know what you're gonna get when you listen on
on radio. But as as our boss over a Fox is, uh,
don't better leave my man. Uh So we need to talk.
We we need to talk football soft that you are
the king of Seattle. Are you still sitting shiva here
for the end of Russell Wilson as a Seattle Seahawk. No,
(10:50):
I'm not doing that. I gotta be honest with you, man.
I I appreciate everything Russell Wilson did for this franchise,
everything you did for the organization. It doesn't take a genius, uh,
you know to look back and say, hey man, the
ten years of Russell Wilson quarterback, we're pretty damn good
for this franchise. But I I was kind of growing tired,
(11:11):
started bitching about his offensive line and then all of
this controversy erupted, all this rumor, all this innuendo, and
Russell didn't say a damn thing. He didn't put an
end to any of it. He just sat back with
his hands behind his head, kicked his feed up and
smiled and just enjoyed being in the spotlight. And I
even asked him, you know, at a press conference, I said,
if you really want to be in Seattle long term,
(11:33):
why would you allow all that rumor and innuendo to continue?
And he said, well, because we had some stuff to
figure out behind closed doors, blah blah blah. Well then
you're really truly we're not as invested here, And it
really truly was not as harmonious a relationship as you
guys have been leading people on. You can't have it
both freaking ways. So there was a lot of drama
(11:53):
with him. There was a lot of nonsense with him.
He became all about him. He became all about his brand,
which is line, if you're playing great football and winning
m vps the way Aaron Rodgers is, but he wasn't
doing that. You know, the guy comes out and complains
about the line. He wants more talent, he wants this,
he wants his legacy to be secure, which he never
talked like that. Bobby Wagner never talked like that. Richard
(12:16):
Sherman never talks like that. Uh you know, K. J. Wright,
Earl Thomas Camp Chancellor. Those guys never talked about themselves
in that light, and Russell Wilson never did until about
a year and a half ago. So things started ben
to become about Russell and his brand and his legacy
and his campaign. And then he picks that opportunity and
(12:38):
that time to go out and start playing bad football
in the back half of two thousand twenty breaks his
finger and was playing poorly even before that in the
first half of two thousand twenty one. So all of
it created the student that a lot of people were
just kind of getting tired of. To be honest with you, well,
I don't know about you, softie, but that that bread
football thing that Russ was selling, that that's a solid
(13:00):
item there. And the nano bubbles, right, he had the
nano bubbles going to yea, yeah, he claimed to have Ben.
You know what's funny about that, as you mentioned the
nano bubbles, that that that really was the only thing
that he had done that he had even remotely approached
any controversy when he claimed to have this water that
can cure concussions, and that went away real quick. And
(13:21):
then all of a sudden, you know, again, he met Sierra. Uh,
he started turning into a bit of a diva. The
analogy that I've used before with him. You remember the
movie Napoleon Dynamite, obviously, when when his brother Kipp was
this nerdy computer geek sitting at home online talking to
babes all day, and then he meets Lafonda and he
(13:42):
totally changes. He's got the do rag on, he's got
the medallion with the thunderbird hanging around his neck. He's
walking differently, he's talking differently. That's what happened to Russell.
I'm telling you, go look at Russell Wilson. His first
three or four years in the NFL. He was like
Arkell of NFL quarterbacks. And then he meet Sierra, and
all of a sudden, he becomes this totally different person.
(14:04):
He's dressing differently, he's walking differently, he's talking differently. He's
got a different hairstyle, he's using different voices. I swear
to god, Ben, we have a Russell Wilson sound wheel
where he's got seven or eight different accents, and everything
just got weird with the guy and then he started
playing poorly and all hell went to you know, hell
(14:24):
hand bucket. So it was just a big, freaking giant
recipe of nonsense. Well you are the expert on Russell
Wilson sound bus. My personal favorite was the Mr Unlimited
rant that he did that I gotta get you, I
gotta get you, and when we're done here, have your
producer give you a buzz. I gotta get you some
of these drops because you'll have a field day. It
(14:47):
is unbelievable. I could play you six or seven different
clips and if you didn't know it was Russell Wilson,
you would think it was six or seven different people
talk and I swear to God. Well, the thing too
about him, and it's obviously, as you has changed recently,
but Russell Wilson, for years it sounded like he was
mimicking Pete Carroll, like the same tone, like the phrases.
(15:10):
It was like he was the doppel gang or a
Pete Carroll like that. He was just trying to copy
the exact language. So is he gonna copy the broncos
coach over that is the guy from the Packers there?
Is he gonna rip that hacket? Yeah? Yeah, Well, that's
one of the funny things that Seahawk fans are gonna
keep their eye on sand You know, this guy like
to end every press conference with go Hawks, which was
kind of fun. Whatever blah blah blah. And then when
(15:31):
he didn't do it, Seahawk fans from panic. Oh he
didn't say go Hawks. What does that mean? He didn't
say go Hawks. So now we'll see if he says
go Broncos in Denver. But that was one of the
things that made this thing work is that him and
John Schneider and Pete Carroll were always on the same page.
You know, they would they would agree on, you know,
how they were going to present themselves in public, what
(15:52):
they would talk about, what they would not talk about.
Russell Wilson was the master of the cliche. He was
the master of deflection. It's what made him so great
that he was a good player, very very good player.
But they also had the l ob. They had Marshawn Lynch,
they had the highest grade offensive line in football when
they won the title in two thousand thirteen, and Russell
Wilson never ever, ever even thought about locking the boat.
(16:16):
And then things began to deteriorate, and he became a
little more brass. He became a little more bold, which
I have no problem with. The guy that spent eight
nine years in the NFL should have that, you know,
confidence that he can speak his mind. But like I said,
it became about him and it got weird, and he
would do all this weird stuff on social media. I
(16:36):
don't know if you remember, but there was a photo
about four or five, three or four years ago that
he sent out where he's buck naked with a nine
percent naked Sierra and a buck naked Huture junior and
they're all wrapped up like a big serpent, and he
puts the picture on social media. I'm like, dude, if
(16:57):
I got pictures like that with me and my wife,
know what I'm doing with that. I'm taking it above
my bed, or it's in my bathroom above the toilet
so nobody can see it. I'm not showing that the people.
It's just weird, man, just stuff that guys just don't do.
Very odd, and players in the locker mortality, they would
(17:18):
roll their eyes at this stuff. I talked to one
guy that spent nine years with him in Seattle, and
I asked him. How many times did you go out
with Russell Wilson after practice, after a game for a beer,
a stake, that or whatever. He said, Not one time,
Not one time did I ever go out with Russell Wilson.
So it's just the kind of guy he was. And again,
when you're winning games and find no problem, when you're
(17:39):
playing well, find no problem. But obviously at the end
that wasn't happening. Hey, it's been This segment is sponsored
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so you are on the pulse of the people as
(19:34):
the voice of Seattle Sports Radio. So what what is
the rank and file, soft thee. I mean, I know
you're the you're the opinion guy, but the people that
you're around are the Seahawks fan, the hardcore Seahawks fan.
Are they in lockstep with you? Or they like, wait
a minute, we are screwed now, We're not gonna have
a quarterback for the next five ten years. Well, I
think everybody understands how hard he is gonna be to replace. Uh.
(19:57):
They don't have Aaron Rodgers or a Steve Young waiting
in the wings the way the Niners or Packers did
when they lost Montana and Brett Farve. So that's gonna
be an issue. And obviously, Pete Carroll seventy years old,
how much longer does he want to deal with this
before he walks away and plays with his grandkids and
goes to a place in Maui. But you know, as
far as the reaction, I mean, I I just put
a poll on Twitter yesterday. Not that Twitter polls are
(20:20):
the end all be all, but just a small little sample. Uh.
And I asked, you know, my followers, um, how you
know are you more sad to see Bobby Wagner or
Russell Wilson go and se said Bobby Wagner over Russell Wilson,
And you know it's like what I mean, you know,
I mean, come on, you guys know the in fact,
the middle linebacker has over a quarterback. But I just
(20:41):
think it shows you that people were just ready to
move on. The Hawks have some draft capital now, They've
got a bunch of salary cap space, second most in
the NFL, and people are excited, I guess, in some
ways to see how the Hawks spend it. There's also
a side of the Seahawk fan base that doesn't trust
John Snyder or Pete Carroll as far as they can
throw him. Because the drafts have been arable for the
most part, the free agent spending has been awful, and
(21:03):
it seems like every move they make has been a disaster.
The Jamal Adams deal disaster, Jimmy Graham deal disaster, Percy
Harvin deal disaster. Every big move this franchise has made,
except for the early drafts in two thousand and ten, eleven,
and twelve, really have not worked out. So the track
record was solid and they built a great foundation, but
(21:26):
in the last seven eight years they've been they've been
really slipping in that for dark so three years from
now and we're looking back at this. Is Pete Carroll
a still the coach of the team, and is Russell?
Do you think Russ is gonna light it up in Denver?
You think he he continues as you said, he hasn't
been playing well the last couple of years. You think
he falls off the cliff. Well, I think they're gonna
let him cook. And you know what that means. That
(21:48):
means letting Russ throw the ball forty five times a game.
That's what he wanted, That's what he wanted here in Seattle.
That's what Brian Schottenheimer wanted for him in Seattle. And
then Seahawks went six and two in the first half
of the two thousand twenty season. They went to Buffalo,
they got destroyed. Russell Wilson threw a bunch of picks
and Pete Carroll said, that's the end of that. Enough
(22:09):
of that, and they went back to his roots. The
problem with Pete Carroll is he thinks it's still two
thousand thirteen. He doesn't want to take any chances on offense,
doesn't want to turn the ball over, wants to rely
on a great running game and an elite defense. The
problem is they haven't had either one of those things
for the last four or five years. I don't know.
Maybe Pete Carroll's in a coma and he wakes up
(22:31):
every day and his dream and he's he's dreaming that
it's two thousand thirteen. I got no freaking idea. But
if they want to get back to where they are
with Pete Carroll, they gotta get serious about the offensive line.
They gotta get serious about the defensive line, and they
gotta find a way to start dominating people on the ground.
And that hasn't happened. Chris Carson can't count on him,
but Shot Penny can't count on him. They are options
(22:52):
have been guys like Alex Collin's, Carlos Hide, and Taul Homer.
Excuse me, Travis Homer. So they just need if they're
going to make this work with Pete Carroll, he's got
to find a way to get back to his roosts,
all right. So you have to get a quarterback this
year for the Seahawks. So what what do you hear it? Soft?
Is it gonna be Drew Lock? Are they gonna sign
one of these other stiffs that are free agents? Are
(23:13):
trade for somebody. Yeah, I think the next great Seahawk
quarterback is probably in diapers right now, probably, honest, honestly,
all right, I mean seriously, because I just don't see
anything in free agency. I don't see anything on the
trade market. Maybe they make a running a guy like
a Marcus Mario, and maybe they'll bring a guy like
a Gardener of Minshew in here and see what they
can do provide some competition. I mean, that's really what
(23:36):
we're talking about right now. The other option is to
Shaun Watson, and we'll find out what happens on Friday
with the Grand Jury. I love the Shaun as a player, obviously,
right now he's a no go zone because of all
the accusations against him, and that's got to be dropped.
And if those are dropped, I think the Hawks are
very much gonna be involved with the Deshaun Watson sweep steaks.
(23:58):
I mean, Ben, you gotta understand and and I know
that you do that. Pete Carroll seventy damn years old. Right.
He may think he's young at heart, and he may
think he can coach until he's eighty years old. Pretty's
freaking seventy. There's only a handful of guys in the
NFL that have had any success past that age. Uh,
and he's gonna have to be another one, you know,
to pull this off. So I don't think he's you know,
(24:19):
interested in rebuilding this thing from the ground up and
training a rookie quarterback and you know, building a new
offensive and defensive line. That's why he left USC to
come to the Seahawks in the first place, for crying
out loud, because the guy had no interest in rebuilding
USC when they were about to go on probation. So
I think Pete Carroll is going to take the path
of least resistance. And if that means getting a Mariota,
(24:42):
if that means getting the minshow if that means drafting
you know, a Malik Willis with the number nine pick
that got the Bronco deal, or getting into the Watson sweepstakes,
I think that's what he'll do. But right now there's
only two quarterbacks on the roster. It's Drew Lock and
Jacob Eeson. So right now it's the Drew Locks. Oh
until something changes. Well, yeah, I was just gonna bring
up that I was around Pete when he was coaching
(25:04):
at USC, and once once he saw the writing on
the wall that that was not gonna go well with
the n c A. He hied tailed that out of there.
He got he got going, and uh, you wonder if
he's gonna stick art. Yeah, well, I I agree with you.
But you think within the next five years that the
Seahawks are gonna have a legit Super Bowl contented? It
seems unlikely at this point. They have a bunch of
draft picks. But but you know, Softie, the problem with
(25:26):
draft picks is most of them don't live up to
the hype. You gotta actually pick the right players. That's
always it sounds great to have draft picks, but you
got actually get the picks right. And these teams screwed
up all the time. And they've been screwing it up.
I mean they've you know, they've had a couple of
hits here and there, but for the most part, and look,
here's the thing. What they did between two thousand ten,
(25:47):
two thousand eleven and two thousand twelve. They brought in
Russell o'coum. They brought in Earl Thomas, they brought in
Richard Sherman, they brought in K. J. Wright, they brought
him Bobby Wagner, they brought in Russell will Wilson, they
brought in Doug Baldwin is an undrafted free agent. They're
never gonna have that kind of success. Again, that was
a once in a career type of run for John
(26:09):
Schneider and Pete Carroll when it comes to the draft
and when it comes to undrafted free agent. So, of
course I agree with you that in the next five years,
is it likelier than not that the Seahawks are not
going to be a dominant football team. Of course it is. Yeah.
I mean, this is absolutely going down the road of
a rebuild, there is no question about that. And Pete
Carroll is gonna be seventy three, seventy four years old, uh,
(26:32):
in the time frame that you're talking about. And the
other part of this equation that not a lot of
people have been mentioning is that Paul Allen is dead.
I mean, Paul Allen was one of the great owners
in the NFL. Everything Paul Allen touched when it came
to the NFL, from hiring Mike Holmgren to hiring Pete Carroll,
(26:53):
to be willing to fire Jim Mora after one year
of a four year deal when Todd light if he
convinced him it wasn't working, he didn't give a damn.
He just wanted to win games. I mean, look at
the look at the playoff appearances with Paul Allen from
the late nineties on compared to what they had before.
Paul Allen was the owner, and he passed away a
(27:15):
couple of years ago. His sister Jodi is now in charge.
Nobody even knows what the hell she sounds like for
crying out loud. Nobody even knows what her plans are
long term for this organization. So there's a little bit
of a question mark, Ben, if not a big question
mark about the ownership structure in Seattle. How long does
Jody hang onto the team if they do want to sell.
(27:37):
There's gonna be plenty of people in Seattle, namely a
guy like a Jeff Bezos. Maybe Bill Gates finally steps
up and buys a team. Um, But that's a big, big,
big concern for me because as long as Paul Allen
was here, this organization was firing on all cylinders, and
now that he's gone, nobody has any idea of the
future that of that structure and what that looks like,
(27:58):
how great would it be though for this Seahawks fans
if they Bezos ends up getting the team with all
his money, Oh my goodness, insanity. But as four, you
know what I'd rather. I'd rather have him buy the
Mariners with no salary captain baseball better. Well, they're debating that, right,
so they have the owners have their fake salary kept,
their through gazy salary kept that they put in baseball,
which is ridiculous. Bazos would take that luxury tax by
(28:23):
the neck and sweet so hard that tideballs would pop
out exactly. He wouldn't give a damn. He would not
get And I've always argued that pall out and own
the wrong team. If he had owned the Mariners instead
of the Seahawks, oh my god, we'd have six World
Series titles by now. Yeah, I'm sure. And look at
your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest.
(28:43):
It's a storybook world for them. You look and see
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with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles,
They see a windy path that could lead to adventure,
and they see you. They're fearless guide is fascinating world.
Find a forest near you and start exploring a Discover
(29:04):
the Forest dot org brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the ad Council. And we're live
here outside the Perez family home, just waiting for the
And there they go, almost on time. This morning. Mom
is coming out the front door strong with a double
arm kid carry. Looks like Dad has the bags. Daughter
is bringing up the rear. Oh but the diaper bag
(29:25):
wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere. Oh but mom
has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler.
And now the eldest daughter, who looks to be about
nine or ten, has secured herself in the booster seat.
Dad zips the bag clothes and they're off. Ah, but
looks like Mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still
(29:46):
on the roof of the car and there it goes. Ah.
That's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite. Don't
sweat the small stuff. Just nailed the big stuff, like
making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right
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(30:08):
AD Council. What grows in the forest trees? Sure, No,
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with each other. The forest is closer than you think.
(30:30):
Find a forest near you and start exploring. I discover
the Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United
States Forest Service and the AD Council. Uh No, as
far as you know, I'm thinking this is actually good
for you, Softy, that the Seahawks, because there's a lot
of passion for the Seahawks from an outsider's perspective, right,
it's a lot of I've been to see how a
few times, a lot of passion. But if the team's bad,
(30:52):
that's great sports radio, right, that's great for you because
people are angry. It's to me, it's always been better
when things are kind of rocky as post when everything's
great and you're winning for sports talk radio purposes only,
of course. What do you think about that? Well, I
think there's no doubt that anger drives passion. You know,
people tend to communicate with sports talk radio stations more
(31:15):
so when they're irritated and angry than when they're happy. Uh,
you know, look, I mean it's obviously a controversial thing
for this for this town. This team has been good
for a long long time, and and now that's all
about the fall apart. So I'm curious to see how
people respond to it. But it's not just the Russell Wilson,
Bobby Wagner, Pete Carroll, you know, DK Metcalf's contract is up.
(31:38):
You know what about Jamal Adams future. We've spent a
year and a half hammering Jamal Adams on the either
and and and not just hammering the Seahawks, but hammering him.
I mean there's been some plays that he's made or
plays that he's not made, or I've looked at him
and asked if he even gives a damn about playing football.
And then there's there's there's plays that will make your
skin crawl with this guy. And you know, look, here's
(32:02):
the thing. He was all he was all pot in
New York because the Jets weren't winning. He comes to Seattle,
they make the playoffs. The guy likes a freaking cigar
at a podium to celebrate finally making the postseason. And
now the Seahawks suck again with Jamal adds. So now
he's going right back to where he was with the
Jets two or three years ago. So I'm curious to
(32:24):
see how Jamal Adam tangles all this, you know, uh,
all these tough times that are about to be on
the horizon for the Seahawks. But yeah, it's gonna be
an interesting offseason, interesting couple of years. People are fired up.
The interaction with the fans is always awesome. But I
don't know, man, I'm at a point in my career
where I don't even give a damn anymore. You know,
(32:46):
whatever happens, it's gonna happen. Just get me the hell
off the air so I can be on the first
tea by you know, three o'clock. Well, the great thing
about these jobs is whether the teams are good or bad,
we still have to we still have to talk, so
it doesn't really matter, but talk about it and more.
Now I gotta I gotta ask, you know, one of
the one of the NBA guys gonna get back in Seattle.
What what are you hearing there? We I've heard rumors
(33:07):
for the past five years. Softly, my guys in the
NBA that Seattle is getting an expansion team. They're gonna
add two teams Seattle and I had recently in Vegas,
but I've heard some other cities, Meestion. So what are
you what are you hearing on that? Anything close? Really close? Well,
here's the funny thing. Here's the funny thing about that.
First of all, can you believe it's been fourteen years
since they left to Oklahoma City? Ben? Yeah, Ben, Ben.
(33:32):
The sad part about it is is that you've got
I don't know, we've we've We've had this conversation before
on our show. How how old do you have to
be to have like a real conscious sports memory, you know, six, seven,
eight years old? I don't know. I mean, the Sonics
won the NBA title in seventy nine. I was five
and a half. I got no memory of that whatsoever.
(33:52):
I was more concerned about where my next booker was
coming from, you know, versus nity A basketball. So I
have no memory of that whatsoever. I have some memories
of the yearly eighties when I was seven eight years old,
But you know, if we just use that as a benchmark.
There's kids graduating high school this year, college freshman and
our area that have no idea what NBA basketball in
(34:13):
this town is all about. You gotta be in your
mid twenties early twenties to have any memory of NBA basketball.
So you're starting over with an entirely new generation of fans.
And guess what. A lot of people have moved on
their sounder soccer fans, their cracking hockey fans, their w
NBA fans. They're sitting home playing freaking video games all
(34:35):
day with their buddies online. There's a lot more competition
now for the sports dollar than there was fourteen, fifteen,
twenty years ago. So I'm curious to see how the
city reacts to it. They reacted great to the cracking.
They sold out all their season ticket deposits. But here's
the nutste thing. You know the name Todd LYE. Wicky.
You know the named Tim ly Wicky. Obviously two of
(34:55):
the great sports executives in the country. Todd was the
president of Seahawks when they hired Peak Carol back in
the day and did great things for us. These are
the guys that are telling everybody that the NBA is
coming back, and you would think that those would be
the guys that would say, hey, look, we just got
you at damn hockey team. Why don't you enjoy the
(35:16):
NHL for a while and we'll work on the NBA later.
It's not been the It's not been the case. These
guys are the ones telling us they're coming back. They're
coming back. We've got to be patient, but they're coming back.
Tim ly Wicky and Todd Lane Wicky, who have done
so much for the town already getting this beautiful arena
built and by the way, it is really awesome. You
come to town, will get you a game, by the way,
(35:38):
and they get us a hockey team, and you would
think they would want you to just enjoy that. But
they are the ones that are fanning the flames for
the NBA to come back. So I would be fairly
surprised if in the next three to five years we
did not have basketball back. And see you and they
gotta come. I know there's there's business involved, those oil
barons in Oklahoma. They gotta get the Sonic name back.
(35:59):
Though I I'm gonna go full old school. Don't don't
change some dopey name. Go with the Sonics. Bring it back,
bring back well. And you've seen, you've seen how that
franchise is doing. They're not doing well. They're not drawn
fans or lose the money right and left. And I'm
shedding a tear. I'm playing a little violin over here
for Clay Bennett and the issues they're having in Oklahoma City.
But I gotta be honest with you, man, it's uh,
(36:20):
it's a wacky thing to think about how long it's
been since this basketball team was not around. And I
think it's great the amount of passion that you hear
and see around the country. People are always tweeting and
talking about how Seattle deserves a basketball team, and I don't.
I would just challenge anybody whether San Diego after they
lost the Clippers, Kansas City after they lost the King's uh,
(36:43):
Louisville after they you know, fourteen fifteen years later, was
there still this kind of passion in those towns to
bring the NBA back? And I would say no. I mean, dude,
we got a freaking store. We got a store simply
Seattle dot com that sells Sonic gear and they sell
a lot of it, and people are running around town
(37:04):
wearing this stuff. It's crazy how the plane is still going.
I love it. Yeah, I know. And we're around the
same h So, I I mean I remember, you know,
I'm not. I wasn't a Sonic, yes exactly. I haven't
aged in many years, but I remember those Sonic teams.
I was like wow, I mean that was great basketball,
and it was always like a it was always the
always seems to have competitive teams in those days. But anyway,
(37:25):
I've kept you for way too long, Softy, I appreciate it.
You're the man, you're the myth, you're the legend. You
own Seattle. And it's coming up on thirty years. You
sign your new deal. So we're gonna they're gonna have
like a day for you, Softy Day in Seattle. They're
gonna have that whole thing. Yeah, the yea, the Softy
Day better come along with that being the next day
is my last day on the year. That's all I'm
(37:45):
asking for. Just get me the hell out of here,
get me up here. Now. This is great because this
this keeps me from having to go do work around
the house. So if you want me to hang out
for another four or five hours, like, I no problem doing. Yeah,
I think I would producer will kill me though, so
I appreciate it. But if thank you of adoption of
teams from foster care is a topic not enough people
(38:06):
know about, and we're here to change that. I'm April Dennuity,
host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption, presented by adopt
us Kids. Each episode brings you compelling, real life adoption
stories told by the families that lived them, with commentary
from experts. Visit adopt us Kids dot org, slash podcast,
or subscribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt Us Kids,
(38:27):
brought to you by the U s Department of Health
and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, and the
AD Council. Look for your children's eyes and you will
discover the true magic of a forest. Find a forest
near you and start exploring it. Discover the Forest dot
org brought to you by the United States Forest Service
and the ad Council. What girls in the forest, our
(38:50):
imagination and our family bonds. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and discover the
Forest dot org, brought to you of the United States
Forest Service and the ad Council.
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