June 4, 2024 • 50 mins
Jason and Mike debate if there's anyone in the sports world who has a bigger ego than Angel Reese. Longtime NFL Insider Jason La Canfora joins the show for all the latest on Justin Jefferson’s monster contract and OTAs. Plus, some LeBron James NBA Trade rumors, and much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Best of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, welcome in side Happy Monday, the Jason Smith Show
with my base friend Mike Harmon. You know this show
doesn't work without me live from the tirag dot com
studios diirect dot com. Hope you get there. An unmatched selection, fast,
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(00:54):
should be.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Are you gonna blow this game? Yes?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Here, I want to tell you this. If the Mets
somehow blow another three run ninth inning lead, come to
the ninth inning of this game against the Washington Nationals
with a three run lead eight to five. If they
blow this game, I'm never watching baseball again. I'm never
like bringing you back in here. How is that guy
not leaned in? You got to take it for the team.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I can't, man, I can't.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I mean, bases loaded, eight six, now, one out. I mean,
I don't know, I don't know. I don't know what
to do. It's it's just if they blow this game.
I mean, I will have to stop watching baseball.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
There's one run. I will have to stop watching sacrifice fly.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So now it's eight seven, two outs, tying run at third,
winning run at first.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Jason, Yeah, ask me how much the Mets suck.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
I don't know that you're gonna. I don't know that
you can question. He's kind in a whole algorithm. He's
been working on this all. Okay, okay, okay, Yeah, justin
how much it's science? Justin how much do the Mets suck?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Dude? They suck so much they gave.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Up a home run the Joey Gallo Gallo Yeah, Joey father, Yeah, Joey.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Joey gallowswn his power again.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Joey Gallows twenty twenty four year is hey the real
dad of the woman who he thought was the dad
from Mark Davis? And now he's got a home run
against the Mets. That's Joey Gallows twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And you know what you're gonna wear if the Nationals
win this game? What not home run? You know how
fast he's going to turn around the sound for that?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
He's got any finger over the button waiting for the
game to end uprush me.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I would play it right now if it wasn't for
Rob Manford, an MLB stupid g Yeah, fly down on
you like a ninja.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
No.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
In fact, I think there is a new rule that
you're not allowed to play any highlights at all until
the next day.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I think that's a new thing with Major League Baseball.
Can't do it.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So this is where things fall apart because the Mets
are one strike away from winning. But this would be
the sixth ninth inning loss that the Mets would have had,
fifth in the last two and a half weeks. Nobody's
got more than two.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
No, No, I'm telling you, if games were eight innings long,
the Mets would have four World Series the last twenty
years of being first place.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
They figured out how to blow it in the eighth. No, no, no,
I just you just cut it off of the eighth. No, no,
just cut it off of the eighth.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
We can do eight and eight.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
May would actually tell you we can do it and
end them alternating Thursdays and the game ends after eight innings.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
We can do it. Me's win.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
That's when Met's win, Mess win, Medo win Man. Oh,
Jake Diekman with a strikeout. Oh, I can watch. It's
still on your shoulder. I can watch, basement. You're on fire.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That was awful. Well that's what I could do right now, guys,
what can you do?
Speaker 6 (03:36):
Here?
Speaker 5 (03:36):
You go?
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Gallows sends what high in there to right this? Paul
is crushed. Itch, Paul's out of here.
Speaker 7 (03:48):
Joey Gallow's fifth of the year puts the Nationals on top.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Here in the fourth.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I wouldn't have said he even had four up until that,
but it literally went final eighteen seconds.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, but it doesn't matter because a home on the
loss for Rostper. I'll take it. I don't care the
Me's one. I do it. You play the Gallow home,
make you play the Gallo. It's fine.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Backwards k is the fire, I know, I know. Yeah,
that's on the corner. Yeah, but his strike zone had
been pretty large from the out fire, and he still
takes strike three. I believe that's the first lead the
Mets have held in the ninth inning since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That sounds about right. Yeah, I gotta go all the
way back. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Won two of their last three games, twenty two of
thirty three from the nation.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
That's pretty good. Yeah, yeah about that.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, you did not have your ninth inning collapse today?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What do you all?
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Right? Now?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Let me ask you guys a question. Seriously, what do
you think? What love is greater? The love I have
for the Mets.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Oh, that's second to none, or or or or or.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
The love Angel rees has for herself? What's greater?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
That's close, man, isn't it. That's close? You know what, though,
I I that's confidence.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
That's close. That sucks for if it's close it, dude,
that's close. Man, it's close. That's really close.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
I don't know that there is a threatening to abandon
the Nets. Angel Reese is never once intimated that she
would give up on herself. Oh no, no, no, no, no,
it's not even close. You're talking about me. I know,
but I have a yeah, I got I got a
good forty five year head start on that. But that's
been threatening to quit repeated. But there you recognize the
folly of your waking.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And that's the thing is. But I've been so close.
But I mean, I don't know. I seriously, I don't
know that.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
There is anybody in sports, in sports with a bigger
ego than Angel Reese, I don't know. I don't know
that Amon, I know anybody with a bigger ego than
her Man.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's gonna get his kid drafted? Yeah, who got no
business being draft?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
They just.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
But he's doing a whole day for that's it. But
that's at least being done behind the scenes pulling strings.
This is just out and out. Hey, I you know
I it's me, this is me, I'm me.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Nobody.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I don't know anybody in sports has a bigger ego
than she does. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And the reason we talk about this is coming off
the big issue of the weekend, which still is the
biggest story of Monday night. We had the big foul
in the Fever game this past weekend against the Chicago
Sky Caitlin Clark was fouled a dirty foul and there
has been all kinds of controversy that have come out
since that and all talk about their foul and how
(06:24):
dirty it was, and what's going on? And why didn't
anybody police this? Why didn't her teammates protect her? There's
so much to go on with this story. It's okay
the WNBA. Okay, you want smoke, you're gonna get it. Right,
you wanted the smoke, same thing, Angel Reach, you wanted smoke,
You're gonna get it. All the talk over this vowl
you've seen it now a thousand times and you're wondering
what kind of play it is, how dirty it was.
(06:45):
There was no talking about the play after the game.
Angel Rees was seen celebrating the foul right after it happened.
She was hugging her teammate after the foul, which was
a dirty play.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
It was a dirty.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Teammate who has also been kicked off in two teams
for being a bad teammate.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, mind you, yeah, if you do the backstory.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
So so there's a lot going on with that and
the fact that they didn't speak after the game on Saturday.
Wait a minute, Wait a minute, we're not going to
talk about this. We're not gonna we're not going to
answer any questions. We're not gonna block and they.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Pull it off but it was amazing to me about
the sound in terms of cutting it off. I'm not
talking about Caitlyn Clark, was that you were given the
opportunity to kind of explain the situation.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Now.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
I don't think anybody would have been happy with whatever
she said, but the questioner at least I seemed to
afford a little bit of Hey, I could put some
of the blame on Caitlyn Clark here.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah, for Cauz, Look, she was.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Doing a bunch of hitting herself, doing a bunch of
trash talking as she is wont to do so, Kennedy Carter,
she had the opportunity there to say, well, here was
the interaction and there now you're gonna be the villain
either way. It's just a question of whether you're going
to a dry or not. And then coach Weatherspoon shut
it down there, eventually fined for non cooperation.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, look, I mean the way it went down.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Kennedy Carter commits the foul, wouldn't talk about it after
the game, but was happy to go on social media,
was happy to say what else you know? To like
a comment of what does Caitlin Clark do besides hitting threes?
So you could tell she's anti Caitlin Clark. Right, there's
a lot of antiiness going on right now. At least
now that's the one good thing I can say from
this week because at least, okay, now it's all.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Out in the open. Now nobody can hide behind. Oh
we love Caitlin, but now now it's all out in
the open. And Angel Reese obviously is going to be
at the front of this because being the rival that
she was with Caitlyn Clark in college and seeing that, hey,
she celebrated the dirty hit. She hugged her teammate after it. Okay,
not the classiest thing in the world to do. But
finally today they both spoke and Kennedy Carter talked about
(08:50):
how listen, don't judge me off of one play. Okay, fine,
and Angel Reese wanted to go on and this is
the big money SoundBite while we were talking about Angel
Reese because okay, she wants to smoke down, she's going
to get it. She wanted to make sure that everybody
knows that it's not just Caitlyn Clark why people are
watching the WNBA, there's other people, more specifically her.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It all started from the National championship game.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
And I've been dealing with this for two years now
and understanding like, yeah, negative things have probably been said
about me, but honestly, I'll take that because look where
women's basketball is. People are talking about women's basketball.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
You never would think of me.
Speaker 8 (09:23):
We talk about women's basketball. People are pulling up to games.
We got celebrities coming to games, sold aut arenas like
just because of one single game, and just looking at that, like,
I'll take that role.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I'll take the bad guy.
Speaker 8 (09:34):
Role, and I'll continue to take that on and be
that for my teammates. And if I want to be that,
and I know I'll go down to history. I'll look
back in twenty years and be like, yeah, the reason
why we watching women's basketball is not.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Just because of one person. It's because of me too,
And I want you to realize that.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Okay, So when I look back, I'll go down in history.
Has Lebron ever said I'll go down in history? Lebron
ever said that? So Lebron said, in twenty years ago,
back and look at me. I love how she says
it's not about one person. Won't say caitlyn 's name,
but then we'll say, but it's about me. It's it's
not about one person. Oh, but it's about me. It's
about me, and.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I love every bit of this.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Okay, and if Angel Reese were here now, I would
hide five her he had hugger and be like, thank you.
We need biggest ego in sports. It's amazing heroes. It
is villains, hype men, height women. My favorite people on
the dais when it comes to the WWE, WWF and
(10:30):
all wrestling.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
What are they usually the managers? Right? I love the talkers. Yeah,
but she's her own hype one.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Oh and doesn't I mean, I guess you're saving money
not having to pay someone to be your hype man
or hype woman.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
She's her own hype one. That's my point though. It's
like she's got the mic and she'll work in the
low post. So this is great.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
She's a great foil and she is embracing the villainy.
I don't know that you needed to say it one
hundred percent. I want to be the villain. But you
know what, I appreciate, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
To want to Bill. You have to kind of be
just just your cast as off. You can't openly canvas to.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Be the there and she's already been there, so I
appreciate her embracing it. And you know, we could quibble
and quarrel about you know, who's watching for what, But
don't you can't tell me that the the Reese Clark
subplot to everything didn't bring eyeballs to the game coming
into the Women's tournament last year, especially once the tournament bracket. Hey,
(11:30):
what do you know the algorithm said they should be
in the same regional just so we can make sure
we get it again. But when we get down to
this game on Saturday, right that was put out as
a noon start on Big ESPN, Right, they they've got
the spotlight. Now, could they have changed the game since
the NBA was done for the week? Sure, and the
(11:52):
long layoff, But for Angel Revees to come out with
this proclamation.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Hell yeah, I'm all for it.
Speaker 9 (11:58):
What's the one big rule while being a villain. What's
some one big rule is that you have to you
have to believe what you're selling. I have to believe it.
She doesn't even believe it. You can listen to her voice.
She doesn't even believe what she's saying. She's trying to
be that person to gain attention. She thinks off of Clark.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That's it. Look, Look that's all she has.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Look he's changing the Okay, you know here, here's the
thing about Angel Reeves. Angel Reese is a big celebrity. Okay,
she's a celebrity. Is she a superstar player?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
She's not. She's a ten and eight player. All right.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
This is like if Isaiah Hartenstein was walking around going,
I should be done. Okay, let's just understand. You can
be a star, right, you can be a star. You're
not the show. None of these players are the show.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
And they have to understand that Caitlin Clark is the show.
You don't pick who the superstars are. You don't get
to vote who the superstars are. Superstars and and and
players who come around once a generation. Those are those players.
Lebron came around twenty years ago. We're still waiting for
the next person to come in to take his place, right,
Lebron has been that guy.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Caitlyn Clark has shown up.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
And for whatever reason, you now see that the players
of the past and the players of the president don't
like that she's getting all this credit. Players of the
past are upset that, hey, we should have been getting
credit before. Now and they didn't. Their anger at Caitlyn
Clark is misplaced because she didn't do anything other than
coming to the league. She's not walking around saying how
great if she would say the same thing as Angel
(13:23):
Reese was, oh my goodness. But she's come into the league,
and I'm not trying to defend her. It's just she
came into the league as the number one leading score
in the history of college basketball. She's got a huge
fan base, more bigger than anybody else in the league
that the league has ever seen. If you don't like her,
that's fine, but there's so much misplaced anger where the
(13:43):
players who have weighed in for the pass goode.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Oh, they should have been watching us before.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
So yeah, okay, but that's not anybody's fault, and it
sure as Ella's in Caitlin Clark's fault, but she embodies it.
So is an anti Caitlin Clark from the former players
the current players. They love the fact that Caitlyn Clark
has brought attention leag but now it's we don't like
that it's her, So you should be paying attention to
the leak. But you should be playing attention to us,
not Caitlyn and we don't like that. I'm sorry, but
this is how it goes. There's room for all of you.
(14:08):
There is room for everybody in this conversation. You can
be a star. Caitlyn Clark is the biggest star. That's
just how it goes.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
And that's what you can see over the course of
the past few days, the current players, the past players,
even people in the media who want to make this
a big thing.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Oh you know, I can't.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Believe you should be talking about this three years ago. Sorry,
when transit, when transcendental players show up, that's a big deal.
Caitlin Clark showed up this year. That's not anybody else's fault,
and it sure is isn't her fault, but it's being
all pushed towards her. That this anger and it's all misplaced.
That's funny because you mentioned Lebron James. You talk about
the NBA. What was the biggest criticism for years? You
(14:43):
only got to see the same eight teams on TNT.
You know why everybody else still got their revenue share? Yeah, right,
the same thing here, WNBA. Everybody benefits, So enjoy the ride.
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(15:05):
To learn more, visit Safety runs First dot com. That
is Safety Runs First dot Com. Well, we'll have more
on this incredibly large topic coming up. I'll tell you
what WNBA is. Fun, but straight ahead. We have all
the latest news from the NFL. Somebody just got paid?
Was it the right thing to do? That's next?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Fox.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (15:37):
Hey gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a
mental Wealth podcast, and every week we will have on
leaders from sports entertainment like Sean McVay, Lindsay Vaughn, Michael Phelt,
David Spade, Got Fiemi, and also those who can help
us in between the ears, anyone from a therapist to
someone like Ed Milett for John Gordon. We've all been
(15:59):
through some sort of adversity to get to the top.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
We've all used different tools.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer and Mental Wealth podcast
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with my best friend.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Mike Harmon from a week ago in Munich. Its Metallica.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
You know when we saw these guys the first time,
when I was in Prague.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
We did a show back in ninety seven.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I want to say it was, you know, coming off
the Black album success.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
They were in the load a little bit, now, is it.
I really thought you were gonna go full monsters.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yeah, I were bagging back in two thousand and seven,
I saw an interview with James Headfield.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
I'm just telling these are things I saw on behind
the music to retell a story from twelve years ago. Yeah,
but you can't assume everybody is remembering line for line
the behind the music.
Speaker 9 (16:55):
You could repurpose that. I always thought there was one
rule though, when playing a concert. What's that you you
get out of the way. You stop playing if there's
pouring rain and lightning.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Right, so no, no, no, no, you keep playing in
the rel That's the athlete's version of playing in pain.
Is you play in the rain. You play in the rain.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
It's thet well.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
No, if there's a danger, if there's a danger lightning.
You're gonna get it up, but you're gonna have to
leave the field. Everybody plays in the rain. It's like
it's it's the thing. It's playing in pain.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
So without lightning, there's no danger. Well if you slip
and fall, Oh, I'm talking about like electricity.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
No, I think I figured that out. Yeah, it's round,
it's not nineteen forty eight. What happened when we plugged
in with the high loads. No, they figured that out. No,
you play in the rain. You playing there that that's
what it is. If you don't play in the rain,
you're not playing hurt, you're not there for the team. No,
you play in the rain. That was a big hot.
They all played in the rain.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Although I really was expecting the Darren Waller song because
it looks like he's gonna retire.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
We're gonna talk to Jason locking for about that. Mary.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I know you and I both love the Darren Waller song.
I thought we get the Darren Waller song.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
He he beat me to it.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Well, a fellow Metallica fan is on the line wa
right now to break it all down. Longtime NFL inside
to check him out on Odyssey one of five seven
the Fan in Baltimore, Washington Post on Twitter at Jason
Lock and for it is Jason Lock and for it
j Low.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
What's happening, man?
Speaker 5 (18:14):
What's going on? Guys?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Good buddy, buddy.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
We're watching Justin Jefferson get paid all kinds of money.
Do not catch passes from JJ McCarthy. It's going to
be awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Co Wow, he made him a Jets quarterback just like that. Man,
I'm waiting to run that joke all day.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It wasn't a long time to talk about Zach Wilson
that way. But McCarthy's getting it.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
Even though he's part of a Michigan family, Jason, he's
cut ties within that fast.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Look. I mean, who did you play with last year, McCarthy,
And they were they were in the hunt until like
real late in the season, weren't they, like I can
and then playing the Bengals, you know, in like a
weird Saturday game.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Yeah, they had like they had like seven quarterbacks last year.
I think I think played a couple of snaps.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
I mean, like it was there. They were a revolving
door and they still stayed pretty viable and then they had,
you know, some injuries on top of that. So look,
I think Kevin O'Connell knows what he's doing. I don't
think they have to have a superior quarterback to derive
(19:30):
a lot of value out of Jefferson. I think he
really had a you know, like a lot of these times,
it's like timing is everything right, and it's the confluence
of events, and he played this out perfectly. And they're
not paying a quarterback anymore, and they're not paying a
(19:50):
pass rusher crazy money, right, I mean you just go
look at like, you know, it's it's not like their
offensive line is breaking the bank. So it really is
sort of the perfect start for him, you know, and
he waited long enough to let some of these other
guys do their thing and get there and get their deals,
which continued to sort of push things up. But you know,
(20:11):
why risk any sort of freak injury happening, you know
at some sort of off season thing or lifting or
camp or whatever. When you've got a chance to secure
a bag like this, you do it, you know. And
this is the kind of terrain that Aaron Donald used
to step in, right, like the highest paid non quarterback
in the league type stuff. So good on him, man,
(20:34):
He deserved it. And you know, I can remember Mike
Brown and Cincinnati stewing in his own juices about something
that happened at the quarterback market right with the team
right in his division down the road with Sean Lawson,
and that was obviously a gross mistake on a lot
of levels. But the timing again is everything. And that
happened to the quarterback market about a year before he
(20:56):
was going to have to pay a guy, and now
this has happened to the wide receiver right around when
he's going to have to start paying the guy. So
Jerry Jones can't be loving it. Mike Brown can't be
loving it. I think it further complicates the situation for
the forty nine ers. But I understand why the Vikings
did it, especially with their pay structure as it is
(21:16):
right now. And you know they once upon a time
they traded Diggs right kind of knowing that this was
going to be happening, and it's happened.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
How quickly do we see Jerry Jones make a move?
Speaker 5 (21:31):
I don't know. I mean, well, cyway Seedlm's a great player.
I don't think we had this debate on Mike Show today,
like Ceedee, Liam is a great receiver. I don't think
he's Jefferson. I don't think he's Jamar Chase. I just
don't think he's that transcendent. I don't think he's the
complete and absolute upper echelon, like total package, the way
(21:57):
those guys are. And you know, Jerry doesn't really want
to spend on anybody anymore. And he's got this situation
with his quarterback, and he's really good at deflecting and
telling you all the problems he's got and everything he
has to sort out. It's a little different situation than Minnesota,
where everybody can see that you know, hey, you guys
were spending a lot of money for a while, but
(22:18):
you don't really have any long term or even real
short term commitments. It doesn't make it any easier. And
again I'm not saying that Lamb is going to get
what just happened today, but he can drift off of
that right like he can say I'm at least eighty
five ninety percent of that guy or whatever, and Jerry's
(22:39):
not going to like the cap ramifications of what that
would mean for him. So I don't know, guys, you know,
I mean, look, he has the money to pay everybody
whatever they want any given year. He has the revenue
streams to run a team that he could be the
New York Yankees if he wanted to, like the old
school Yankee, like the George Steinbrender, not the House Steinbrenner Yankees.
Speaker 6 (23:04):
Like.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
He could run in his own tax bracket if he wanted.
And the reality is he wouldn't have to pay the
kind of luxury tax that you have to in baseball, Like,
he ain't have to contribute more to certain funds. But
I mean, there's ways just to navigate the cap. Jerry
used to be really good at it back when he
used to spend money. So I don't know, man. I
(23:26):
suspect he eventually pays him, but I'm not sure it's imminent.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
NFL insider Jason Locking for our guest The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon Live from the tirec dot Com Studios.
All right, another big story from today. The Giants are
expecting Darren Waller to retire. He hasn't been with the
team for the last few weeks, hasn't been to OTAs.
He had a video about his ex wife that went out.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
That's about the biggest piece of news you know, I
look back at this Jay and yes, I see it
likely he's going to retire, and I go, wow, is
that like the biggest then deer of the downfall the
Giants last year was trading for Darren Waller and thinking
he's going to be healthy enough that we can build
the because they built the offense around him knowing, hey,
he's a guy that's not on the field, he's had
(24:07):
two good years and yeah, of a sudden, they just
fell apart like they built it around him.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Yeah, I mean calculated gamble that blew up in their face.
I think I feel like this kind of we don't
talk about it as much with tight ends as we
do running backs, but you know, those guys take and
we got a little bit probably skewed by you know
(24:35):
how long an Antonio Gates was able to hang on
and you know, maybe a Tony Gonzalez, but I mean Gronk,
I'm old enough to remember, like Gronk kind of shut
it down a couple of different times. Now, Like they're
such big targets. They take so many shots, they take
so many shots to their knees, they take so many
shots from awkward angles, like they're often the guys going
(24:56):
up to get the worst throws of the worst right,
the worst medicine balls, fifty to fifty balls where you're
vulnerable and the other guy's coming with a head of steam.
I mean a lot of times that's tight ends on
seam routes and you know, running something in the middle
of the field, trying to be cover too or whatever,
or a cross or like, you know, it can go
(25:16):
pretty quickly. Like you know, guys like Jeremy Shockey, they
go from being a thing to being like you know,
they're not quite as fast, not quite as durable, and
they get kind of chewed up and spit out a
lot of times. And as the injuries mount, especially somebody
like him who was such a sort of freak athlete,
(25:37):
you just kind of lose it a little bit. And
I mean, he's been through a ton in his career.
He's overcome some incredible odds and some severe serious personal demons,
you know, to even be able to become an NFL
player again, and then let alone, to become the kind
that he became. And I know he's got a lot
(25:58):
of interest outside of football, and his body is probably
fairly wrecked. So if he does decide to move on. Obviously.
I don't think that's going to come as a shock
to anybody at this point in time. And I think
the Giants had to know last year that this is
a probably a bit of a declining asset. Again, just
(26:18):
the time missed the last few years would point to that.
But that's partly why he was available when he was available.
And you know why you could get a guy who
had that sort of pass production without having to mortgage.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Your draft Jason, take me there locally seven or fifty k.
All right, it's his money. Do what you're gonna do.
What was the point of OTAs for the Ravens this
week with no Lamar Jackson?
Speaker 5 (26:42):
I mean, I'm the wrong guy to try to get
upset about OTAs. I think the whole thing is a
sham to begin with, Like, pay guys to practice when
the practices matter and let them do their own, you know,
let them do fake practices on their own. So I mean, look,
if it was a higher price point, I guess, you know,
maybe he'd be there. I mean, they agreed to this.
(27:04):
He's in the past before he got this contract. You know,
he'd made it clear a couple of times that, hey,
you know why am I here while I'm here because
I'm not thinking what I should be making and this
is a decent chunk of money now, seven hundred and
fifty K. Look, I don't really know because he doesn't
have a marketing agent or really you know what I mean,
because he's he doesn't have a regular agent. I don't
(27:26):
think we're privy to the inner inner workings of Lamar Jackson, inc.
The way we are with some of these other players.
So what he has pouring in from other sort of
you know, outside things, what his other business ventures may
or may not be doing. You know, how much he's
monetizing his time away from football. I don't. I don't
really know. But this is a business man, and I'm.
Speaker 10 (27:49):
Old enough to remember when they made him, you know,
beg and sweat and threatened to leave here before he
got a deal. Like how many players of that magnitude,
in the prime of their career, in their age whatever,
twenty four season are putting on social media? Sorry but
they got to trade me. Like he didn't whisper it.
Speaker 6 (28:08):
He said it out loud, so like the owner came
out and said, I don't think he thinks he's worthy
of my money, and I don't think I have to
give it to him yet, like he said that, so
you know, it's all it's just business, right, I guess
it's on ball every side. It's just business.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
So they made it. They put up seven hundred and
fifty k and said that's what we think. It's worked
for you to be here, you know, to incentivize it,
for you to be here for these fake practices. And
he said, nah, bitter for a couple but I'm like,
I can't get like this is literally business. This was
literally negotiated. Like if they think it's the end of
the world. They also like, you know, everybody went bowling
(28:46):
or whatever last week, Like I'm trying to remember, Oh
they were top golf. I'm sorry they all went golfing.
So like that's how important these things really are. And
if they think it's important enough, I don't know, rip
the contract up and give him. Give him two million
next year. If he shows up for three quarter.
Speaker 6 (29:01):
He will.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
He's on Twitter at Jason lock and four That is
at Jason lock and for Odyssey Washington Post one oh
five seven the fan of Baltimore. Jay is always by
appreciate it man. We'll talk to you next week, have
fun weeks.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
All right, there goes Jason locking for Look, obviously you
know our heart's the big story today, Just a sad story,
the death of Larry Allen, one of the greatest offensive
linemen the NFL had ever seen, one of only three
players on two All decade teams. He passed away on
vacation with his family in Mexico. Just a just a sad,
sad story. But you know then, you know you which
(29:35):
today people are talking about. Oh man, I remember what
a great player he was. Just to be that great
of a player, like you're talking one of the greatest
football players that ever played. Not just a lineman, you'd
be one of the greatest football players who ever played
the game.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Well he played every position except center. Yeah, you would
do it, l tackle right now.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
But like some of the stories are just the best
of He would start making, you know, like he's gonna
be a locomotive and even tell you where the play
was coming, saying okay, go ahead and stop and all
of these things. Just fifty two years old, just celebrated
and just crazy. You know, we have these stories all
(30:16):
the time. You know it was and it's great to
get the retrospectives and all of the videos you know
out road grading guys thirty yards downfield and the athleticism
just heartbreaking.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Rest in peace, Larry Allen. Just fifty two.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon Live from the
Tiraq dot Com Studios tyraq dot Com.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
Of course we'll help you get there, but coming up next.
You know, we told you last week, Hey, this week
is not gonna go by without Lebron James stories of
where he could wind up where it's not the Lakers.
We told you that's what's gonna dominate the.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Four days five days in between now and the NBA Finals.
You're gonna get Lebron linked to a bunch of teams. Well,
he's already been linked to one. Break that down next
right here, Jason and Mike.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific, Fox.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon. Are
you tired of feeling alone in your job search? With
just one connection, you can find endless job opportunities. That
connection is Express Employment Professionals, and there are no fees
for job seekers. Visit expresspros dot com to find the
location nearest to you. That is expresspros dot com. Well,
last week we told youay, there's too much time between
(31:31):
the end of the Conference finals in the NBA Finals
for Lebron James not to have a story break that's
going to dominate the headlines. What did we tell you
the three most likely things were last week? Number one
was you're gonna see, hey, it's serious and Lebron is
gonna wind up. The story is going to be sources,
Lebron serious threat to leave Lakers, and you're gonna get
(31:53):
like three or four teams linked with Lebron.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Where he could go sure, opting out like Rich Paul.
You know, I said, well, you know, he is a
free agent. Now, extensibly, it's really just the all right, now,
what's the max deal? The Lakers can pay him far
more money than everybody else, Right, it's a three year,
one sixty two I think Beacon max at So it
could be just semantics, but.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
In the interim, hey, let's have some fun with oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
No, this this is what's gonna because this is how
Lebron gets his leverage by saying, hey, I could leave
I could go here, even though he's not, the first
team that he has been linked with has come out.
We told you was gonna happen. First team is out.
He is now linked with the seventy six Ers. Sixers
Beat Reporter put out a story yesterday that the Sixers
want a star player from a pool that involves Lebron
(32:40):
brandon Ingram Paul George, but Lebron is specifically mentioned as hey,
Sixers want a star player out of these out of
this group of people who will be available in the
office site.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Make sure if you're Keith Pompey from the Philly Inquirer,
and make sure your story gets read, because if it's
Jimmy Butler and a couple other guys leaning the way,
a fun Jimmy Butler coming back to Philly. But Lebron yea,
and here's the first team Lebron is linked to. Let
me just say this, okay, because this is hilarious. Lebron
(33:12):
is not leaving the Lakers for the seventy six Ers. Okay,
it's not to he's That would be like trading in
your current team for almost a mirror image of your
current team. I'm gonna trade one big guy who's that
best player on the team who has trouble staying in
and out of the lineup. You worry about his effort
level sometimes, but boy, when he plays, he plays at
(33:33):
a high level. I'm gonna leave that guy and I'm
gonna go join a team where you have a big
man who has trouble staying in the lineup. You worry
about his effort level at times, but boy, when he plays,
he could be one of the best players of the
entire sport. Well, you do have MAXI that helps you
maybe push the envelope a little bit.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
He's not more consistent than the other. Yeah, I'm gonna
trade eight D for him.
Speaker 9 (33:54):
Beat.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
That's like trading for the same thing.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
That's like me saying, hey, I got a fifty two
men we I'm gonna trad What do you want to go?
Speaker 2 (34:01):
I want a fifty two? Mental Wait what? Yes? Well
trade you want to trade one? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Well, that's the overall condition of Anthony Davis versus the
overall condition of Joel Andbi.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Where are more surface issues? See a crease on this
card in the upper right hand corner. Bla, you joke.
The corners could look great. You may get screwed on surface.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
This card was filled you could see it was filled
in with little bits of cardboard on the side.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Here, I could see it with my with Myra with
exactly what I mean.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
He's not going to trade the Lakers for the Sixers
family all the way across. Look, he's not going anywhere.
He's not going anywhere. I'll tell her he is not
going and he's staying with the Lakers. He will sign,
they will most likely get Brownie James. He's not He
picked the Lakers because this is where he wants to
(34:49):
be for after his career is over. He's not going
to say, hey, guess what the left, Yes, we're going
to go to Philadelphia. I mean, come on, Ida, you
want to hang out with Gritty, But I mean he's
not going to Philadelphia. Would be great, right about it?
And this is why you can get some fuel. Is
what's the desire for Lebron James at this point? And
if you want to say winning still has the same
(35:10):
juice and thrust, then adding any of the would be
contenders to the in the Eastern Conference to the list
of would be suitors is at least good for the
mental exercise, right of because that look the path of
the West is a pain in the ass. No matter
what they do this offseason, in the draft, free agency,
whoever they're able to convince to come on board, the
(35:33):
West is a pain up and down. And don't forget
a couple of those teams were down North near the
bottom because of injuries or youth. Right, Houston's gonna be better,
John Moran's gonna come back, Memphis will be better. So
now you're fighting with them for one of the last playoffs,
about to do versus the East. What do you got, Nicks? Look, Look,
(35:53):
and that's not a whole lot. If you want to say, look,
I told you he's not leaving. I told you he's
not leaving. But if you want to say, is there
any place he would go for one year or two years?
What's the place he's always had the fascination with Madison
Square guard.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
Now felt really good because but now really good. He's
always wanted to play at MSG. It's probably the only
thing he'll walk away from his NBA career saying, what's
one thing you want?
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Boy?
Speaker 1 (36:18):
I wish I could have done that. Well, you had
twenty some odd years are could have gone. But that's
the only team I can, and he's not gonna do
that either. He's not gonna go now, I'm gonna go
three thousand miles. No, his life is here, his family
is here. It's a great story. But this is how
Lebron has his leverage.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Is Oh, I.
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Could wind up leaving. Okay, We're like, we're gonna give
you the money you want. We're gonna try to get
your kid. What else do you want us to I mean,
what else do you want us to do? We added
a second night to the draft specifically for your kid.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
He's not. He's not, but I would love him. I mean,
it's true.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
It's really I'm gonna trade a D for Joe wellb
not doing it.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
He's not gonna do it. Well it beads a better
SoundBite and a comic spoil. It's not gonna do that.
That would just be hysterical.
Speaker 4 (37:07):
I'm trading one big guy for another with the same
issues and the same things, and we're falling and he's
falling short.
Speaker 9 (37:13):
That's same.
Speaker 4 (37:14):
But people will be betting the over under which guy
plays more games.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Exit out about of Fresca exit swollendum come up next,
we get back into the biggest story of the night.
This is fun, it.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Really is, but it keeps adding tentacles and people have
taken their sides. Right, there's heroes, there's villains. There's some
inane conversations that are being had, and we certainly saw
some of that come to the forefront today. But all
in all, you know, it's something that you know, we've
talked about for a while on the show. I'm not
(37:44):
gonna say it was front and center because, let's face it,
the rest of the sports media like, look, you talk hockey,
what happens?
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Don't talk hockey.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
Right, You can get a little bit now that it's
the Stanley Cup Final, but otherwise no push it away.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Go Panthers.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
So so now we got that although Edmonton gained a
lot of fans over the last couple of days, and
it ain't for anything that was done actually on the ice.
You can go in your socials and find that. But
just happy you don't have to worry about the Dallas Stars. Yeah,
I'll deal with one team in the finals, not the Cowboys.
Don't gotta deal with two. Now getting problematic. Likewise, it's
(38:21):
gonna have to give dak sixty five million dollars to
get a headline. Now I just gotta pay CD LAMB instead.
So it's okay.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
But likewise, there's a lot of sporting events through the years.
The Stars have made it.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
Now gotta give gotta give Dak his money, Gotta give
him seventy five million. But now I can distract from
the w NBA guys, the NBA guys, I just gotta
pay CD.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
So you had that's fine.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
You were able to go and cancel that giant novelty
check you had printed down at the Kinkos.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Sought I was gonna have problem.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Every every team in Dallas going to finals in this
past season except for US.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
But hey, it's okay. Now, just just fifty percent of
the teams.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Now, well, you know what, if he'd cut concession prices
a little bit for the upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Would have been a win. The real question how much
did he pay off the Stars? Yeah, but you get
But you gone down the line right.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
How many sports stories like we talk about the women's
national soccer team. How many times when we do a
segment we talk about some of their problems in the
last couple of years. How much negative feedback did we
get of Why the hell are you guys talking about
this like it's part of the business, right you're looking
at you know, we're broadcast in here, so you're trying
(39:27):
to reach everybody with something that's going to move them
positively negatively. But if you're unaffected and you don't care
and you tune out altogether, that's the worst of all
of it. Right, So the WNBA has to seat at
the table. People are watching more basketball, and yeah, the
number suggests it's mostly Caitlin Clark led games.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
And the schedule.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Guess what, you didn't have to look very far because
most nights the Indiana Fever have been playing. They can't
play every night. I mean, come on, I really thought
they'd be playing a night. That record is terrible, back
to back to back. They could play every night. Don't practice,
just have games. See if you just roll up one
more times, he could finish ten and seventy. No one's
gonna care. Everybody else plays forty games. They play every night.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
It's fine.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
But they could take Thursday off this week because it's
Game one of the NBA Finals. Play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
then playing on a Friday. Come on, let's go on,
Come on, man, flexible scheduling man flexible schedule.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Well, you know what we need those prime times. I
look forward to these games every night.
Speaker 4 (40:24):
I look forward to seeing what so and so is
going to say about so and so, because boy, they
really don't like each other. There's a lot of physicality, right,
There's a lot of battles. And it's not just Caitlin Clark.
We saw Angel Reese taken to the deck a week
ago in the low post. Congratulations to Alyssa Thomas. She
was the conference player of the month, right her and
(40:45):
Asia Wilson. And then as everybody would have expected and
really hoped to see, Caitlin Clark was the rookie of
the month.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Yes, well she did have a month that was what
second only in the history of the league to what
Brianna Stewart did. I think coming into the I just
think there's a lot of those stat poles that we're
really getting into weird character well, kind of like when
Clark was hitting three point shots and we were finding
anybody who's ever thrown up a basketball to compare it to.
I think at the WNBA when the NBA, like we
(41:14):
do it all the time, like you and I will
be sitting here watching me and say the Western Conference Finals,
and all of a sudden, there's just a random.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Static who's doing these stat poles? What are we doing?
Speaker 4 (41:25):
First person to score one hundred and fifty points, pulled
down fifty rebounds, twenty five steals, twenty five assists, four blocks.
Let's go all the way back, see what we can
find there. Oh yeah, I got home to beat the
kids on the tricycle at the halftime race. I mean,
all of these, but look, I would look, it's it's
tons of fun. And obviously this weekend has it's hit
(41:46):
a new level with the bad foul on Caitlin Clark
by Kennedy Carter in their game against the Sky and
the fallout since then, and what we have seen is, look,
this weekend was embarrassing for everybody was embarrass saying because
it was a dirty play. It was embarrassing that the
officials didn't adjudicate it properly. It was then given a
flagrant today, but that should have been something called in
(42:08):
the moment because it was right in front of the official.
The behavior of Reese and Carter on the court after
not talking after look, it's been something right and you
see Carter and Reese both talk today about the foul
and the play, and you're gonna hear from Angel Reese
coming up in a few minutes and how we're saying that,
you know, the league is not about one person, but
(42:28):
it's about me. I mean, it's just totally totally Angel Reese.
But you can see, you can see the one thing
that we talked about a couple of weeks ago, right
that what's the biggest thing and what's the biggest question,
the biggest fear that I had for the WNBA, and
that is you have to show that you are ready
to handle success.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
And that's the one thing I can tell you right away.
They are not.
Speaker 4 (42:53):
They have not been ready to handle what was what
goes along with Caitlin Clark coming into the league. You know,
you know, it's like it's like when there's a big
fight that's gonna be streamed, or a few years ago
or something, a new website is going to be launched
and you're preparing for it, preparing for it, and you'd
have your it guys, you go, okay, you're ready, Yes,
(43:14):
everything is fine, you run tests, everything is fine. What
if we get you know, one hundred thousand people in
a ten seconds, But no, it's gonna be fine. It
can withstand it. Okay, it's not gonna crash, not gonna crash. Okay,
what if we get five hundred thousand people in the
first five minutes.
Speaker 2 (43:26):
Don't worry.
Speaker 4 (43:27):
It's not gonna crash, not gonna crash. And then the
time comes and you go online, you try to sell tickets,
and the site crashes and you're like, what happened?
Speaker 2 (43:34):
How are we not ready?
Speaker 4 (43:35):
I thought we were ready. That's the WNBA. They were
not ready to handle the instant success that was coming
with Caitlin Clark into the league. You knew that there
were gonna be more eyeballs, you knew there was gonna
be backlash, you knew there was going to be attention,
You knew there was going to be things you had
to deal with. And all we've seen the first couple
of weeks has been boy, all of this attention on
(43:55):
the WNBA, and they don't seem like they handle business right.
If you ask the average person, the average fan, what
do you take away, Like, what do you think of
the first couple of weeks of the WNBA not knowing
you know how you know Caitlin Clark is coming. Average
fan the average fan would say, wow, boy, these players
really hate Caitlin Clark, don't they.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
They really don't like her. And boy, it seems like
the media hates her too.
Speaker 4 (44:17):
And whenever I see the media talk about it, it
seems like it's because she's white, Like this is what.
This is what the average person is taking away optics
wise from the first month plus of the WNBA. And
and you can tell right away that you've got to
get a handle on this man. You got to get
a handle on here's some big fan, here's some dirty
(44:38):
fouls that are called. And you can obviously see there's
some kind of anti Caitlin Clark movement that goes through
the league that's pushed by talking heads who have no.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
Other storyline and say, well, is it racial?
Speaker 5 (44:49):
Is it?
Speaker 6 (44:49):
This is it?
Speaker 4 (44:50):
That is I mean, you have to figure out a
way to say, let's make sure we look like we're
a big we're a big sport. Now you talked about
having a seat at the table, we do have a
seat table.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Now.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
People care about the WNBA. Do they just care about
Caitlin Clark. No, they care about all the players. But
Caitlyn Clark obviously is the shack she's the hood ornament
of the league. And if the other players don't like it,
I'm sorry. You got to figure out a way forward
that you don't look like you are shooting yourself in
the foot every five seconds, because it looks like with
this instant success WNBA has, they weren't ready to handle it.
(45:22):
And when that's the option, when the average fan can say, boy,
they seem to hate their star player.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
Is it because?
Speaker 8 (45:27):
Is it not?
Speaker 9 (45:27):
Is she?
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Why?
Speaker 5 (45:27):
Is it?
Speaker 4 (45:28):
Because she's white? Is some other reason? I don't understand
what's going When that's the conversation, WHOA. You got to
take hold of this now. You can't just wait and
let this hopefully work itself out. You got to take
hold of this and say, hey, no, no, we know
what we're doing. Everything is fine. We're big conglomerate, we
are a big sport. We're gonna get it right. But
you got to get it right now because you weren't
(45:49):
ready when it started. And I said, you gotta be
able to handle success, because that's a big thing. You
see people and organizations and companies fail because they can't
handle it.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
And that's what's going on with the.
Speaker 4 (45:58):
WA scale, certainly in building to scale. After all the
years and all the negative headlines right about ratings and
merchandising and ticket sales and attendance and all of that stuff.
It's hard right when that flips. And I know, on
the whole, you know you're not looking at a monumental
change in the average attendance. But guess what, fever games
(46:21):
have their appeal. You know, you've got the State of Ioway.
They don't, they don't have a pro team. So you
adopt something. What do you adopt? University of Iioa athletics
both on the football and basketball side, and women's basketball,
and Caitlyn Clark.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
We've watched it.
Speaker 4 (46:36):
Right, and it's the road Show, and it was built
in right that you had this pent up animosity, rivalry,
whatever you want to call it, whatever however you ascribe it,
because again, you know, I can't tell people how to feel.
When it comes down to it. You like the players
you like, you like the teams you like. And if
(46:56):
Caitlin Clark's attention is too much for you from the outside,
you know, you can go back to not watching if
that's really turning off. But for the players that are
in the league, look, I think Saturday's game from everything
that I've watched, and watched a lot of her action
here in the studio and games, you know, when we're
(47:18):
working remote or I'm on at home, Like that was
the first time that it was really egregious to me. Like,
she's gotten hit and she's come off screens, and she's
taken some hits. She's delivered more than a few of
her own. Right, and again, if you're gonna be blank
talking up and down the court, eventually someone's gonna go
and take their shot. Now, this one being off the ball,
(47:40):
and I fear for Caitlin Clark. She's got a little
bit of a reputation as a flopper. So now you've
got officials that are kind of deciding how much is
a sell versus true impact on those things. So that's
gonna be a bit of an issue as well. But
to your point about handling all of this, Yeah, it's
been a disaster. The sky did the other day. I mean,
(48:02):
you could like it saying all right, we'll play the
villain to a point, but you're not helping the league grow. No,
you're you're casting a negative like like whether it's Carter
and acknowledge it and wants to give a full answer
or not. But Whetherspoon's shutting it down just saying all right,
we're done with that, and kind of that that was
the end of really questioning it all, like, hey, you
(48:23):
were in the Spotlight game.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
Yeah you lost by a point.
Speaker 4 (48:26):
Yeah right, you put up a good Like, here's an
opportunity you can still shine, Like, all right, those questions
don't have to be everything that's being asked.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
But that's but that's about handling success Handling seess doesn't
always mean when you win, handling successes.
Speaker 2 (48:39):
Hey, you know, guess what, you're interviewed now after every game.
I want to care about what you say.
Speaker 4 (48:45):
It's a little bit care about what you say. Understand
that what the image you put out there is what
people think of you. And that's a big deal. And
to say I don't want to talk about it, We're
not going to that. I'm gonna go on social media
and talk about it. And then finally, would they talk today?
And and and Ken Carter finally says, oh, don't judge
me by my one action. Hey, this is big time
(49:05):
sports now, this is big I get that you've been
in the league a couple of years now, everything has
changed and you gotta be ready to handle this. It
goes from its top to bottom. It's just you gotta
be handled with success. I mean being in the spotlight.
You gotta handle it now. I do appreciate that when
she goes to social media, I mean it draws a
whole other conversation, right, it adds fuel to it as
(49:26):
both just the fall would have liked that in front
of the microphone instead of social medium.
Speaker 3 (49:31):
But that's me.
Speaker 4 (49:31):
That's my preference because then it gives us a good
SoundBite instead of reading off a tweet. Yeah, but again,
you know, own into the action and the attention that's
coming off it. It's not always going to be positive.
Angel Rees ended up having to get fined a thousand
for not being available. Sky got fined five thousand for
the way that all went down. Let's think it's an
(49:53):
opportunity as a sport, right, you are just gonna have
her attention, like it or not. Here's an op opportunity
for everybody else to step into the light and yeah
should it. People have been along for the ride for
twenty years. Sure they're at the party now, Yeah, welcome them.
Inn you you can't you can't look back and say,
why did you get to the party. Now, It's okay,
(50:13):
you're here. We can't tell you when your sport is
going to break through and be something big. It took
women's soccer a long time, take other sports a long
time to break through. Men's soccer took.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
Them a long time. Different time.
Speaker 4 (50:26):
But you're here now, and you've got to be ready
to handle success, and they can't. The world is moving
too fast for the WNBA, for its commissioner, for its coaches,
for its players. It is moving way too fast right now,
and they got to get a handle on that.
Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Best of The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon on
Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, welcome in side Happy Monday, the Jason Smith Show
with my base friend Mike Harmon. You know this show
doesn't work without me live from the tirag dot com
studios diirect dot com. Hope you get there. An unmatched selection, fast,
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(00:54):
should be.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Are you gonna blow this game? Yes?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Here, I want to tell you this. If the Mets
somehow blow another three run ninth inning lead, come to
the ninth inning of this game against the Washington Nationals
with a three run lead eight to five. If they
blow this game, I'm never watching baseball again. I'm never
like bringing you back in here. How is that guy
not leaned in? You got to take it for the team.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I can't, man, I can't.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I mean, bases loaded, eight six, now, one out. I mean,
I don't know, I don't know. I don't know what
to do. It's it's just if they blow this game.
I mean, I will have to stop watching baseball.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
There's one run. I will have to stop watching sacrifice fly.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So now it's eight seven, two outs, tying run at third,
winning run at first.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Jason, Yeah, ask me how much the Mets suck.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
I don't know that you're gonna. I don't know that
you can question. He's kind in a whole algorithm. He's
been working on this all. Okay, okay, okay, Yeah, justin
how much it's science? Justin how much do the Mets suck?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Dude? They suck so much they gave.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Up a home run the Joey Gallo Gallo Yeah, Joey father, Yeah, Joey.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Joey gallowswn his power again.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Joey Gallows twenty twenty four year is hey the real
dad of the woman who he thought was the dad
from Mark Davis? And now he's got a home run
against the Mets. That's Joey Gallows twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
And you know what you're gonna wear if the Nationals
win this game? What not home run? You know how
fast he's going to turn around the sound for that?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
He's got any finger over the button waiting for the
game to end uprush me.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I would play it right now if it wasn't for
Rob Manford, an MLB stupid g Yeah, fly down on
you like a ninja.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
No.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
In fact, I think there is a new rule that
you're not allowed to play any highlights at all until
the next day.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I think that's a new thing with Major League Baseball.
Can't do it.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
So this is where things fall apart because the Mets
are one strike away from winning. But this would be
the sixth ninth inning loss that the Mets would have had,
fifth in the last two and a half weeks. Nobody's
got more than two.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
No, No, I'm telling you, if games were eight innings long,
the Mets would have four World Series the last twenty
years of being first place.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
They figured out how to blow it in the eighth. No, no, no,
I just you just cut it off of the eighth. No, no,
just cut it off of the eighth.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
We can do eight and eight.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
May would actually tell you we can do it and
end them alternating Thursdays and the game ends after eight innings.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
We can do it. Me's win.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
That's when Met's win, Mess win, Medo win Man. Oh,
Jake Diekman with a strikeout. Oh, I can watch. It's
still on your shoulder. I can watch, basement. You're on fire.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That was awful. Well that's what I could do right now, guys,
what can you do?
Speaker 6 (03:36):
Here?
Speaker 5 (03:36):
You go?
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Gallows sends what high in there to right this? Paul
is crushed. Itch, Paul's out of here.
Speaker 7 (03:48):
Joey Gallow's fifth of the year puts the Nationals on top.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
Here in the fourth.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I wouldn't have said he even had four up until that,
but it literally went final eighteen seconds.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, but it doesn't matter because a home on the
loss for Rostper. I'll take it. I don't care the
Me's one. I do it. You play the Gallow home,
make you play the Gallo. It's fine.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Backwards k is the fire, I know, I know. Yeah,
that's on the corner. Yeah, but his strike zone had
been pretty large from the out fire, and he still
takes strike three. I believe that's the first lead the
Mets have held in the ninth inning since twenty thirteen.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
That sounds about right. Yeah, I gotta go all the
way back. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Won two of their last three games, twenty two of
thirty three from the nation.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
That's pretty good. Yeah, yeah about that.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, you did not have your ninth inning collapse today?
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What do you all?
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Right? Now?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Let me ask you guys a question. Seriously, what do
you think? What love is greater? The love I have
for the Mets.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Oh, that's second to none, or or or or or.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
The love Angel rees has for herself? What's greater?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
That's close, man, isn't it. That's close? You know what, though,
I I that's confidence.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
That's close. That sucks for if it's close it, dude,
that's close. Man, it's close. That's really close.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
I don't know that there is a threatening to abandon
the Nets. Angel Reese is never once intimated that she
would give up on herself. Oh no, no, no, no, no,
it's not even close. You're talking about me. I know,
but I have a yeah, I got I got a
good forty five year head start on that. But that's
been threatening to quit repeated. But there you recognize the
folly of your waking.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
And that's the thing is. But I've been so close.
But I mean, I don't know. I seriously, I don't
know that.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
There is anybody in sports, in sports with a bigger
ego than Angel Reese, I don't know. I don't know
that Amon, I know anybody with a bigger ego than
her Man.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's gonna get his kid drafted? Yeah, who got no
business being draft?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
They just.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
But he's doing a whole day for that's it. But
that's at least being done behind the scenes pulling strings.
This is just out and out. Hey, I you know
I it's me, this is me, I'm me.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Nobody.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I don't know anybody in sports has a bigger ego
than she does. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
And the reason we talk about this is coming off
the big issue of the weekend, which still is the
biggest story of Monday night. We had the big foul
in the Fever game this past weekend against the Chicago
Sky Caitlin Clark was fouled a dirty foul and there
has been all kinds of controversy that have come out
since that and all talk about their foul and how
(06:24):
dirty it was, and what's going on? And why didn't
anybody police this? Why didn't her teammates protect her? There's
so much to go on with this story. It's okay
the WNBA. Okay, you want smoke, you're gonna get it. Right,
you wanted the smoke, same thing, Angel Reach, you wanted smoke,
You're gonna get it. All the talk over this vowl
you've seen it now a thousand times and you're wondering
what kind of play it is, how dirty it was.
(06:45):
There was no talking about the play after the game.
Angel Rees was seen celebrating the foul right after it happened.
She was hugging her teammate after the foul, which was
a dirty play.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
It was a dirty.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Teammate who has also been kicked off in two teams
for being a bad teammate.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, mind you, yeah, if you do the backstory.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
So so there's a lot going on with that and
the fact that they didn't speak after the game on Saturday.
Wait a minute, Wait a minute, we're not going to
talk about this. We're not gonna we're not going to
answer any questions. We're not gonna block and they.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Pull it off but it was amazing to me about
the sound in terms of cutting it off. I'm not
talking about Caitlyn Clark, was that you were given the
opportunity to kind of explain the situation.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Now.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
I don't think anybody would have been happy with whatever
she said, but the questioner at least I seemed to
afford a little bit of Hey, I could put some
of the blame on Caitlyn Clark here.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah, for Cauz, Look, she was.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Doing a bunch of hitting herself, doing a bunch of
trash talking as she is wont to do so, Kennedy Carter,
she had the opportunity there to say, well, here was
the interaction and there now you're gonna be the villain
either way. It's just a question of whether you're going
to a dry or not. And then coach Weatherspoon shut
it down there, eventually fined for non cooperation.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, look, I mean the way it went down.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Kennedy Carter commits the foul, wouldn't talk about it after
the game, but was happy to go on social media,
was happy to say what else you know? To like
a comment of what does Caitlin Clark do besides hitting threes?
So you could tell she's anti Caitlin Clark. Right, there's
a lot of antiiness going on right now. At least
now that's the one good thing I can say from
this week because at least, okay, now it's all.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Out in the open. Now nobody can hide behind. Oh
we love Caitlin, but now now it's all out in
the open. And Angel Reese obviously is going to be
at the front of this because being the rival that
she was with Caitlyn Clark in college and seeing that, hey,
she celebrated the dirty hit. She hugged her teammate after it. Okay,
not the classiest thing in the world to do. But
finally today they both spoke and Kennedy Carter talked about
(08:50):
how listen, don't judge me off of one play. Okay, fine,
and Angel Reese wanted to go on and this is
the big money SoundBite while we were talking about Angel
Reese because okay, she wants to smoke down, she's going
to get it. She wanted to make sure that everybody
knows that it's not just Caitlyn Clark why people are
watching the WNBA, there's other people, more specifically her.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
It all started from the National championship game.
Speaker 8 (09:11):
And I've been dealing with this for two years now
and understanding like, yeah, negative things have probably been said
about me, but honestly, I'll take that because look where
women's basketball is. People are talking about women's basketball.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
You never would think of me.
Speaker 8 (09:23):
We talk about women's basketball. People are pulling up to games.
We got celebrities coming to games, sold aut arenas like
just because of one single game, and just looking at that, like,
I'll take that role.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I'll take the bad guy.
Speaker 8 (09:34):
Role, and I'll continue to take that on and be
that for my teammates. And if I want to be that,
and I know I'll go down to history. I'll look
back in twenty years and be like, yeah, the reason
why we watching women's basketball is not.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Just because of one person. It's because of me too,
And I want you to realize that.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Okay, So when I look back, I'll go down in history.
Has Lebron ever said I'll go down in history? Lebron
ever said that? So Lebron said, in twenty years ago,
back and look at me. I love how she says
it's not about one person. Won't say caitlyn 's name,
but then we'll say, but it's about me. It's it's
not about one person. Oh, but it's about me. It's
about me, and.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I love every bit of this.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Okay, and if Angel Reese were here now, I would
hide five her he had hugger and be like, thank you.
We need biggest ego in sports. It's amazing heroes. It
is villains, hype men, height women. My favorite people on
the dais when it comes to the WWE, WWF and
(10:30):
all wrestling.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
What are they usually the managers? Right? I love the talkers. Yeah,
but she's her own hype one.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Oh and doesn't I mean, I guess you're saving money
not having to pay someone to be your hype man
or hype woman.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
She's her own hype one. That's my point though. It's
like she's got the mic and she'll work in the
low post. So this is great.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
She's a great foil and she is embracing the villainy.
I don't know that you needed to say it one
hundred percent. I want to be the villain. But you
know what, I appreciate, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
To want to Bill. You have to kind of be
just just your cast as off. You can't openly canvas to.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Be the there and she's already been there, so I
appreciate her embracing it. And you know, we could quibble
and quarrel about you know, who's watching for what, But
don't you can't tell me that the the Reese Clark
subplot to everything didn't bring eyeballs to the game coming
into the Women's tournament last year, especially once the tournament bracket. Hey,
(11:30):
what do you know the algorithm said they should be
in the same regional just so we can make sure
we get it again. But when we get down to
this game on Saturday, right that was put out as
a noon start on Big ESPN, Right, they they've got
the spotlight. Now, could they have changed the game since
the NBA was done for the week? Sure, and the
(11:52):
long layoff, But for Angel Revees to come out with
this proclamation.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Hell yeah, I'm all for it.
Speaker 9 (11:58):
What's the one big rule while being a villain. What's
some one big rule is that you have to you
have to believe what you're selling. I have to believe it.
She doesn't even believe it. You can listen to her voice.
She doesn't even believe what she's saying. She's trying to
be that person to gain attention. She thinks off of Clark.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That's it. Look, Look that's all she has.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Look he's changing the Okay, you know here, here's the
thing about Angel Reeves. Angel Reese is a big celebrity. Okay,
she's a celebrity. Is she a superstar player?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
She's not. She's a ten and eight player. All right.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
This is like if Isaiah Hartenstein was walking around going,
I should be done. Okay, let's just understand. You can
be a star, right, you can be a star. You're
not the show. None of these players are the show.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
And they have to understand that Caitlin Clark is the show.
You don't pick who the superstars are. You don't get
to vote who the superstars are. Superstars and and and
players who come around once a generation. Those are those players.
Lebron came around twenty years ago. We're still waiting for
the next person to come in to take his place, right,
Lebron has been that guy.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Caitlyn Clark has shown up.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
And for whatever reason, you now see that the players
of the past and the players of the president don't
like that she's getting all this credit. Players of the
past are upset that, hey, we should have been getting
credit before. Now and they didn't. Their anger at Caitlyn
Clark is misplaced because she didn't do anything other than
coming to the league. She's not walking around saying how
great if she would say the same thing as Angel
(13:23):
Reese was, oh my goodness. But she's come into the league,
and I'm not trying to defend her. It's just she
came into the league as the number one leading score
in the history of college basketball. She's got a huge
fan base, more bigger than anybody else in the league
that the league has ever seen. If you don't like her,
that's fine, but there's so much misplaced anger where the
(13:43):
players who have weighed in for the pass goode.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Oh, they should have been watching us before.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
So yeah, okay, but that's not anybody's fault, and it
sure as Ella's in Caitlin Clark's fault, but she embodies it.
So is an anti Caitlin Clark from the former players
the current players. They love the fact that Caitlyn Clark
has brought attention leag but now it's we don't like
that it's her, So you should be paying attention to
the leak. But you should be playing attention to us,
not Caitlyn and we don't like that. I'm sorry, but
this is how it goes. There's room for all of you.
(14:08):
There is room for everybody in this conversation. You can
be a star. Caitlyn Clark is the biggest star. That's
just how it goes.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
And that's what you can see over the course of
the past few days, the current players, the past players,
even people in the media who want to make this
a big thing.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Oh you know, I can't.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
Believe you should be talking about this three years ago. Sorry,
when transit, when transcendental players show up, that's a big deal.
Caitlin Clark showed up this year. That's not anybody else's fault,
and it sure is isn't her fault, but it's being
all pushed towards her. That this anger and it's all misplaced.
That's funny because you mentioned Lebron James. You talk about
the NBA. What was the biggest criticism for years? You
(14:43):
only got to see the same eight teams on TNT.
You know why everybody else still got their revenue share? Yeah, right,
the same thing here, WNBA. Everybody benefits, So enjoy the ride.
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(15:05):
To learn more, visit Safety runs First dot com. That
is Safety Runs First dot Com. Well, we'll have more
on this incredibly large topic coming up. I'll tell you
what WNBA is. Fun, but straight ahead. We have all
the latest news from the NFL. Somebody just got paid?
Was it the right thing to do? That's next?
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Fox.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (15:37):
Hey gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a
mental Wealth podcast, and every week we will have on
leaders from sports entertainment like Sean McVay, Lindsay Vaughn, Michael Phelt,
David Spade, Got Fiemi, and also those who can help
us in between the ears, anyone from a therapist to
someone like Ed Milett for John Gordon. We've all been
(15:59):
through some sort of adversity to get to the top.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
We've all used different tools.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer and Mental Wealth podcast
on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get podcasts.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Fox Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with my best friend.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Mike Harmon from a week ago in Munich. Its Metallica.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
You know when we saw these guys the first time,
when I was in Prague.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
We did a show back in ninety seven.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
I want to say it was, you know, coming off
the Black album success.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
They were in the load a little bit, now, is it.
I really thought you were gonna go full monsters.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yeah, I were bagging back in two thousand and seven,
I saw an interview with James Headfield.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
I'm just telling these are things I saw on behind
the music to retell a story from twelve years ago. Yeah,
but you can't assume everybody is remembering line for line
the behind the music.
Speaker 9 (16:55):
You could repurpose that. I always thought there was one
rule though, when playing a concert. What's that you you
get out of the way. You stop playing if there's
pouring rain and lightning.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Right, so no, no, no, no, you keep playing in
the rel That's the athlete's version of playing in pain.
Is you play in the rain. You play in the rain.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
It's thet well.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
No, if there's a danger, if there's a danger lightning.
You're gonna get it up, but you're gonna have to
leave the field. Everybody plays in the rain. It's like
it's it's the thing. It's playing in pain.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
So without lightning, there's no danger. Well if you slip
and fall, Oh, I'm talking about like electricity.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
No, I think I figured that out. Yeah, it's round,
it's not nineteen forty eight. What happened when we plugged
in with the high loads. No, they figured that out. No,
you play in the rain. You playing there that that's
what it is. If you don't play in the rain,
you're not playing hurt, you're not there for the team. No,
you play in the rain. That was a big hot.
They all played in the rain.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
Although I really was expecting the Darren Waller song because
it looks like he's gonna retire.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
We're gonna talk to Jason locking for about that. Mary.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I know you and I both love the Darren Waller song.
I thought we get the Darren Waller song.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
He he beat me to it.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Well, a fellow Metallica fan is on the line wa
right now to break it all down. Longtime NFL inside
to check him out on Odyssey one of five seven
the Fan in Baltimore, Washington Post on Twitter at Jason
Lock and for it is Jason Lock and for it
j Low.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
What's happening, man?
Speaker 5 (18:14):
What's going on? Guys?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Good buddy, buddy.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
We're watching Justin Jefferson get paid all kinds of money.
Do not catch passes from JJ McCarthy. It's going to
be awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Co Wow, he made him a Jets quarterback just like that. Man,
I'm waiting to run that joke all day.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It wasn't a long time to talk about Zach Wilson
that way. But McCarthy's getting it.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
Even though he's part of a Michigan family, Jason, he's
cut ties within that fast.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Look. I mean, who did you play with last year, McCarthy,
And they were they were in the hunt until like
real late in the season, weren't they, like I can
and then playing the Bengals, you know, in like a
weird Saturday game.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Yeah, they had like they had like seven quarterbacks last year.
I think I think played a couple of snaps.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
I mean, like it was there. They were a revolving
door and they still stayed pretty viable and then they had,
you know, some injuries on top of that. So look,
I think Kevin O'Connell knows what he's doing. I don't
think they have to have a superior quarterback to derive
(19:30):
a lot of value out of Jefferson. I think he
really had a you know, like a lot of these times,
it's like timing is everything right, and it's the confluence
of events, and he played this out perfectly. And they're
not paying a quarterback anymore, and they're not paying a
(19:50):
pass rusher crazy money, right, I mean you just go
look at like, you know, it's it's not like their
offensive line is breaking the bank. So it really is
sort of the perfect start for him, you know, and
he waited long enough to let some of these other
guys do their thing and get there and get their deals,
which continued to sort of push things up. But you know,
(20:11):
why risk any sort of freak injury happening, you know
at some sort of off season thing or lifting or
camp or whatever. When you've got a chance to secure
a bag like this, you do it, you know. And
this is the kind of terrain that Aaron Donald used
to step in, right, like the highest paid non quarterback
in the league type stuff. So good on him, man,
(20:34):
He deserved it. And you know, I can remember Mike
Brown and Cincinnati stewing in his own juices about something
that happened at the quarterback market right with the team
right in his division down the road with Sean Lawson,
and that was obviously a gross mistake on a lot
of levels. But the timing again is everything. And that
happened to the quarterback market about a year before he
(20:56):
was going to have to pay a guy, and now
this has happened to the wide receiver right around when
he's going to have to start paying the guy. So
Jerry Jones can't be loving it. Mike Brown can't be
loving it. I think it further complicates the situation for
the forty nine ers. But I understand why the Vikings
did it, especially with their pay structure as it is
(21:16):
right now. And you know they once upon a time
they traded Diggs right kind of knowing that this was
going to be happening, and it's happened.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
How quickly do we see Jerry Jones make a move?
Speaker 5 (21:31):
I don't know. I mean, well, cyway Seedlm's a great player.
I don't think we had this debate on Mike Show today,
like Ceedee, Liam is a great receiver. I don't think
he's Jefferson. I don't think he's Jamar Chase. I just
don't think he's that transcendent. I don't think he's the
complete and absolute upper echelon, like total package, the way
(21:57):
those guys are. And you know, Jerry doesn't really want
to spend on anybody anymore. And he's got this situation
with his quarterback, and he's really good at deflecting and
telling you all the problems he's got and everything he
has to sort out. It's a little different situation than Minnesota,
where everybody can see that you know, hey, you guys
were spending a lot of money for a while, but
(22:18):
you don't really have any long term or even real
short term commitments. It doesn't make it any easier. And
again I'm not saying that Lamb is going to get
what just happened today, but he can drift off of
that right like he can say I'm at least eighty
five ninety percent of that guy or whatever, and Jerry's
(22:39):
not going to like the cap ramifications of what that
would mean for him. So I don't know, guys, you know,
I mean, look, he has the money to pay everybody
whatever they want any given year. He has the revenue
streams to run a team that he could be the
New York Yankees if he wanted to, like the old
school Yankee, like the George Steinbrender, not the House Steinbrenner Yankees.
Speaker 6 (23:04):
Like.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
He could run in his own tax bracket if he wanted.
And the reality is he wouldn't have to pay the
kind of luxury tax that you have to in baseball, Like,
he ain't have to contribute more to certain funds. But
I mean, there's ways just to navigate the cap. Jerry
used to be really good at it back when he
used to spend money. So I don't know, man. I
(23:26):
suspect he eventually pays him, but I'm not sure it's imminent.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
NFL insider Jason Locking for our guest The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon Live from the tirec dot Com Studios.
All right, another big story from today. The Giants are
expecting Darren Waller to retire. He hasn't been with the
team for the last few weeks, hasn't been to OTAs.
He had a video about his ex wife that went out.
Speaker 4 (23:47):
That's about the biggest piece of news you know, I
look back at this Jay and yes, I see it
likely he's going to retire, and I go, wow, is
that like the biggest then deer of the downfall the
Giants last year was trading for Darren Waller and thinking
he's going to be healthy enough that we can build
the because they built the offense around him knowing, hey,
he's a guy that's not on the field, he's had
(24:07):
two good years and yeah, of a sudden, they just
fell apart like they built it around him.
Speaker 5 (24:12):
Yeah, I mean calculated gamble that blew up in their face.
I think I feel like this kind of we don't
talk about it as much with tight ends as we
do running backs, but you know, those guys take and
we got a little bit probably skewed by you know
(24:35):
how long an Antonio Gates was able to hang on
and you know, maybe a Tony Gonzalez, but I mean Gronk,
I'm old enough to remember, like Gronk kind of shut
it down a couple of different times. Now, Like they're
such big targets. They take so many shots, they take
so many shots to their knees, they take so many
shots from awkward angles, like they're often the guys going
(24:56):
up to get the worst throws of the worst right,
the worst medicine balls, fifty to fifty balls where you're
vulnerable and the other guy's coming with a head of steam.
I mean a lot of times that's tight ends on
seam routes and you know, running something in the middle
of the field, trying to be cover too or whatever,
or a cross or like, you know, it can go
(25:16):
pretty quickly. Like you know, guys like Jeremy Shockey, they
go from being a thing to being like you know,
they're not quite as fast, not quite as durable, and
they get kind of chewed up and spit out a
lot of times. And as the injuries mount, especially somebody
like him who was such a sort of freak athlete,
(25:37):
you just kind of lose it a little bit. And
I mean, he's been through a ton in his career.
He's overcome some incredible odds and some severe serious personal demons,
you know, to even be able to become an NFL
player again, and then let alone, to become the kind
that he became. And I know he's got a lot
(25:58):
of interest outside of football, and his body is probably
fairly wrecked. So if he does decide to move on. Obviously.
I don't think that's going to come as a shock
to anybody at this point in time. And I think
the Giants had to know last year that this is
a probably a bit of a declining asset. Again, just
(26:18):
the time missed the last few years would point to that.
But that's partly why he was available when he was available.
And you know why you could get a guy who
had that sort of pass production without having to mortgage.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Your draft Jason, take me there locally seven or fifty k.
All right, it's his money. Do what you're gonna do.
What was the point of OTAs for the Ravens this
week with no Lamar Jackson?
Speaker 5 (26:42):
I mean, I'm the wrong guy to try to get
upset about OTAs. I think the whole thing is a
sham to begin with, Like, pay guys to practice when
the practices matter and let them do their own, you know,
let them do fake practices on their own. So I mean, look,
if it was a higher price point, I guess, you know,
maybe he'd be there. I mean, they agreed to this.
(27:04):
He's in the past before he got this contract. You know,
he'd made it clear a couple of times that, hey,
you know why am I here while I'm here because
I'm not thinking what I should be making and this
is a decent chunk of money now, seven hundred and
fifty K. Look, I don't really know because he doesn't
have a marketing agent or really you know what I mean,
because he's he doesn't have a regular agent. I don't
(27:26):
think we're privy to the inner inner workings of Lamar Jackson, inc.
The way we are with some of these other players.
So what he has pouring in from other sort of
you know, outside things, what his other business ventures may
or may not be doing. You know, how much he's
monetizing his time away from football. I don't. I don't
really know. But this is a business man, and I'm.
Speaker 10 (27:49):
Old enough to remember when they made him, you know,
beg and sweat and threatened to leave here before he
got a deal. Like how many players of that magnitude,
in the prime of their career, in their age whatever,
twenty four season are putting on social media? Sorry but
they got to trade me. Like he didn't whisper it.
Speaker 6 (28:08):
He said it out loud, so like the owner came
out and said, I don't think he thinks he's worthy
of my money, and I don't think I have to
give it to him yet, like he said that, so
you know, it's all it's just business, right, I guess
it's on ball every side. It's just business.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
So they made it. They put up seven hundred and
fifty k and said that's what we think. It's worked
for you to be here, you know, to incentivize it,
for you to be here for these fake practices. And
he said, nah, bitter for a couple but I'm like,
I can't get like this is literally business. This was
literally negotiated. Like if they think it's the end of
the world. They also like, you know, everybody went bowling
(28:46):
or whatever last week, Like I'm trying to remember, Oh
they were top golf. I'm sorry they all went golfing.
So like that's how important these things really are. And
if they think it's important enough, I don't know, rip
the contract up and give him. Give him two million
next year. If he shows up for three quarter.
Speaker 6 (29:01):
He will.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
He's on Twitter at Jason lock and four That is
at Jason lock and for Odyssey Washington Post one oh
five seven the fan of Baltimore. Jay is always by
appreciate it man. We'll talk to you next week, have
fun weeks.
Speaker 4 (29:15):
All right, there goes Jason locking for Look, obviously you
know our heart's the big story today, Just a sad story,
the death of Larry Allen, one of the greatest offensive
linemen the NFL had ever seen, one of only three
players on two All decade teams. He passed away on
vacation with his family in Mexico. Just a just a sad,
sad story. But you know then, you know you which
(29:35):
today people are talking about. Oh man, I remember what
a great player he was. Just to be that great
of a player, like you're talking one of the greatest
football players that ever played. Not just a lineman, you'd
be one of the greatest football players who ever played
the game.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Well he played every position except center. Yeah, you would
do it, l tackle right now.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
But like some of the stories are just the best
of He would start making, you know, like he's gonna
be a locomotive and even tell you where the play
was coming, saying okay, go ahead and stop and all
of these things. Just fifty two years old, just celebrated
and just crazy. You know, we have these stories all
(30:16):
the time. You know it was and it's great to
get the retrospectives and all of the videos you know
out road grading guys thirty yards downfield and the athleticism
just heartbreaking.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Rest in peace, Larry Allen. Just fifty two.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon Live from the
Tiraq dot Com Studios tyraq dot Com.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
Of course we'll help you get there, but coming up next.
You know, we told you last week, Hey, this week
is not gonna go by without Lebron James stories of
where he could wind up where it's not the Lakers.
We told you that's what's gonna dominate the.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Four days five days in between now and the NBA Finals.
You're gonna get Lebron linked to a bunch of teams. Well,
he's already been linked to one. Break that down next
right here, Jason and Mike.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific, Fox.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon. Are
you tired of feeling alone in your job search? With
just one connection, you can find endless job opportunities. That
connection is Express Employment Professionals, and there are no fees
for job seekers. Visit expresspros dot com to find the
location nearest to you. That is expresspros dot com. Well,
last week we told youay, there's too much time between
(31:31):
the end of the Conference finals in the NBA Finals
for Lebron James not to have a story break that's
going to dominate the headlines. What did we tell you
the three most likely things were last week? Number one
was you're gonna see, hey, it's serious and Lebron is
gonna wind up. The story is going to be sources,
Lebron serious threat to leave Lakers, and you're gonna get
(31:53):
like three or four teams linked with Lebron.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Where he could go sure, opting out like Rich Paul.
You know, I said, well, you know, he is a
free agent. Now, extensibly, it's really just the all right, now,
what's the max deal? The Lakers can pay him far
more money than everybody else, Right, it's a three year,
one sixty two I think Beacon max at So it
could be just semantics, but.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
In the interim, hey, let's have some fun with oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
No, this this is what's gonna because this is how
Lebron gets his leverage by saying, hey, I could leave
I could go here, even though he's not, the first
team that he has been linked with has come out.
We told you was gonna happen. First team is out.
He is now linked with the seventy six Ers. Sixers
Beat Reporter put out a story yesterday that the Sixers
want a star player from a pool that involves Lebron
(32:40):
brandon Ingram Paul George, but Lebron is specifically mentioned as hey,
Sixers want a star player out of these out of
this group of people who will be available in the
office site.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Make sure if you're Keith Pompey from the Philly Inquirer,
and make sure your story gets read, because if it's
Jimmy Butler and a couple other guys leaning the way,
a fun Jimmy Butler coming back to Philly. But Lebron yea,
and here's the first team Lebron is linked to. Let
me just say this, okay, because this is hilarious. Lebron
(33:12):
is not leaving the Lakers for the seventy six Ers. Okay,
it's not to he's That would be like trading in
your current team for almost a mirror image of your
current team. I'm gonna trade one big guy who's that
best player on the team who has trouble staying in
and out of the lineup. You worry about his effort
level sometimes, but boy, when he plays, he plays at
(33:33):
a high level. I'm gonna leave that guy and I'm
gonna go join a team where you have a big
man who has trouble staying in the lineup. You worry
about his effort level at times, but boy, when he plays,
he could be one of the best players of the
entire sport. Well, you do have MAXI that helps you
maybe push the envelope a little bit.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
He's not more consistent than the other. Yeah, I'm gonna
trade eight D for him.
Speaker 9 (33:54):
Beat.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
That's like trading for the same thing.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
That's like me saying, hey, I got a fifty two
men we I'm gonna trad What do you want to go?
Speaker 2 (34:01):
I want a fifty two? Mental Wait what? Yes? Well
trade you want to trade one? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Well, that's the overall condition of Anthony Davis versus the
overall condition of Joel Andbi.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Where are more surface issues? See a crease on this
card in the upper right hand corner. Bla, you joke.
The corners could look great. You may get screwed on surface.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
This card was filled you could see it was filled
in with little bits of cardboard on the side.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Here, I could see it with my with Myra with
exactly what I mean.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
He's not going to trade the Lakers for the Sixers
family all the way across. Look, he's not going anywhere.
He's not going anywhere. I'll tell her he is not
going and he's staying with the Lakers. He will sign,
they will most likely get Brownie James. He's not He
picked the Lakers because this is where he wants to
(34:49):
be for after his career is over. He's not going
to say, hey, guess what the left, Yes, we're going
to go to Philadelphia. I mean, come on, Ida, you
want to hang out with Gritty, But I mean he's
not going to Philadelphia. Would be great, right about it?
And this is why you can get some fuel. Is
what's the desire for Lebron James at this point? And
if you want to say winning still has the same
(35:10):
juice and thrust, then adding any of the would be
contenders to the in the Eastern Conference to the list
of would be suitors is at least good for the
mental exercise, right of because that look the path of
the West is a pain in the ass. No matter
what they do this offseason, in the draft, free agency,
whoever they're able to convince to come on board, the
(35:33):
West is a pain up and down. And don't forget
a couple of those teams were down North near the
bottom because of injuries or youth. Right, Houston's gonna be better,
John Moran's gonna come back, Memphis will be better. So
now you're fighting with them for one of the last playoffs,
about to do versus the East. What do you got, Nicks? Look, Look,
(35:53):
and that's not a whole lot. If you want to say, look,
I told you he's not leaving. I told you he's
not leaving. But if you want to say, is there
any place he would go for one year or two years?
What's the place he's always had the fascination with Madison
Square guard.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
Now felt really good because but now really good. He's
always wanted to play at MSG. It's probably the only
thing he'll walk away from his NBA career saying, what's
one thing you want?
Speaker 2 (36:18):
Boy?
Speaker 1 (36:18):
I wish I could have done that. Well, you had
twenty some odd years are could have gone. But that's
the only team I can, and he's not gonna do
that either. He's not gonna go now, I'm gonna go
three thousand miles. No, his life is here, his family
is here. It's a great story. But this is how
Lebron has his leverage.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Is Oh, I.
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Could wind up leaving. Okay, We're like, we're gonna give
you the money you want. We're gonna try to get
your kid. What else do you want us to I mean,
what else do you want us to do? We added
a second night to the draft specifically for your kid.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
He's not. He's not, but I would love him. I mean,
it's true.
Speaker 4 (36:53):
It's really I'm gonna trade a D for Joe wellb
not doing it.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
He's not gonna do it. Well it beads a better
SoundBite and a comic spoil. It's not gonna do that.
That would just be hysterical.
Speaker 4 (37:07):
I'm trading one big guy for another with the same
issues and the same things, and we're falling and he's
falling short.
Speaker 9 (37:13):
That's same.
Speaker 4 (37:14):
But people will be betting the over under which guy
plays more games.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Exit out about of Fresca exit swollendum come up next,
we get back into the biggest story of the night.
This is fun, it.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Really is, but it keeps adding tentacles and people have
taken their sides. Right, there's heroes, there's villains. There's some
inane conversations that are being had, and we certainly saw
some of that come to the forefront today. But all
in all, you know, it's something that you know, we've
talked about for a while on the show. I'm not
(37:44):
gonna say it was front and center because, let's face it,
the rest of the sports media like, look, you talk hockey,
what happens?
Speaker 2 (37:51):
Don't talk hockey.
Speaker 4 (37:53):
Right, You can get a little bit now that it's
the Stanley Cup Final, but otherwise no push it away.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Go Panthers.
Speaker 5 (38:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (38:00):
So so now we got that although Edmonton gained a
lot of fans over the last couple of days, and
it ain't for anything that was done actually on the ice.
You can go in your socials and find that. But
just happy you don't have to worry about the Dallas Stars. Yeah,
I'll deal with one team in the finals, not the Cowboys.
Don't gotta deal with two. Now getting problematic. Likewise, it's
(38:21):
gonna have to give dak sixty five million dollars to
get a headline. Now I just gotta pay CD LAMB instead.
So it's okay.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
But likewise, there's a lot of sporting events through the years.
The Stars have made it.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
Now gotta give gotta give Dak his money, Gotta give
him seventy five million. But now I can distract from
the w NBA guys, the NBA guys, I just gotta
pay CD.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
So you had that's fine.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
You were able to go and cancel that giant novelty
check you had printed down at the Kinkos.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Sought I was gonna have problem.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Every every team in Dallas going to finals in this
past season except for US.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
But hey, it's okay. Now, just just fifty percent of
the teams.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Now, well, you know what, if he'd cut concession prices
a little bit for the upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
Would have been a win. The real question how much
did he pay off the Stars? Yeah, but you get
But you gone down the line right.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
How many sports stories like we talk about the women's
national soccer team. How many times when we do a
segment we talk about some of their problems in the
last couple of years. How much negative feedback did we
get of Why the hell are you guys talking about
this like it's part of the business, right you're looking
at you know, we're broadcast in here, so you're trying
(39:27):
to reach everybody with something that's going to move them
positively negatively. But if you're unaffected and you don't care
and you tune out altogether, that's the worst of all
of it. Right, So the WNBA has to seat at
the table. People are watching more basketball, and yeah, the
number suggests it's mostly Caitlin Clark led games.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
And the schedule.
Speaker 4 (39:47):
Guess what, you didn't have to look very far because
most nights the Indiana Fever have been playing. They can't
play every night. I mean, come on, I really thought
they'd be playing a night. That record is terrible, back
to back to back. They could play every night. Don't practice,
just have games. See if you just roll up one
more times, he could finish ten and seventy. No one's
gonna care. Everybody else plays forty games. They play every night.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
It's fine.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
But they could take Thursday off this week because it's
Game one of the NBA Finals. Play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
then playing on a Friday. Come on, let's go on,
Come on, man, flexible scheduling man flexible schedule.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Well, you know what we need those prime times. I
look forward to these games every night.
Speaker 4 (40:24):
I look forward to seeing what so and so is
going to say about so and so, because boy, they
really don't like each other. There's a lot of physicality, right,
There's a lot of battles. And it's not just Caitlin Clark.
We saw Angel Reese taken to the deck a week
ago in the low post. Congratulations to Alyssa Thomas. She
was the conference player of the month, right her and
(40:45):
Asia Wilson. And then as everybody would have expected and
really hoped to see, Caitlin Clark was the rookie of
the month.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Yes, well she did have a month that was what
second only in the history of the league to what
Brianna Stewart did. I think coming into the I just
think there's a lot of those stat poles that we're
really getting into weird character well, kind of like when
Clark was hitting three point shots and we were finding
anybody who's ever thrown up a basketball to compare it to.
I think at the WNBA when the NBA, like we
(41:14):
do it all the time, like you and I will
be sitting here watching me and say the Western Conference Finals,
and all of a sudden, there's just a random.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Static who's doing these stat poles? What are we doing?
Speaker 4 (41:25):
First person to score one hundred and fifty points, pulled
down fifty rebounds, twenty five steals, twenty five assists, four blocks.
Let's go all the way back, see what we can
find there. Oh yeah, I got home to beat the
kids on the tricycle at the halftime race. I mean,
all of these, but look, I would look, it's it's
tons of fun. And obviously this weekend has it's hit
(41:46):
a new level with the bad foul on Caitlin Clark
by Kennedy Carter in their game against the Sky and
the fallout since then, and what we have seen is, look,
this weekend was embarrassing for everybody was embarrass saying because
it was a dirty play. It was embarrassing that the
officials didn't adjudicate it properly. It was then given a
flagrant today, but that should have been something called in
(42:08):
the moment because it was right in front of the official.
The behavior of Reese and Carter on the court after
not talking after look, it's been something right and you
see Carter and Reese both talk today about the foul
and the play, and you're gonna hear from Angel Reese
coming up in a few minutes and how we're saying that,
you know, the league is not about one person, but
(42:28):
it's about me. I mean, it's just totally totally Angel Reese.
But you can see, you can see the one thing
that we talked about a couple of weeks ago, right
that what's the biggest thing and what's the biggest question,
the biggest fear that I had for the WNBA, and
that is you have to show that you are ready
to handle success.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
And that's the one thing I can tell you right away.
They are not.
Speaker 4 (42:53):
They have not been ready to handle what was what
goes along with Caitlin Clark coming into the league. You know,
you know, it's like it's like when there's a big
fight that's gonna be streamed, or a few years ago
or something, a new website is going to be launched
and you're preparing for it, preparing for it, and you'd
have your it guys, you go, okay, you're ready, Yes,
(43:14):
everything is fine, you run tests, everything is fine. What
if we get you know, one hundred thousand people in
a ten seconds, But no, it's gonna be fine. It
can withstand it. Okay, it's not gonna crash, not gonna crash. Okay,
what if we get five hundred thousand people in the
first five minutes.
Speaker 2 (43:26):
Don't worry.
Speaker 4 (43:27):
It's not gonna crash, not gonna crash. And then the
time comes and you go online, you try to sell tickets,
and the site crashes and you're like, what happened?
Speaker 2 (43:34):
How are we not ready?
Speaker 4 (43:35):
I thought we were ready. That's the WNBA. They were
not ready to handle the instant success that was coming
with Caitlin Clark into the league. You knew that there
were gonna be more eyeballs, you knew there was gonna
be backlash, you knew there was going to be attention,
You knew there was going to be things you had
to deal with. And all we've seen the first couple
of weeks has been boy, all of this attention on
(43:55):
the WNBA, and they don't seem like they handle business right.
If you ask the average person, the average fan, what
do you take away, Like, what do you think of
the first couple of weeks of the WNBA not knowing
you know how you know Caitlin Clark is coming. Average
fan the average fan would say, wow, boy, these players
really hate Caitlin Clark, don't they.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
They really don't like her. And boy, it seems like
the media hates her too.
Speaker 4 (44:17):
And whenever I see the media talk about it, it
seems like it's because she's white, Like this is what.
This is what the average person is taking away optics
wise from the first month plus of the WNBA. And
and you can tell right away that you've got to
get a handle on this man. You got to get
a handle on here's some big fan, here's some dirty
(44:38):
fouls that are called. And you can obviously see there's
some kind of anti Caitlin Clark movement that goes through
the league that's pushed by talking heads who have no.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
Other storyline and say, well, is it racial?
Speaker 5 (44:49):
Is it?
Speaker 6 (44:49):
This is it?
Speaker 4 (44:50):
That is I mean, you have to figure out a
way to say, let's make sure we look like we're
a big we're a big sport. Now you talked about
having a seat at the table, we do have a
seat table.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
Now.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
People care about the WNBA. Do they just care about
Caitlin Clark. No, they care about all the players. But
Caitlyn Clark obviously is the shack she's the hood ornament
of the league. And if the other players don't like it,
I'm sorry. You got to figure out a way forward
that you don't look like you are shooting yourself in
the foot every five seconds, because it looks like with
this instant success WNBA has, they weren't ready to handle it.
(45:22):
And when that's the option, when the average fan can say, boy,
they seem to hate their star player.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
Is it because?
Speaker 8 (45:27):
Is it not?
Speaker 9 (45:27):
Is she?
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Why?
Speaker 5 (45:27):
Is it?
Speaker 4 (45:28):
Because she's white? Is some other reason? I don't understand
what's going When that's the conversation, WHOA. You got to
take hold of this now. You can't just wait and
let this hopefully work itself out. You got to take
hold of this and say, hey, no, no, we know
what we're doing. Everything is fine. We're big conglomerate, we
are a big sport. We're gonna get it right. But
you got to get it right now because you weren't
(45:49):
ready when it started. And I said, you gotta be
able to handle success, because that's a big thing. You
see people and organizations and companies fail because they can't
handle it.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
And that's what's going on with the.
Speaker 4 (45:58):
WA scale, certainly in building to scale. After all the
years and all the negative headlines right about ratings and
merchandising and ticket sales and attendance and all of that stuff.
It's hard right when that flips. And I know, on
the whole, you know you're not looking at a monumental
change in the average attendance. But guess what, fever games
(46:21):
have their appeal. You know, you've got the State of Ioway.
They don't, they don't have a pro team. So you
adopt something. What do you adopt? University of Iioa athletics
both on the football and basketball side, and women's basketball,
and Caitlyn Clark.
Speaker 2 (46:35):
We've watched it.
Speaker 4 (46:36):
Right, and it's the road Show, and it was built
in right that you had this pent up animosity, rivalry,
whatever you want to call it, whatever however you ascribe it,
because again, you know, I can't tell people how to feel.
When it comes down to it. You like the players
you like, you like the teams you like. And if
(46:56):
Caitlin Clark's attention is too much for you from the outside,
you know, you can go back to not watching if
that's really turning off. But for the players that are
in the league, look, I think Saturday's game from everything
that I've watched, and watched a lot of her action
here in the studio and games, you know, when we're
(47:18):
working remote or I'm on at home, Like that was
the first time that it was really egregious to me. Like,
she's gotten hit and she's come off screens, and she's
taken some hits. She's delivered more than a few of
her own. Right, and again, if you're gonna be blank
talking up and down the court, eventually someone's gonna go
and take their shot. Now, this one being off the ball,
(47:40):
and I fear for Caitlin Clark. She's got a little
bit of a reputation as a flopper. So now you've
got officials that are kind of deciding how much is
a sell versus true impact on those things. So that's
gonna be a bit of an issue as well. But
to your point about handling all of this, Yeah, it's
been a disaster. The sky did the other day. I mean,
(48:02):
you could like it saying all right, we'll play the
villain to a point, but you're not helping the league grow. No,
you're you're casting a negative like like whether it's Carter
and acknowledge it and wants to give a full answer
or not. But Whetherspoon's shutting it down just saying all right,
we're done with that, and kind of that that was
the end of really questioning it all, like, hey, you
(48:23):
were in the Spotlight game.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
Yeah you lost by a point.
Speaker 4 (48:26):
Yeah right, you put up a good Like, here's an
opportunity you can still shine, Like, all right, those questions
don't have to be everything that's being asked.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
But that's but that's about handling success Handling seess doesn't
always mean when you win, handling successes.
Speaker 2 (48:39):
Hey, you know, guess what, you're interviewed now after every game.
I want to care about what you say.
Speaker 4 (48:45):
It's a little bit care about what you say. Understand
that what the image you put out there is what
people think of you. And that's a big deal. And
to say I don't want to talk about it, We're
not going to that. I'm gonna go on social media
and talk about it. And then finally, would they talk today?
And and and Ken Carter finally says, oh, don't judge
me by my one action. Hey, this is big time
(49:05):
sports now, this is big I get that you've been
in the league a couple of years now, everything has
changed and you gotta be ready to handle this. It
goes from its top to bottom. It's just you gotta
be handled with success. I mean being in the spotlight.
You gotta handle it now. I do appreciate that when
she goes to social media, I mean it draws a
whole other conversation, right, it adds fuel to it as
(49:26):
both just the fall would have liked that in front
of the microphone instead of social medium.
Speaker 3 (49:31):
But that's me.
Speaker 4 (49:31):
That's my preference because then it gives us a good
SoundBite instead of reading off a tweet. Yeah, but again,
you know, own into the action and the attention that's
coming off it. It's not always going to be positive.
Angel Rees ended up having to get fined a thousand
for not being available. Sky got fined five thousand for
the way that all went down. Let's think it's an
(49:53):
opportunity as a sport, right, you are just gonna have
her attention, like it or not. Here's an op opportunity
for everybody else to step into the light and yeah
should it. People have been along for the ride for
twenty years. Sure they're at the party now, Yeah, welcome them.
Inn you you can't you can't look back and say,
why did you get to the party. Now, It's okay,
(50:13):
you're here. We can't tell you when your sport is
going to break through and be something big. It took
women's soccer a long time, take other sports a long
time to break through. Men's soccer took.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
Them a long time. Different time.
Speaker 4 (50:26):
But you're here now, and you've got to be ready
to handle success, and they can't. The world is moving
too fast for the WNBA, for its commissioner, for its coaches,
for its players. It is moving way too fast right now,
and they got to get a handle on that.
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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