July 5, 2024 • 42 mins
In today's episode of Covino & Rich, Jason Fitz and Kevin Figgers are filling in for the day! Jason and Kevin open the hour talking which players or teams haunt them and their teams to this day! Next the guys look at one of the NBAs biggest market team the Lakers and debate whether or not they are in a win now mode or a building phase! Finally, the guys look at the newest NCAA video game, EA Sports College Football 25 and what this can mean for the older generation of gamers! All that and more in Hour 1!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, thanks for listening to the Cadno and Rich Podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from five
to seven Eastern to the four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Find your local station for Covino Rich at Fox Sports
Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on
the iHeartRadio app like searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Look, I've known Covino and Rich a long time. There's
no way they've never cuddled. We all know it, and
we know that over the course of the next couple
hours we're gonna do plenty of cuddle in here. I'm
Jason fitz hanging with Kevin Figures and the thought for
the day is about domination, but not in a good way.
Sometimes the best part about being a sports fan is
(00:41):
knowing that you got that dude. Like right now, if
you're a Chiefs fan, you know you got that dude.
You know you got Patrick Mahomes. You know, at the
end of the day, every single time that your team
takes the field, takes the court, takes the ice, you
got that dude. You know you got somebody that can
absolutely be the thing of nightmares for the rest of
the league. The question is about the opposite side of though,
(01:04):
what about the players that still haunt your nightmares because
you knew taking them on your team never stood a chance.
I'm feeling for my guy, Kevin Figures joining me is
we are in obviously broadcasting live from the ti rack
dot com studios. Tyrack dot com will help you get
there in unmatched selection, fast free shipping, free road hazard
protection over ten thousand recommended installers. Tyraq dot com the
(01:27):
way tire buying should be. Now, Figgie and I have
known each other for a minute. We're together on the
Fellows on Saturday mornings, Fox Sports Radio from five to
nine AM, along with Anthony Gargano. And there's one thing
I know. I know that Figgi loves baseball. I know
VIGGI loves the Dodger. So I'm feeling for you, Figgi,
because I feel like your nightmares right now are just
absolutely being chased. You are sitting there in this recurring
(01:48):
dream where it's like the opening sequence of the movie Scream.
You are running. Nobody can hear you make a sound.
It's just Christian Walker that's actually chasing you because all
he does is beat your favorite team up. How are
you feeling today, brother?
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Terrible?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Like, yeah, I'm constantly running from Christian Walker, and I
can't get away from this guy.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
It's unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Two home runs back to back knights at Dodgers Stadium
just dominates the Dodgers winner loss for Arizona. Guy has
the highest lugging percentage of any player that's played at
Dodger Stadium, any player that's played any significant number of
games at Dodger Stadium. That is Christian Walker, who by
all accounts, is having a fairly average season overall. They
intentionally walked the guy who's been in two fifty, but
(02:24):
that's because he's hitting like six whatever against the Dodgers
this year. It's unbelievable. Now, Christian Walker is a good player.
He's not average by any strength. He's just having an
average season. He's a solid player. But I feel like
every player, or every fan, if every fan base has
a guy. Sometimes it's a superstar, like you mentioned, it's
Patrick Mahomes. Every now and then it's just some nagging,
some other punch and Judy Hitter or whomever else, for
(02:46):
whatever reason, has a career night against your favorite team.
And I feel like a lot of Dodger fans are
feeling that that sting right now. Paul Goldsmith was a
guy like that for years when he played for Arizona. Again,
excellent player, MVP caliber player, but for whatever reason, seemed
like he had his nights whenever you played against the Dodgers.
Christian Walker is basically the reincarnation of Paul Goldschmidt and
(03:06):
Dodger fans, can I get them get him out of
their nightmares right now?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Hit us up on Fox Sports Radio, on social media
at Fox Sports Radio, also at k FIG one at
Jason Fitz Who haunts you? Because I was feeling this
when you started talking about it. We did this exercise
for Yahoo Sports for my podcast there that we do
last week. And what we did is we took a
look at the mount Rushmoores. We basically said, what teams
(03:30):
have the best Mount rushmore in every position in the NFL.
So if you were picking the four best running backs
ever from this one team versus the best running backs
from this team, and we went through position by a position.
It was fun time. I had some Chiefs fans that
were just getting in there and they were blasting me
with Raiders highlights of Chiefs running backs just destroying the Raiders.
And there's something about Christian Okkoye man, Like there's just
(03:52):
like Ladanian Tomlinson, Like La Danian Tomlinson also did his thing,
but that's all of famer, Like he did that to
a lot of teams. Happen to be the greatest. Christian
a Koye even on tech mobile he'd beat. Like there's
just a level, like you could do nothing to stop
Christian a Koye.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Like it's just I hear the name.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And all I think is like in Nigerian Nightmare, and
there's a sadness that just washes over me as I
think Nigerian Nightmare, Like you are right that there are
just certain guys and it's easier in my mind, Figgie,
it's easier when it's somebody that's epic, like losing to Mahomes.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Ain't no shame in that.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Like if you look back at the eighties, nineties and
transition in the NFL and you're like, well we always
lost to Montana, Okay, Well everybody did right, Like even
if you look, we always lost to Brady. The whole
AFC East might as well have mailed him fifteen years.
All they did was lose to Brady. That's the whole
AFC West. Now with Mahomes, you can accept that because
you're like, well, yeah, we lost to one of the
(04:46):
all time greats. What are you gonna do? What do
you do? Though, when it's like we lost to one
of the all time pretty good, like that's a total
different haunt.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Yeah, you know who else fits that category? Larry Johnson
speaking of Chiefs running backs, When were Larry Johnson on
a Penn State the guy that replaced that they drafted
to replace priest as the priest Holmes had his share
of big games against the Raiders two, but Larry Johnson
absolutely ran rough shot over the Raiders. Ye had maybe one,
maybe two Pro Bowl seasons, and I believe he got
the majority of those numbers on the Raiders specifically for
(05:12):
whatever reason, he's still to this day haunts me in
my ninemares guys running through even if it's wide open
holes to those great chief offensive lines, it was always
Larry Johnson. Every single time the Raiders played at the Chiefs.
I knew Larry Johnson was putting up a buck sixty
and two touchdowns. It was an absolute given, and it
frustrated the hell out of me one that any one
player was dominating my favorite team. But two, it was
(05:32):
the team I hate more than any other professional franchise,
the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
That just made it sting even more.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
You think about the one game Larry Johnson had like
three screens that the Raiders pick up any of them.
We all remember that as a eighty yard screens, sixty
yard screen, seventy yards screen. You're like, son of a biscuit,
what are we doing? Like that's just like I'm curious.
I want to get the guys timed in on this.
By the way, there's a whole group of us here
in for Cavino and Rich because it takes a full
army of Voltron to replace those guys for a day.
(06:00):
So Shaye producing Sam working force Iowa Sam though, And
it's important because Iowa Sam is not just where he's
from and also speaks to who he.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Loves, Iowa Sam.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
When I say Iowa football, who haunts you? Who haunts
your nightmares?
Speaker 6 (06:12):
Man, I would have to say recently it would be
Trace McSorley, who was the quarterback at Penn State. I
remember just I think it was twenty eighteen, like they
it was like fourth, it was two seconds left. Iowa
was up by four I think, and it was fourth
and eleven. It was like fourth and fourteen, two seconds left,
(06:35):
and he threw a touchdown just right over defensive back's
head and hands, and I think another a couple other
times he just got Iowa. He's just very slippery, and Iowa,
you know, usually has a great defense, but he was
always a guy who could just slip away and make
like a play and hit a guy thirty yards down
the field. Trace mcsorly is just comes right to the
top of my mind as a player that would just
(06:57):
burn Iowa routinely.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
A player Ryan Franz would have been an acceptable lanser too.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Yeah, I was like, game is different when you're in
Iowa fan becers. You're like, man, we gave up three points.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
We're done today.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
That figured out.
Speaker 6 (07:11):
We're down a field goal, all right, throwing the towel,
it's over. But that actually, back in like twenty seventeen,
twenty eighteen, they could actually put up some points. But
that day against McSorley hosts, and they had Saquon Barkley
that day, that was the game. He went off for
like three hundred something all purpose yards whatever. But they
were so this close to beating like a top three
Penn State team. But McSorley just would burn Iowa routinely.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
David s hit us up on social media said I
could not possibly hate Danny Ainge anymore than I do.
That sounds like it might be also just like just
that's deep rooted. And Mark mcneaney says Walter Payton as
a Packers fan and Matt Carpenter as a Cubs fan.
So these don't make sense that you can hit us
up by the way at kfig one at Fox Sports Radio,
at Jason fitz what do you got for me? Oh?
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Quickly? Another thing?
Speaker 6 (07:56):
So the thing obviously college football, the players change every
four years, but you know the coaches are there for
a while, and many a time Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern
would get Iowa. He would get Kirk Farence got em,
He would get him in some way. They would be like, hello,
you know a fourteen to ten kind of game, Iowa
comes in like a huge favorite, and Pat Fitzgerald would
(08:16):
just with his giant chompers would just be ah, just
laughing through his teeth.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Giant chomper.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
He does have some giant chompers if you go look
it up.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
But that is frustrating Iowa Sam because at school like
Iowa that had you know, every three or four years,
Io we can win ten eleven games and one or
two losses is to a Northwestern team that won four games.
Speaker 6 (08:33):
That ye yeah, yeah happens a lot or underperformed, underachieved
most of the season and then when it comes to
the Iowa game they get up for it.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
That could be frustrated. Yeah, yeah, big time.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
What about Shae Shae? You got to you got somebody
that haunts your nightmares?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, So, I mean I know you and k Figno,
I'm a Browns fan, but to everyone else out there,
I'm a pretty big Browns fan, and I have been
for the twenty four years I've been on this world.
So it hasn't been a very good twenty four years
for me as a Browns fan. But Big Ben for
some reason always had our name him and every time
we played him, I think our record was like twenty
(09:04):
six and one against him or like something crazy like that,
Like they were like it was just yeah, twenty six
two in one was our record against him, or he
would be against the Browns. So it was just never
fun watching him, and I never wanted to wish anything
bad on any type of player. But I was definitely
screaming some absurdities at Big Ben every time we would
(09:24):
play him.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, that's where it gets so difficult too. It's like
you realize that you're you're losing to somebody more often
than not. That is, you know, great at what they do,
and that that's fine, but it's just when it happens
over and over and over. Yet my childhood was haunted
by John Elway's ability to just constantly bring the Broncos.
But it's like, oh, all we have is a twenty
one point lead with three minutes ago. That's not a
(09:46):
safe lead. Like my to this day, no matter how
much my favorite team is ahead, I don't think it's safe.
And no matter how little the deficit is, I don't
think we can come back. And I still blame that,
like in therapy, to John Elway, Like that is the
fact that John always spent so many years just dashing
any com that I have. Like, I just think certain
guys had that magic against certain teams that they always
got up for, especially divisionally. And that's one thing that's
(10:08):
really interesting. When you talk to former players, they'll tell
you within your division, because you do see somebody so much,
you get a lot of familiarity, and that familiarity starts
to matter. That's one thing that you know. I was
talking to a couple of former Raiders players last year
and they were saying, Hey, if you come over and
you've seen all the tape in the world on Kelsey,
it doesn't matter. You have to actually stand on the
field and then you see what Kelsey does and you
(10:30):
got to get reps against that. So it takes time
to get better. So it's like when you're talking about
division rivalries, it's even more frustrating because this greatness just
continues to thwart one team and not the other figures.
It's the maddening part of being a sports fan is
that you're not just rooting for your team. You're always
rooting against a whole group of people. Right.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
Well, the thing is too, when you were talking about
one player or is one team dominating another, A lot
of times the pieces for the dominating team will stay
the same, but the pieces on the other side you're
constantly changing them. It's like, well, this guy doesn't work,
get them out. Well, that guy didn't work, get out.
So you're talking about breeding familiarity, and it's like like well,
and also there's an element of knowing exactly what's coming
and not being able to stop it to a certain
degree as well. So I think that's a big part
(11:09):
of it. And by the point nine one four winning
percentage Big Ben has with Cleveland, it hurts man. That's
pretty insane. Seven thousand yards and forty three touchdowns. Yeah,
I would hate him to the roundsman. But that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
The ninety two per we're just gonna call that ninety
one percent winning percent am I God?
Speaker 5 (11:25):
That ninety one point four percent of his games he
won against Cleveland. How wild is that? That's that's next
level ownership right there.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
It was bad.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
I mean when when the Browns finally beat the Steelers
in playoffs, it was the best day.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
That was the super Bowl right there, Yeah, that was
our super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
We're going to spend a few minutes comforting Shay. That's
the necessary thing that we might cud with them. We'll
see how that goes. And also one team that I
know plenty of you have demons with is the Lakers.
The question is what are the Lakers actually trying to do? Now?
I think we've been having the wrong conversation about the Lakers.
We'll have the right one coming up next. But first
you put it off long enough, It's time to replace
your tires. Tire Iraq has tires it'll elevate your drive.
(12:03):
Touring tires for commuter comfort, performance tires for sporty handling,
all terrain, tile tires for on an off road advengure.
Go to tire iraq dot com to get started. Not
sure where to begin? I've never amused the tire Decision
Guide to get a personalized tire recommendation the right tires
for how, what and where you drive. Choose from the
full line of Toyo tiers tires shipped fast and free
(12:26):
to a recommended installer near you, or choose the convenience
of mobile tire installation. They'll bring your new tires to
your home or office and install them on site.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
How badass is that? It doesn't get much easier than that.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Go to ti iraq dot com slash sports to see
their Toyo test results, tire ratings and consumer reviews, and
be sure to check out all the current special offers.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Great tires and a great deal. What more could you
ask for?
Speaker 3 (12:50):
That's tire raq dot com, slash sports tire rack dot com.
The way tire buying should be. What are the Lakers
actually doing? We'll figure it out next. On Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (13:00):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller.
Would mean a lot to have you join us on
our weekly auditory journey. You're ask what in God's name
is the Fifth Hour? I'll tell you it's a spin
off of it. Ben Maler show a cult hit overnights
on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will
a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports,
and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human
(13:36):
nature and more. Listen to The Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller or the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Some franchises have to make moves for relevance, just stay
in the news to sell jerseys, to be part of
the conversation. Some franchises draft thinking about what it means
for what their fans want some franchises high coaches for
the same reason. But one of the franchises it's supposed
(14:04):
to be above all of that is the Lakers. So
the question is, why aren't they acting like it? It's
Covino rich on Spots Sports Radio, Kevin Figures Jason fitzwre
in for the guys as we get you covered through
everything you need to know coming at you from the
ti raq dot com studios, and hear me out on this.
I think that there are certain franchises that I don't
(14:27):
care how their coach wears the hat. I don't care
whether or not their newest draft pick sells a bunch
of jerseys. I care, frankly about one thing. I care
about whether or not that franchise wins championships. They're only
judged by that. We want to say that's the way
everybody is in sports, but that's not real. The way
certain franchises are viewed though. It's about just one thing,
(14:51):
hosting a trophy, and that's supposed to be the way
the Lakers do business. So somebody explained to me, if
that's the way they do business, what the Lakers are
actually doing right now? I don't know if JJ Reddick's
going to be a good hire. I don't think any
of us do. But I know this. You can't tell
me equivocally that he makes you closer to a championship.
I don't know if the fifty fifth draft pick is
really supposed to matter. Who does?
Speaker 4 (15:14):
We can talk all day long.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Was it a valuable draft pick? Now?
Speaker 4 (15:17):
But Bronni's sticking around? Does that keep Lebron happy?
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Great?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
For what?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
For what? This version of the Lakers is not going
to win a championship. So when we start the season
right now, when we start the next NBA season, we
can definitively go out there and say, hey, putting money
on the Lakers to win a chip is a waste
to cash. When's the last time the Lakers went through
any sustained period where they, frankly just weren't even part
(15:44):
of the championship conversation. So, congratulations, you kept Lebron happy.
Congratulations you got Lebron and ad. Congratulations you got Bronny,
you got the coach. Sure, maybe everybody feels like that's
the right way to treat a superstar, but Kevin figures,
if you ask me, what the Lakers have really told
you is that they'd rather make sure everybody's happy than
actually get themselves into the rebuilt process that is inevitable
(16:07):
towards trying to get themselves to a championship because they
got no shot with this roster.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Yeah, you ultimately find yourself and no man's land, because
are you trying to build for the future or are
you trying to win right now? In basketball, I think
one of the few sports where it's really difficult to
do both. You can do it in Major League Baseball.
You have all the minor leagues and you got fifteen
thousand draft picks. You have a finite number of roster
spots with a certain number of guys who make a
certain amount of money at certain ages on your roster,
(16:31):
and so you really have to make make sure you
know what direction you're going in. And while catering to
Lebron James, even though he's still one of the great players,
one of the best players in the league, top three,
I think even based on the way that he played
last season, and Anthony Davis, who had a great season
last year, was able to stay healthy, I doubt he'll
be able to stay as healthy going into this next season.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
You know, what, have you really done.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
To try to improve the roster, to try to impact winning.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Now now some of that is out of their hands.
Speaker 5 (16:54):
Maybe the trade market's not what you wanted it to be,
maybe guys opting into their contracts when you didn't expect
them to. But frankly, that doesn't necessarily matter. If you're
saying you're a team that's chasing championships, you know people
want to see you put in the work and try
to make moves to make sure that you put yourself
in a position to be able to do that, and
they haven't done that at this point in time. They're
bringing back basically the exact same roster from last year
and saying, well, hopefully the Dangel Russell is better, Hopefully
(17:17):
Vanderbilt stays healthy and Gabe Vincent and hopefully we'll be
drug kicking and screaming or drag kicking and screaming into
the modern era of NBA basketball with JJ redick By
shooting more three pointers. I don't feel like just the
look coaching was bad last year. Fits I'm not gonna
deny that Darbnham was not the greatest head coach. Even
the year before when they went to the rest of
Western Conference finals. There are definitely some tactical issues, so
(17:40):
but the problem is how much of an improvement is
he actually is? JJ Reddick. If he is an improvement,
quint actually have this on this roster on this team.
Five wins, six wins. If even that does it make
him even more of a contender this coming season than
they were last year?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
I don't believe.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
So.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
I think the big issue with the Laker is there.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
They're kind of caught in a rock and a hard place,
and really it's all the doing of Genie Buss going
off of this franchise principle of we need to please
and appease our star players, take care of our guys,
and there's nothing wrong with that to a certain degree,
but business has to trump that and they should have
learned from the final years of Kobe Bryant. You said,
when was the last time the Lakers had an extended
(18:17):
period of time of not being a factor. Kobe's last
couple of years extended beyond that for a couple of years,
I'd say maybe seven years where they were routinely winning
between seventeen and twenty one games a year. They were terrible,
but at the very least they had a plan. They
knew they were bad. They knew they were going to
get some draft picks. Now, granted, they struck out in
free agency for some star players, but at the very least,
they went into a lot of those seasons knowing we're
(18:38):
gonna be bad. Let's try to cultivate some young talent.
Use these draft picks and make sure we hit on
some of these guys, and maybe we can end up
turning it around. A lot of those draft picks ended
up turning into Anthony Davis. They won a championship in
the bubble. The problem now is Lebron James is forty.
Anthony Davis has the body of a forty year old
that seems like, and the pieces around them are not
good enough to compete in an ever improving Western cos
(19:01):
I really don't know exactly what direction they're going in,
because I don't think they know what direction they're going in.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
All they know is we want to up ease Lebron James.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
We want to retire with his jersey and give him
a statue and give him everything that he wants because
he's a clutch client. And we want to play nights
with Rich Paul. Because a lot of these guys coming
into the league are going to be clutch clients, and
we want to make sure we're on their good side.
That's kind of the way that I look at it,
because otherwise it doesn't make a lot of sense.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
It doesn't make any sense. He's Kevin Figures. I'm Jason
fitz in Forracvino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. The
Lakers were the seventh seed last year. Now, the West
was tight, so they were what three games away from
being the five seed? Four games away from being the
four seed?
Speaker 4 (19:36):
All right, so let's jump mess breaks.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Let's say everything breaks the right way for the Lakers. Okay,
you get a miraculous big season out of Ad, you
get another he stays healthy, you get another big season
out of Lebron. Somehow, some way, maybe you're the four
or five seed. But are you suddenly going to be
the team that everybody Are you better than the Nuggets
at that point consistently? Are you on the same plane
as the Celticslitics would destroy the Lakers as currently constructed, right, Like,
(20:03):
So I just I look at all of this and
I say, for what, like, there are certain teams that
simply can't handle a rebound, and I asked this at
the time when Oklahoma City was losing everybody. My question was,
what is the cost of relevance? How much should you
overpay no matter what it costs, just to make sure
that people realize you're a basketball franchise. And it took
(20:23):
Oklahoma City a long time to bounce back from losing
the stars they had. We all know that some franchises
will struggle through that period. The Lakers will get a
lot of anger, the fans will be mad, but it's
not like their fan base is suddenly going to deteriorate.
They don't have to worry about losing the market that
the damn Lakers like. So go act like the Lakers
and be honest with people. Look around and say, hey, guys,
(20:44):
we're at a spot now where we gotta rebuild this thing.
We got to figure out a different way to do
it because the way we're doing it isn't working. Otherwise
all you're doing, yeah, you're putting stars out and we'll
talk about it.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Everybody will talk about it.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Because the Lakers resonate so great, you'll continue to be
relevant as a brand.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
But how long will that last?
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Like how many years in a row before the Lakers
essentially become the Dallas Cowboys where we talk about them,
but not for any championship they've won in memory, like
the Lakers. While they I know it feels staggering to
say this, because we did have a Bubble championship in
twenty twenty, I feel like the Lakers are a hell
of a lot closer to going through a period like
the Knicks went through where all they were was basically
irrelevant for twenty years than they are to being where
(21:23):
the Celtics are right now.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
The twenty twenty Bubble championship was essentially their saving grace
because quite honestly, their last few seasons with Kobe I
would say, basically after Phil Jackson had his final season,
either twenty eleven, twenty twelve, whatever that was, you had
a couple of playoff appearances. It's been downhill for the
Lakers for thirteen fourteen years, with a blip on the
radar being that twenty twenty championship. Other than that, they
(21:45):
haven't been a great franchise. They've missed the playoffs more
than they've made it, I believe, or if not more
than they've made it, they've missed it just as often
as much as they've made it, They're a mediocre franchise
and have been for a long period of time. You
use the Oklahoma City example, and look, maybe it doesn't
fly as much in big markets as it does in
small markets. Although I'd argue even though the process of
(22:05):
Philadelphia didn't necessarily work, I mean, you did get Joel
and be out of it Ben Simmons up before his
major knee injuries, and obviously his other concerns was trending
towards being a really good impact player for years to come.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
You can say that they at least had a plan
in place.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
I think most fan bases these days will appreciate if
you have a plan and know exactly what you're doing.
Oklahoma City realized that Westbrook and Paul George wasn't working,
blew it up, got a bunch of draft picks, got
Shay Giogos, Alexander and hope for the best and make
and hope that he would turn into a great player.
He has. They've hit on those draft picks. Now all
of a sudden, you got ched Holmgren, who's getting better.
(22:41):
They've now used some of the money they have a
freed up to sign some some veterans in the free
agent market, and I think they're going to be one
of the top contenders to come out of the Western
Conference next season because of it. It took a little
longer than you would like, but at the very least
they had a plan in place, and now it's coming
to fruition. I feel like fan bases, whether it's the Knicks,
the Lakers, whatever else, will be willing to be patient
(23:02):
with a franchise if they know exactly if the franchise
has a plan in place in what direction they're going in.
The problem with the team like the Lakers is no
one really knows because it seems to change every other year.
Why would you blow up a championship roster two years
after you just want a title on the bubble to
bring in Wilsell Westbrook, who everybody knew wasn't a fit,
just to appease Lebron. A lot of these things keep
going back and forth to appeasing Lebron James, trying to
(23:25):
appease your star as opposed to doing what's best for
the franchise. Sometimes those things are mutually exclusive. Sometimes you
have to be able to tell them no. Now it
sounds like most recently, although Bronni James being drafted. Notwithstanding,
they say Lebron is taking a step back from making
personnel decisions unless the front office do what they want
to do. Well, thanks Lebron, that helps a lot. Now
now that the roster is stuck with contracts they can't
(23:46):
trade and players that nobody wants and we can't even
improve the roster, we greatly appreciate it. Where was this
three years ago? I think that's where their frustration sits
with a lot of Laker fans.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Right now, here's the real truth. The NBA has passed
the Lakers. I'll explain what I mean first, I want
figure to get everybody caught up on the Latest Greatest
what's going on. But the fact is the NBA has
passed the Lakers by We'll tell you why in a second.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Well, Latest Greatest.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
If you go to the quarterfinal action of Euro twenty
twenty four and you don't like scoring a lot of goals,
you're gonna love this matchup between Portugal and France. They
are headed to penalty kicks. Now, this game, you can
see on Fox, Portugal has dominated time of possession both
teams with just a couple of shots on goal. That's
been as defensive as a matchup as you can expect
from high class international soccer. So again, Portugal and France
(24:30):
check that out right now on Fox. The winner of
this matchup will take on Spain and the Semi Spain
went into extra time against Germany earlier today and won
that matchup two to one. Tonight at nine Eastern on
FS one, you'll see Canada take on Venezuela in the
quarterfinals of the Copa America Tournament.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Third round action at Wimbledon.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
On the men's side, Joan nick Center won his matchup
in straight sets, as did Tommy Paul in a match
that lasted almost four hours. Carlos al koraz outlasted Francis
Tiafo in five sets. On the ladies side, Madison Keys
and Coco Golf won their matchups in straight sets as well.
Third round action there and wiebled it on the lady's side,
and Major League Baseball says Azuki with the home run
for the Cubs, they defeated the Angels five to one.
(25:11):
And speaking of the NBA, some news earlier today from
Shamsharinia of the athletic forward Franz Wagner agreeing to a
five year contract extension with the Orlando Magic where two
hundred and twenty four million dollars it could be worth
as much as two hundred and seventy million dollars. All right,
back to the Kavino or Rich show.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
All right, it's Covino and Ritz coming at to live
from the tire rack dot Com studios. He's Kevin Figures.
I'm Jason fitz In for the guys. It's simple. The
NBA has passed the Lakers by this is real. There
is a point where you got to look at the
way business is being done. You got to look at
what's successful, and then you got to figure out how
you're going to fit into that model. What is the
Lakers model? Ben? For as long as we can remember,
(25:53):
go find the stars, sign the stars, bring the stars in,
and make sure that the stars play together nice, try
and win some championships.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
All right, that's been the model.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Whether we're talking about I know, Kobe being the outlier
traded for on Draft Day, but whether we're talking about
trading for Shack, whether you're talking about trading for a
million players that didn't work out at one period. You
look at the way that they've worked things over the
course of the years. The Lakers have.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Been about star power, right, It's about showtime.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
It's about getting butts in the seats with that energy
and that excitement and that brand value, all of these
things that are tremendous and all of these things that
are true to the way business was done in the
NBA before and not now. I think we can learn something,
Biggie from the Celtics and the way that they brought
their roster together, right like, there is some element of
let's get some homegrown talent, let's get them to play
(26:37):
a bunch of games together, let's rise that talent together.
Look at what we seen over the last couple of champions.
There is a method right now between what the Nuggets
have done, what the Celtics have done. You just mentioned
Oklahoma City, the way they're trying to do it with
the new CBA, with the complications in acquiring talent, with
the tax complications there are there, with the mathematics degree
that it takes to figure it all out. One thing
(26:58):
is very clear. If you want want to win, I
believe in the modern NBA you were going to have
to draft, You're going to have to build and then
you're going to have to.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Patiently let it grow together.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
And then at the last second, like a perfect cake,
you can sprinkle on some cupcake stuff at the top.
You can sprinkle on some little extras, bringing one little
guy here, one extra piece there. That's fine, but that
can't be the way you build it. You have to
actually build a structure and then use the one extra
piece as a little augmenting portion that gets you to greatness.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
That's not the way.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
The Lakers have dumb business, and I don't know that
they know how to do business in that process because
it requires patients, and it requires a path, and it
requires persistence, and it requires a plan and the ability
to say, guys, we're gonna get there, but it's gonna
take three or four years. The Lakers have never been there.
Lakers fans have never been there. The Lakers organization doesn't
know how to do this. The modern way to win
(27:49):
in the NBA doesn't match with the way Figgy the
Lakers do.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Business, which is a lack of awareness on their part
in many facets. I mean, we can extrapolate this out
to the last decade. They're the last one of the
last teams to actually incorporate an analytics department.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
I mean, they didn't even have that in place.
Speaker 5 (28:04):
You know. One of the talking points for JJ Redick
when he was hired, he said, Oh, I want to
hire someone to develop my program with nutrition and analytics
and all this stuff. And people are saying, you didn't
already have somebody in this role in the building already,
And it's twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
You know.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
The day that the Laker mystique died is when they
did a free agent pitch to the Marcus Aldridge and
did all these history onics with We're gonna have your
name on billboards and put you in commercials and do
all this stuff. This is the Laker brand, And the
Marcus said, what are you guys gonna do basketball wise
to entice me to come here. The fact that they
weren't aware enough at that point in time to realize
that they should be doing something different, that's selling the
(28:39):
Laker mystique means nothing, or at least means very little
to players anymore. These days. You can win anywhere. You
can be a superstar anywhere. You can be a superstar
in Oklahoma City, you can be a superstar in Oakland.
You can be a super It doesn't matter. It's an
international sport in Milwaukee, no one cares. At this point
in time, you're gonna get endorsement deals because the NBA
is a global sport, so the market that you play
(28:59):
in doesn't matter or whether it's an I look, the
Knicks learned this a long time ago. How many free
agents that they strike out on when they're trying to
sell people on come to the garden and do this
and do that. And you know what, the Knicks are
successful again. And how have they done it? They built
a roster full of grinders. This is basically the Knicks
from the nineties. No superstar player, really good players. I mean,
you know, Brunson is turning into an all star sort
(29:19):
of player, and he's only going to get better. But
it's basically him so rounded by a bunch of tough,
hard nosed, defensive guys building the right roster.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Your point right there. I have yelled and screen this too.
I've had this argument with Steven A. When everybody says, well,
you gotta come play with the Knicks. Why if you're
a twenty four to twenty five year old kid, all
you know of the Knicks is a bunch of bad
basketball right for the last year, right like there is
this level of yeah. But the Garden I will never
forget we were playing when we were touring, I played
(29:48):
Madison Square Guard. My right arm is a tattoo of
all the places that might like the places I've lived
in the moments in my career, in my life that
I'm proudest part of that is the Madison Square Garden logo.
Like I grew up spending a lot of time in
New York. That show meant so much to me. And
I remember walking into that venue and I had goosebumps, man,
because we had a sold out show at Madison Square Garden,
and I remember a guitar player in the band that was,
(30:10):
you know, probably fifteen years younger than me, looked over
and he said, this place is a s whole. That's
the first thing he said, like a dump. And the
guys walked in, They're like, man, this place stinks like nobody.
The next night we were at Barclay's doing the Victoria's
Secret Fashion Show thing and immediately everyone's like, man, this
arena is much nice. And then the garden like they
were kids, so the history didn't necessarily mean the same
(30:32):
thing to him. But I looked at that and I
was like, God, there's a lot of kids that are
coming like they don't remember watching wrestling in the eighties
at the Garden and being like, oh my god, this
is so cool. Like those moments didn't they didn't resonate
the same. So if you're twenty three years old and
you're playing basketball, the only thing you know about the
Knicks and the Garden is what your dad told you,
(30:53):
right Like, that doesn't hit the same way. And you're
right at this point, you can be honest and be
as rich as anybody playing Emil.
Speaker 5 (31:01):
And I think that's the thing that the Laker franchise
to your point, as far as them, you know, being
behind on the times just doesn't understand.
Speaker 4 (31:08):
You know, no one cares anymore.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
I'm not saying that being a Laker doesn't mean something
that you can't appreciate the legacy of the franchise and
all the great players who've won that jersey. You can
have an appreciation for it and also say, you know what,
this is in the best decision for me professionally, because
I don't think that you guys at the top know
what you're doing.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
So I'm gonna go ahead and b side of this.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
For as many people as who made fun of Maggie
Johnson for his press conference as saying I'm not gonna
be here anymore, there was a reason behind it because
I think Maggie Johnson knew the direction of the franchise
had and how they were operating up top, and he
was like, I really don't think I can succeed. And
I succeeded everything that I touched. I don't think it's
gonna work here, and so he decided to walk out.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Dan Hurley elected to remain the head coach at the
University of Connecticut.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Look, I live ten minutes from that campus. I know
what Ucon basketball means. I know how important it is
to coach Hurley. I know his family really loves the
scenery there, all of those things. But if I invented
a time machine and I went back and told you
that Dan Hurley to ten, fifteen, twenty years ago would
turn down the Lakers job to stay in Hartford, I mean,
(32:12):
what would we think? What would that? That's what it
comes down to. And you know a lot of people say, well,
you know, costs of living all these things up Hartford's
got the second highest tax rate in the country. Connecticut
has the second highest tax rate in the country. Like
he would have actually taken a gotten a massive raise
by moving to California, as obscene as that sounds, because
the taxes are so incredible, I live there. I know this.
Like there's this moment of Dan Hurley turned down the
(32:34):
Lakers that to me still says something about the fact
that now we live in a global economy where if
you are great at whatever you are doing, you're making
so much money that money won't be the thing that
it has to be to move you from one spot
to the other. Like if Hurley felt like there was
even on even level playing field. He's made it clear
he wants to go to the NBA at some point.
(32:54):
If the two jobs are on level playing field, he
might jump. He prefers Connecticut. What does that say?
Speaker 5 (33:00):
But it also says to this point, because he also
said this to Dan LeBatard a couple of days later,
there's a price. I don't know what it is, but
there's a price that would have pried me away. Now,
the reported price was one hundred million dollars. The reported
offer from the Lakers was seventy, so again, you offer
him seventy And what are you saying in your pitch meeting?
We won't give you a hundred. But we're the Lakers,
(33:20):
and Phil Jackson coached here, and Jerry West was here
and all these other people were here. Don't you want
to be a part of that legacy? And if I'm
Dan Hurley, I'm like, no, I want a hundred million
dollars to upend my family up and move from everything
that I've ever known. You got to make it worth
my while. That's not a home run swing. A home
run swing has given the guy whatever he wants. And
if you truly covered him the way that you say
you cover him, you'll give him what he wants. That
(33:41):
price tag can't be too high. If you're the Lakers
and you love him as much as you say that
you love him, you'll give him whatever he wants. But
that's exactly that's a perfect example of the Lakers being
behind all the times we'll offer you less because we're
giving you the opportunity to be a part of what
we do.
Speaker 4 (33:56):
Now looking at it the other way around.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
And it says everything up their brand value that they
don't understand that the fact that they thought that simply
being the Lakers would allow them some flexibility, and the
fact that it doesn't says everything. If his number is
one hundred million dollars, then that doesn't matter if it's
coming from Milwaukee, or that matters if it's coming from
the Lakers. That speaks to the very brand thing that
(34:19):
we're talking about, and I just don't know how the
Lakers are going to do business in that environment. I
don't think it's going to get any easier for LA
over the course of the next couple of years, as
wild as that sounds. So speaking of wild, what if
I told you for all of the doldrums dog days
of summer, what if I told you we are only
days away from one of the best July days that
(34:40):
you will ever have if you are a sports fan,
I'm telling you it's right around the corner, and we'll
tell you what it is coming up next. But first,
if there's one feeling, and I know more than anything,
it's the electric buzz a game day all around you.
And when you're looking for that same vibe, what you
gotta do is you gotta check out Graduate Hotel.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
Fits A stay at Graduate Hotels is like stepping onto
the field in those college towns.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
No, yeah, no doubt. Figure.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
In fact, I've been to a bunch of them.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
They're great. They all kind of echo the campus of
the place that they're closest to. Cadino and Rich the
Boys are going to be at the brand new Auburn location,
broadcasting live Friday, September twenty seventh for the game day
weekday of the of the Tigers versus the Sooners. Say
what you want to me, This is an incredible thing
here because they are so unique to the places that
(35:28):
they've been. I went to the Guys Show in Nashville.
It was incredible. College football is in graduates DNA. Graduates
is all about bringing the charm and legacy you love
about your alma mater into one of a kind hotel experiences.
They have over thirty locations across the US and UK,
and we promised they're like no hotel you've ever stayed
at before.
Speaker 5 (35:47):
So you want to keep that game day spirit alive
and book your stay at Graduatehotels dot com.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Graduate Hotels because they're graduate where we are all students.
One event coming up in July that you cannot wait for.
It's only a few days away. You'll be hyped. We'll
tell you about it next. Scavino and Rich, Kevin Figures,
Jason Fitz figging it, findle in it. I don't know.
Speaker 7 (36:06):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live. Scavino, I'm Rich on Fox Sports Radio. Coming
at to live from the tiraq dot com studios. Chason Fitz,
Kevin figures in for the guys. Gotta tweet.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
Judy tweeted us and said, I can't wait for you
in the clown working with you today to eat your words.
Hitting on LA analytics stinks. I'm paraphrasing. Gotta feel the
game and play the game. I hope JJ Lebron shut
up everyone, Okay, I mean look, I got no skin
in the game. I don't really like find if the
Lakers turned around to win a championship, good for them.
(36:50):
I don't think it's gonna happen. It's just that for me,
it's kind of that simple. I don't think it's gonna happen.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Well fits as someone who asks into the game, who
considers himselves still a Laker fan.
Speaker 4 (36:59):
I hope I'm wrong.
Speaker 5 (37:00):
You know, I A few people are more critical of
their favorite team than I am. So if I feel
like they're doing something that's holding them back and basically
holding back there with their ability to be able to.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
Win, I'm gonna call it out.
Speaker 5 (37:12):
I'm not gonna be some fanboy that just worships every
single thing that they do because I'm not being fair
to myself and basically fair to the team at that
point in time.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
Hold the team accountable.
Speaker 5 (37:21):
If you're the Lakers and you hold yourself to a
high standard the way that you say you do, then
the fan should hold you to a high standard too.
And if there's something that you're doing that's not putting
you in the best position possession position I should say,
to be successful, then I'm going to call you out
on it.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
We're coming at to your life from the tyrack dot
com studios. I agree with that. I love everybody comes
in super confident. I'm like, okay, like you tell me then,
I mean, you're willing to insert tweeter here, whoever's coming
at it. You willing to bet your house on the
Lakers winning a championship. This year, because I sure as
hell wouldn't. You're willing to bet your house on the
Lakers winning a championship in the next three years, I
sure as hell wouldn't. I mean, if I got to
(37:57):
take the Lakers or the field for the next three
years to win a tie, well I feel pretty good
about that. I'm gonna end up owning your house. That's
just I have no confidence in JJ and Lebron to
be able to bring home a championship in the next
three years. And that's just what usually the Lakers have
been judged by. Like, the Lakers have created the very
standard that makes this life difficult for them that when
they are doing these things, they get questioned to that
(38:18):
level figuring right.
Speaker 5 (38:19):
Yeah, And there's a difference between hope and faith. I
hope the Lakers do great. I hope Bronnie James starts
in to a great a role player, contributor. Hoped Dealton
connect makes an impact as a rookie. Hope Lebron James
and Anthony Davis stay healthy. D'angela Russell if he stays there,
figures things out, and they stay healthy and they make
you deep run. Do I have faith that's gonna happen. No,
why should I Please tell me why I should have faith?
(38:39):
And any of that stuff is gonna end up sussing
itself out of the course of eighty two games and
put the Lakers in a position to compete for a
championship going into the playoffs. I have no faith in that,
and there's no word there. I've been given no reason
to have faith in that. But I certainly hope it happens.
That's two different things, though.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
He's Kevin Figures, I'm Jason fitz In for the guys.
All right, So we're about a week away. What's your
level of excitement Because EA Sports College Football Game comes
out for the pre ordered people on July sixteenth, I
think it's July nineteenth for everybody else. The level of
excitement figgy, because, like, look, you and I both love
college football, right and for me, and part of this
is just about the opportunity to see so many of
(39:18):
the experiences that we fall in love with on Saturday.
That's what the game needs to capture, and it will
capture from everybody I've talked to that's looked at it
or played it. Yet the game has to capture the
experience as much as anything. That's why this is going
to be so special. I don't remember ever seeing a
more hyped video game release in sports than what we're
seeing here. And I know people all over the place
(39:40):
that are just they're ready to take the day off,
sit down with their buddies, and play games all day.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
No doubt.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
I mean this is I waste the days of my
life back in the day playing this college football, especially
in the Dynasty Mode or Legacy Mode, whatever it was called.
Speaker 4 (39:52):
You can go out and actively recruit.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
And obviously they've made so many different enhancements to that
situation that I haven't even seen yet. There's like a
new trailer coming out every single week of the new
things that they're doing. The problem with me fits is
I wonder if I just missed the boat. It has
been gone for so long, I've forgotten about it. I've
moved on to other things. Do I have to invest
in buying a game video game system that can actually
play it? Am I going to be able to invest
(40:15):
the time? Do I want to invest the time to
be able to play it? I feel like, as much
as I love the game back in the day, it
has been gone for so long. I really don't know
if I'll be able to rekindle that passion, even if
with all the new features and innovations looks amazing, I
just don't know if I'm at a point in my time,
in my life where it's really going to roll me
back in.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Here's the thing. I think there needs to be like
a mode. You know, for Madden players there's Rookie and
Molpro and all Matt and you go through that. There
needs to be a mode in this one. It's called
Welcome Back. And that's just for all of us that
haven't played like that game in so long that we're
having to figure it out how to rock against some
kid that's you know, thirteen and is just absolutely a
woopart buds like that.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
That's inevitable.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I also think most of us are just going to
have to do this is so embarrassing to say. I
think most of us that own us is to buy
this game are going to have to wait to invite
a friends over until after we've got like gone through
the tutorial. I think we're gonna have to actually do
the whole like practicing where it's like, okay, how do
I run the triple option here? Like what like there's
gonna be this real clumsiness of trying to figure out
(41:15):
how to work the controller again. Like, this is all
gonna be very real. You're gonna have Nintendo thumb all day.
Look it up, Guz, It's like we used to get
a Nintendo thumb where like you get a little pocket
on your thumb to get an end inch and because
the one controller always did that, we're gonna have that
from this game.
Speaker 5 (41:28):
Yeah, I never I was never diagnosed, but I'm pretty
convinced that I got carpal tunnel. I feel like I
got carpelton on once one of my hands hurt, except
when I was grabbing my Xbox controller. That was the
only time that it felt comfortable literally doing anything else.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
It felt awful.
Speaker 5 (41:42):
I feel like I got Carpal Tunnel because all I
did was play Madden and play NCAA all day long,
every day, and I dominated. Now if I try to
pick it up and try to play. Now, to your point,
some seven year old somewhere is gonna absolutely kick my
ass up and down the field before the end of
the first quarter.
Speaker 4 (41:58):
I can already see that.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
That's that's why you were the headset and tell them
that you're also a kid that's the other right, and
then like, I'm not sure what to do with this
because like for me, I'm gonna I'm gonna stay one,
I'm gonna start it up and a fire up. I'm
gonna go into Dynasty mode and I'm gonna go with
you and LV like I'm going to try and make
a terrible, terrible football program the number one team in
all the land. For repeating like I want to win
(42:19):
multiple national champions I don't know if I can respect
you if you're coming in and you're like, yeah, I'm
winning games and I'm playing this Bama like you got
to take one of the other teams, right, like yeah,
off the beaten path.
Speaker 5 (42:28):
Once part of the final being able to do that,
and with my favorite team in Madden as the Raiders
have been so bad for so long, you basically are
taking a terrible tea in trying to turn them around,
so you didn't have to try.
Speaker 4 (42:36):
There's no effort, it's already it's well built in there
for you.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
God, I barely remember what it was like to play
video games where the Raiders were really good. Those rich
can in years. All right, Dynasty or parody? What do
we really want out of our favorite leagues. We'll answer
that next. Cavino and Rich Kevin figures Jason fitz In
for the guys.
Hey, thanks for listening to the Cadno and Rich Podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from five
to seven Eastern to the four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Find your local station for Covino Rich at Fox Sports
Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on
the iHeartRadio app like searching FSR.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Look, I've known Covino and Rich a long time. There's
no way they've never cuddled. We all know it, and
we know that over the course of the next couple
hours we're gonna do plenty of cuddle in here. I'm
Jason fitz hanging with Kevin Figures and the thought for
the day is about domination, but not in a good way.
Sometimes the best part about being a sports fan is
(00:41):
knowing that you got that dude. Like right now, if
you're a Chiefs fan, you know you got that dude.
You know you got Patrick Mahomes. You know, at the
end of the day, every single time that your team
takes the field, takes the court, takes the ice, you
got that dude. You know you got somebody that can
absolutely be the thing of nightmares for the rest of
the league. The question is about the opposite side of though,
(01:04):
what about the players that still haunt your nightmares because
you knew taking them on your team never stood a chance.
I'm feeling for my guy, Kevin Figures joining me is
we are in obviously broadcasting live from the ti rack
dot com studios. Tyrack dot com will help you get
there in unmatched selection, fast free shipping, free road hazard
protection over ten thousand recommended installers. Tyraq dot com the
(01:27):
way tire buying should be. Now, Figgie and I have
known each other for a minute. We're together on the
Fellows on Saturday mornings, Fox Sports Radio from five to
nine AM, along with Anthony Gargano. And there's one thing
I know. I know that Figgi loves baseball. I know
VIGGI loves the Dodger. So I'm feeling for you, Figgi,
because I feel like your nightmares right now are just
absolutely being chased. You are sitting there in this recurring
(01:48):
dream where it's like the opening sequence of the movie Scream.
You are running. Nobody can hear you make a sound.
It's just Christian Walker that's actually chasing you because all
he does is beat your favorite team up. How are
you feeling today, brother?
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Terrible?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
Like, yeah, I'm constantly running from Christian Walker, and I
can't get away from this guy.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
It's unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
Two home runs back to back knights at Dodgers Stadium
just dominates the Dodgers winner loss for Arizona. Guy has
the highest lugging percentage of any player that's played at
Dodger Stadium, any player that's played any significant number of
games at Dodger Stadium. That is Christian Walker, who by
all accounts, is having a fairly average season overall. They
intentionally walked the guy who's been in two fifty, but
(02:24):
that's because he's hitting like six whatever against the Dodgers
this year. It's unbelievable. Now, Christian Walker is a good player.
He's not average by any strength. He's just having an
average season. He's a solid player. But I feel like
every player, or every fan, if every fan base has
a guy. Sometimes it's a superstar, like you mentioned, it's
Patrick Mahomes. Every now and then it's just some nagging,
some other punch and Judy Hitter or whomever else, for
(02:46):
whatever reason, has a career night against your favorite team.
And I feel like a lot of Dodger fans are
feeling that that sting right now. Paul Goldsmith was a
guy like that for years when he played for Arizona. Again,
excellent player, MVP caliber player, but for whatever reason, seemed
like he had his nights whenever you played against the Dodgers.
Christian Walker is basically the reincarnation of Paul Goldschmidt and
(03:06):
Dodger fans, can I get them get him out of
their nightmares right now?
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Hit us up on Fox Sports Radio, on social media
at Fox Sports Radio, also at k FIG one at
Jason Fitz Who haunts you? Because I was feeling this
when you started talking about it. We did this exercise
for Yahoo Sports for my podcast there that we do
last week. And what we did is we took a
look at the mount Rushmoores. We basically said, what teams
(03:30):
have the best Mount rushmore in every position in the NFL.
So if you were picking the four best running backs
ever from this one team versus the best running backs
from this team, and we went through position by a position.
It was fun time. I had some Chiefs fans that
were just getting in there and they were blasting me
with Raiders highlights of Chiefs running backs just destroying the Raiders.
And there's something about Christian Okkoye man, Like there's just
(03:52):
like Ladanian Tomlinson, Like La Danian Tomlinson also did his thing,
but that's all of famer, Like he did that to
a lot of teams. Happen to be the greatest. Christian
a Koye even on tech mobile he'd beat. Like there's
just a level, like you could do nothing to stop
Christian a Koye.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Like it's just I hear the name.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And all I think is like in Nigerian Nightmare, and
there's a sadness that just washes over me as I
think Nigerian Nightmare, Like you are right that there are
just certain guys and it's easier in my mind, Figgie,
it's easier when it's somebody that's epic, like losing to Mahomes.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
Ain't no shame in that.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Like if you look back at the eighties, nineties and
transition in the NFL and you're like, well we always
lost to Montana, Okay, Well everybody did right, Like even
if you look, we always lost to Brady. The whole
AFC East might as well have mailed him fifteen years.
All they did was lose to Brady. That's the whole
AFC West. Now with Mahomes, you can accept that because
you're like, well, yeah, we lost to one of the
(04:46):
all time greats. What are you gonna do? What do
you do? Though, when it's like we lost to one
of the all time pretty good, like that's a total
different haunt.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Yeah, you know who else fits that category? Larry Johnson
speaking of Chiefs running backs, When were Larry Johnson on
a Penn State the guy that replaced that they drafted
to replace priest as the priest Holmes had his share
of big games against the Raiders two, but Larry Johnson
absolutely ran rough shot over the Raiders. Ye had maybe one,
maybe two Pro Bowl seasons, and I believe he got
the majority of those numbers on the Raiders specifically for
(05:12):
whatever reason, he's still to this day haunts me in
my ninemares guys running through even if it's wide open
holes to those great chief offensive lines, it was always
Larry Johnson. Every single time the Raiders played at the Chiefs.
I knew Larry Johnson was putting up a buck sixty
and two touchdowns. It was an absolute given, and it
frustrated the hell out of me one that any one
player was dominating my favorite team. But two, it was
(05:32):
the team I hate more than any other professional franchise,
the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
That just made it sting even more.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
You think about the one game Larry Johnson had like
three screens that the Raiders pick up any of them.
We all remember that as a eighty yard screens, sixty
yard screen, seventy yards screen. You're like, son of a biscuit,
what are we doing? Like that's just like I'm curious.
I want to get the guys timed in on this.
By the way, there's a whole group of us here
in for Cavino and Rich because it takes a full
army of Voltron to replace those guys for a day.
(06:00):
So Shaye producing Sam working force Iowa Sam though, And
it's important because Iowa Sam is not just where he's
from and also speaks to who he.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
Loves, Iowa Sam.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
When I say Iowa football, who haunts you? Who haunts
your nightmares?
Speaker 6 (06:12):
Man, I would have to say recently it would be
Trace McSorley, who was the quarterback at Penn State. I
remember just I think it was twenty eighteen, like they
it was like fourth, it was two seconds left. Iowa
was up by four I think, and it was fourth
and eleven. It was like fourth and fourteen, two seconds left,
(06:35):
and he threw a touchdown just right over defensive back's
head and hands, and I think another a couple other
times he just got Iowa. He's just very slippery, and Iowa,
you know, usually has a great defense, but he was
always a guy who could just slip away and make
like a play and hit a guy thirty yards down
the field. Trace mcsorly is just comes right to the
top of my mind as a player that would just
(06:57):
burn Iowa routinely.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
A player Ryan Franz would have been an acceptable lanser too.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Yeah, I was like, game is different when you're in
Iowa fan becers. You're like, man, we gave up three points.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
We're done today.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
That figured out.
Speaker 6 (07:11):
We're down a field goal, all right, throwing the towel,
it's over. But that actually, back in like twenty seventeen,
twenty eighteen, they could actually put up some points. But
that day against McSorley hosts, and they had Saquon Barkley
that day, that was the game. He went off for
like three hundred something all purpose yards whatever. But they
were so this close to beating like a top three
Penn State team. But McSorley just would burn Iowa routinely.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
David s hit us up on social media said I
could not possibly hate Danny Ainge anymore than I do.
That sounds like it might be also just like just
that's deep rooted. And Mark mcneaney says Walter Payton as
a Packers fan and Matt Carpenter as a Cubs fan.
So these don't make sense that you can hit us
up by the way at kfig one at Fox Sports Radio,
at Jason fitz what do you got for me? Oh?
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Quickly? Another thing?
Speaker 6 (07:56):
So the thing obviously college football, the players change every
four years, but you know the coaches are there for
a while, and many a time Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern
would get Iowa. He would get Kirk Farence got em,
He would get him in some way. They would be like, hello,
you know a fourteen to ten kind of game, Iowa
comes in like a huge favorite, and Pat Fitzgerald would
(08:16):
just with his giant chompers would just be ah, just
laughing through his teeth.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Giant chomper.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
He does have some giant chompers if you go look
it up.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
But that is frustrating Iowa Sam because at school like
Iowa that had you know, every three or four years,
Io we can win ten eleven games and one or
two losses is to a Northwestern team that won four games.
Speaker 6 (08:33):
That ye yeah, yeah happens a lot or underperformed, underachieved
most of the season and then when it comes to
the Iowa game they get up for it.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
That could be frustrated. Yeah, yeah, big time.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
What about Shae Shae? You got to you got somebody
that haunts your nightmares?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, So, I mean I know you and k Figno,
I'm a Browns fan, but to everyone else out there,
I'm a pretty big Browns fan, and I have been
for the twenty four years I've been on this world.
So it hasn't been a very good twenty four years
for me as a Browns fan. But Big Ben for
some reason always had our name him and every time
we played him, I think our record was like twenty
(09:04):
six and one against him or like something crazy like that,
Like they were like it was just yeah, twenty six
two in one was our record against him, or he
would be against the Browns. So it was just never
fun watching him, and I never wanted to wish anything
bad on any type of player. But I was definitely
screaming some absurdities at Big Ben every time we would
(09:24):
play him.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, that's where it gets so difficult too. It's like
you realize that you're you're losing to somebody more often
than not. That is, you know, great at what they do,
and that that's fine, but it's just when it happens
over and over and over. Yet my childhood was haunted
by John Elway's ability to just constantly bring the Broncos.
But it's like, oh, all we have is a twenty
one point lead with three minutes ago. That's not a
(09:46):
safe lead. Like my to this day, no matter how
much my favorite team is ahead, I don't think it's safe.
And no matter how little the deficit is, I don't
think we can come back. And I still blame that,
like in therapy, to John Elway, Like that is the
fact that John always spent so many years just dashing
any com that I have. Like, I just think certain
guys had that magic against certain teams that they always
got up for, especially divisionally. And that's one thing that's
(10:08):
really interesting. When you talk to former players, they'll tell
you within your division, because you do see somebody so much,
you get a lot of familiarity, and that familiarity starts
to matter. That's one thing that you know. I was
talking to a couple of former Raiders players last year
and they were saying, Hey, if you come over and
you've seen all the tape in the world on Kelsey,
it doesn't matter. You have to actually stand on the
field and then you see what Kelsey does and you
(10:30):
got to get reps against that. So it takes time
to get better. So it's like when you're talking about
division rivalries, it's even more frustrating because this greatness just
continues to thwart one team and not the other figures.
It's the maddening part of being a sports fan is
that you're not just rooting for your team. You're always
rooting against a whole group of people. Right.
Speaker 5 (10:48):
Well, the thing is too, when you were talking about
one player or is one team dominating another, A lot
of times the pieces for the dominating team will stay
the same, but the pieces on the other side you're
constantly changing them. It's like, well, this guy doesn't work,
get them out. Well, that guy didn't work, get out.
So you're talking about breeding familiarity, and it's like like well,
and also there's an element of knowing exactly what's coming
and not being able to stop it to a certain
degree as well. So I think that's a big part
(11:09):
of it. And by the point nine one four winning
percentage Big Ben has with Cleveland, it hurts man. That's
pretty insane. Seven thousand yards and forty three touchdowns. Yeah,
I would hate him to the roundsman. But that's the thing.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
The ninety two per we're just gonna call that ninety
one percent winning percent am I God?
Speaker 5 (11:25):
That ninety one point four percent of his games he
won against Cleveland. How wild is that? That's that's next
level ownership right there.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
It was bad.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
I mean when when the Browns finally beat the Steelers
in playoffs, it was the best day.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
That was the super Bowl right there, Yeah, that was
our super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
We're going to spend a few minutes comforting Shay. That's
the necessary thing that we might cud with them. We'll
see how that goes. And also one team that I
know plenty of you have demons with is the Lakers.
The question is what are the Lakers actually trying to do? Now?
I think we've been having the wrong conversation about the Lakers.
We'll have the right one coming up next. But first
you put it off long enough, It's time to replace
your tires. Tire Iraq has tires it'll elevate your drive.
(12:03):
Touring tires for commuter comfort, performance tires for sporty handling,
all terrain, tile tires for on an off road advengure.
Go to tire iraq dot com to get started. Not
sure where to begin? I've never amused the tire Decision
Guide to get a personalized tire recommendation the right tires
for how, what and where you drive. Choose from the
full line of Toyo tiers tires shipped fast and free
(12:26):
to a recommended installer near you, or choose the convenience
of mobile tire installation. They'll bring your new tires to
your home or office and install them on site.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
How badass is that? It doesn't get much easier than that.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
Go to ti iraq dot com slash sports to see
their Toyo test results, tire ratings and consumer reviews, and
be sure to check out all the current special offers.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Great tires and a great deal. What more could you
ask for?
Speaker 3 (12:50):
That's tire raq dot com, slash sports tire rack dot com.
The way tire buying should be. What are the Lakers
actually doing? We'll figure it out next. On Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (13:00):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller.
Would mean a lot to have you join us on
our weekly auditory journey. You're ask what in God's name
is the Fifth Hour? I'll tell you it's a spin
off of it. Ben Maler show a cult hit overnights
on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will
a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports,
and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human
(13:36):
nature and more. Listen to The Fifth Hour with Ben
Maller or the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Some franchises have to make moves for relevance, just stay
in the news to sell jerseys, to be part of
the conversation. Some franchises draft thinking about what it means
for what their fans want some franchises high coaches for
the same reason. But one of the franchises it's supposed
(14:04):
to be above all of that is the Lakers. So
the question is, why aren't they acting like it? It's
Covino rich on Spots Sports Radio, Kevin Figures Jason fitzwre
in for the guys as we get you covered through
everything you need to know coming at you from the
ti raq dot com studios, and hear me out on this.
I think that there are certain franchises that I don't
(14:27):
care how their coach wears the hat. I don't care
whether or not their newest draft pick sells a bunch
of jerseys. I care, frankly about one thing. I care
about whether or not that franchise wins championships. They're only
judged by that. We want to say that's the way
everybody is in sports, but that's not real. The way
certain franchises are viewed though. It's about just one thing,
(14:51):
hosting a trophy, and that's supposed to be the way
the Lakers do business. So somebody explained to me, if
that's the way they do business, what the Lakers are
actually doing right now? I don't know if JJ Reddick's
going to be a good hire. I don't think any
of us do. But I know this. You can't tell
me equivocally that he makes you closer to a championship.
I don't know if the fifty fifth draft pick is
really supposed to matter. Who does?
Speaker 4 (15:14):
We can talk all day long.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Was it a valuable draft pick? Now?
Speaker 4 (15:17):
But Bronni's sticking around? Does that keep Lebron happy?
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Great?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
For what?
Speaker 3 (15:22):
For what? This version of the Lakers is not going
to win a championship. So when we start the season
right now, when we start the next NBA season, we
can definitively go out there and say, hey, putting money
on the Lakers to win a chip is a waste
to cash. When's the last time the Lakers went through
any sustained period where they, frankly just weren't even part
(15:44):
of the championship conversation. So, congratulations, you kept Lebron happy.
Congratulations you got Lebron and ad. Congratulations you got Bronny,
you got the coach. Sure, maybe everybody feels like that's
the right way to treat a superstar, but Kevin figures,
if you ask me, what the Lakers have really told
you is that they'd rather make sure everybody's happy than
actually get themselves into the rebuilt process that is inevitable
(16:07):
towards trying to get themselves to a championship because they
got no shot with this roster.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Yeah, you ultimately find yourself and no man's land, because
are you trying to build for the future or are
you trying to win right now? In basketball, I think
one of the few sports where it's really difficult to
do both. You can do it in Major League Baseball.
You have all the minor leagues and you got fifteen
thousand draft picks. You have a finite number of roster
spots with a certain number of guys who make a
certain amount of money at certain ages on your roster,
(16:31):
and so you really have to make make sure you
know what direction you're going in. And while catering to
Lebron James, even though he's still one of the great players,
one of the best players in the league, top three,
I think even based on the way that he played
last season, and Anthony Davis, who had a great season
last year, was able to stay healthy, I doubt he'll
be able to stay as healthy going into this next season.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
You know, what, have you really done.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
To try to improve the roster, to try to impact winning.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
Now now some of that is out of their hands.
Speaker 5 (16:54):
Maybe the trade market's not what you wanted it to be,
maybe guys opting into their contracts when you didn't expect
them to. But frankly, that doesn't necessarily matter. If you're
saying you're a team that's chasing championships, you know people
want to see you put in the work and try
to make moves to make sure that you put yourself
in a position to be able to do that, and
they haven't done that at this point in time. They're
bringing back basically the exact same roster from last year
and saying, well, hopefully the Dangel Russell is better, Hopefully
(17:17):
Vanderbilt stays healthy and Gabe Vincent and hopefully we'll be
drug kicking and screaming or drag kicking and screaming into
the modern era of NBA basketball with JJ redick By
shooting more three pointers. I don't feel like just the
look coaching was bad last year. Fits I'm not gonna
deny that Darbnham was not the greatest head coach. Even
the year before when they went to the rest of
Western Conference finals. There are definitely some tactical issues, so
(17:40):
but the problem is how much of an improvement is
he actually is? JJ Reddick. If he is an improvement,
quint actually have this on this roster on this team.
Five wins, six wins. If even that does it make
him even more of a contender this coming season than
they were last year?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
I don't believe.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
So.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
I think the big issue with the Laker is there.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
They're kind of caught in a rock and a hard place,
and really it's all the doing of Genie Buss going
off of this franchise principle of we need to please
and appease our star players, take care of our guys,
and there's nothing wrong with that to a certain degree,
but business has to trump that and they should have
learned from the final years of Kobe Bryant. You said,
when was the last time the Lakers had an extended
(18:17):
period of time of not being a factor. Kobe's last
couple of years extended beyond that for a couple of years,
I'd say maybe seven years where they were routinely winning
between seventeen and twenty one games a year. They were terrible,
but at the very least they had a plan. They
knew they were bad. They knew they were going to
get some draft picks. Now, granted, they struck out in
free agency for some star players, but at the very least,
they went into a lot of those seasons knowing we're
(18:38):
gonna be bad. Let's try to cultivate some young talent.
Use these draft picks and make sure we hit on
some of these guys, and maybe we can end up
turning it around. A lot of those draft picks ended
up turning into Anthony Davis. They won a championship in
the bubble. The problem now is Lebron James is forty.
Anthony Davis has the body of a forty year old
that seems like, and the pieces around them are not
good enough to compete in an ever improving Western cos
(19:01):
I really don't know exactly what direction they're going in,
because I don't think they know what direction they're going in.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
All they know is we want to up ease Lebron James.
Speaker 5 (19:08):
We want to retire with his jersey and give him
a statue and give him everything that he wants because
he's a clutch client. And we want to play nights
with Rich Paul. Because a lot of these guys coming
into the league are going to be clutch clients, and
we want to make sure we're on their good side.
That's kind of the way that I look at it,
because otherwise it doesn't make a lot of sense.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
It doesn't make any sense. He's Kevin Figures. I'm Jason
fitz in Forracvino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. The
Lakers were the seventh seed last year. Now, the West
was tight, so they were what three games away from
being the five seed? Four games away from being the
four seed?
Speaker 4 (19:36):
All right, so let's jump mess breaks.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Let's say everything breaks the right way for the Lakers. Okay,
you get a miraculous big season out of Ad, you
get another he stays healthy, you get another big season
out of Lebron. Somehow, some way, maybe you're the four
or five seed. But are you suddenly going to be
the team that everybody Are you better than the Nuggets
at that point consistently? Are you on the same plane
as the Celticslitics would destroy the Lakers as currently constructed, right, Like,
(20:03):
So I just I look at all of this and
I say, for what, like, there are certain teams that
simply can't handle a rebound, and I asked this at
the time when Oklahoma City was losing everybody. My question was,
what is the cost of relevance? How much should you
overpay no matter what it costs, just to make sure
that people realize you're a basketball franchise. And it took
(20:23):
Oklahoma City a long time to bounce back from losing
the stars they had. We all know that some franchises
will struggle through that period. The Lakers will get a
lot of anger, the fans will be mad, but it's
not like their fan base is suddenly going to deteriorate.
They don't have to worry about losing the market that
the damn Lakers like. So go act like the Lakers
and be honest with people. Look around and say, hey, guys,
(20:44):
we're at a spot now where we gotta rebuild this thing.
We got to figure out a different way to do
it because the way we're doing it isn't working. Otherwise
all you're doing, yeah, you're putting stars out and we'll
talk about it.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Everybody will talk about it.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Because the Lakers resonate so great, you'll continue to be
relevant as a brand.
Speaker 4 (20:59):
But how long will that last?
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Like how many years in a row before the Lakers
essentially become the Dallas Cowboys where we talk about them,
but not for any championship they've won in memory, like
the Lakers. While they I know it feels staggering to
say this, because we did have a Bubble championship in
twenty twenty, I feel like the Lakers are a hell
of a lot closer to going through a period like
the Knicks went through where all they were was basically
irrelevant for twenty years than they are to being where
(21:23):
the Celtics are right now.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
The twenty twenty Bubble championship was essentially their saving grace
because quite honestly, their last few seasons with Kobe I
would say, basically after Phil Jackson had his final season,
either twenty eleven, twenty twelve, whatever that was, you had
a couple of playoff appearances. It's been downhill for the
Lakers for thirteen fourteen years, with a blip on the
radar being that twenty twenty championship. Other than that, they
(21:45):
haven't been a great franchise. They've missed the playoffs more
than they've made it, I believe, or if not more
than they've made it, they've missed it just as often
as much as they've made it, They're a mediocre franchise
and have been for a long period of time. You
use the Oklahoma City example, and look, maybe it doesn't
fly as much in big markets as it does in
small markets. Although I'd argue even though the process of
(22:05):
Philadelphia didn't necessarily work, I mean, you did get Joel
and be out of it Ben Simmons up before his
major knee injuries, and obviously his other concerns was trending
towards being a really good impact player for years to come.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
You can say that they at least had a plan
in place.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
I think most fan bases these days will appreciate if
you have a plan and know exactly what you're doing.
Oklahoma City realized that Westbrook and Paul George wasn't working,
blew it up, got a bunch of draft picks, got
Shay Giogos, Alexander and hope for the best and make
and hope that he would turn into a great player.
He has. They've hit on those draft picks. Now all
of a sudden, you got ched Holmgren, who's getting better.
(22:41):
They've now used some of the money they have a
freed up to sign some some veterans in the free
agent market, and I think they're going to be one
of the top contenders to come out of the Western
Conference next season because of it. It took a little
longer than you would like, but at the very least
they had a plan in place, and now it's coming
to fruition. I feel like fan bases, whether it's the Knicks,
the Lakers, whatever else, will be willing to be patient
(23:02):
with a franchise if they know exactly if the franchise
has a plan in place in what direction they're going in.
The problem with the team like the Lakers is no
one really knows because it seems to change every other year.
Why would you blow up a championship roster two years
after you just want a title on the bubble to
bring in Wilsell Westbrook, who everybody knew wasn't a fit,
just to appease Lebron. A lot of these things keep
going back and forth to appeasing Lebron James, trying to
(23:25):
appease your star as opposed to doing what's best for
the franchise. Sometimes those things are mutually exclusive. Sometimes you
have to be able to tell them no. Now it
sounds like most recently, although Bronni James being drafted. Notwithstanding,
they say Lebron is taking a step back from making
personnel decisions unless the front office do what they want
to do. Well, thanks Lebron, that helps a lot. Now
now that the roster is stuck with contracts they can't
(23:46):
trade and players that nobody wants and we can't even
improve the roster, we greatly appreciate it. Where was this
three years ago? I think that's where their frustration sits
with a lot of Laker fans.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Right now, here's the real truth. The NBA has passed
the Lakers. I'll explain what I mean first, I want
figure to get everybody caught up on the Latest Greatest
what's going on. But the fact is the NBA has
passed the Lakers by We'll tell you why in a second.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
Well, Latest Greatest.
Speaker 5 (24:09):
If you go to the quarterfinal action of Euro twenty
twenty four and you don't like scoring a lot of goals,
you're gonna love this matchup between Portugal and France. They
are headed to penalty kicks. Now, this game, you can
see on Fox, Portugal has dominated time of possession both
teams with just a couple of shots on goal. That's
been as defensive as a matchup as you can expect
from high class international soccer. So again, Portugal and France
(24:30):
check that out right now on Fox. The winner of
this matchup will take on Spain and the Semi Spain
went into extra time against Germany earlier today and won
that matchup two to one. Tonight at nine Eastern on
FS one, you'll see Canada take on Venezuela in the
quarterfinals of the Copa America Tournament.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Third round action at Wimbledon.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
On the men's side, Joan nick Center won his matchup
in straight sets, as did Tommy Paul in a match
that lasted almost four hours. Carlos al koraz outlasted Francis
Tiafo in five sets. On the ladies side, Madison Keys
and Coco Golf won their matchups in straight sets as well.
Third round action there and wiebled it on the lady's side,
and Major League Baseball says Azuki with the home run
for the Cubs, they defeated the Angels five to one.
(25:11):
And speaking of the NBA, some news earlier today from
Shamsharinia of the athletic forward Franz Wagner agreeing to a
five year contract extension with the Orlando Magic where two
hundred and twenty four million dollars it could be worth
as much as two hundred and seventy million dollars. All right,
back to the Kavino or Rich show.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
All right, it's Covino and Ritz coming at to live
from the tire rack dot Com studios. He's Kevin Figures.
I'm Jason fitz In for the guys. It's simple. The
NBA has passed the Lakers by this is real. There
is a point where you got to look at the
way business is being done. You got to look at
what's successful, and then you got to figure out how
you're going to fit into that model. What is the
Lakers model? Ben? For as long as we can remember,
(25:53):
go find the stars, sign the stars, bring the stars in,
and make sure that the stars play together nice, try
and win some championships.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
All right, that's been the model.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Whether we're talking about I know, Kobe being the outlier
traded for on Draft Day, but whether we're talking about
trading for Shack, whether you're talking about trading for a
million players that didn't work out at one period. You
look at the way that they've worked things over the
course of the years. The Lakers have.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Been about star power, right, It's about showtime.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
It's about getting butts in the seats with that energy
and that excitement and that brand value, all of these
things that are tremendous and all of these things that
are true to the way business was done in the
NBA before and not now. I think we can learn something,
Biggie from the Celtics and the way that they brought
their roster together, right like, there is some element of
let's get some homegrown talent, let's get them to play
(26:37):
a bunch of games together, let's rise that talent together.
Look at what we seen over the last couple of champions.
There is a method right now between what the Nuggets
have done, what the Celtics have done. You just mentioned
Oklahoma City, the way they're trying to do it with
the new CBA, with the complications in acquiring talent, with
the tax complications there are there, with the mathematics degree
that it takes to figure it all out. One thing
(26:58):
is very clear. If you want want to win, I
believe in the modern NBA you were going to have
to draft, You're going to have to build and then
you're going to have to.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Patiently let it grow together.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
And then at the last second, like a perfect cake,
you can sprinkle on some cupcake stuff at the top.
You can sprinkle on some little extras, bringing one little
guy here, one extra piece there. That's fine, but that
can't be the way you build it. You have to
actually build a structure and then use the one extra
piece as a little augmenting portion that gets you to greatness.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
That's not the way.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
The Lakers have dumb business, and I don't know that
they know how to do business in that process because
it requires patients, and it requires a path, and it
requires persistence, and it requires a plan and the ability
to say, guys, we're gonna get there, but it's gonna
take three or four years. The Lakers have never been there.
Lakers fans have never been there. The Lakers organization doesn't
know how to do this. The modern way to win
(27:49):
in the NBA doesn't match with the way Figgy the
Lakers do.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Business, which is a lack of awareness on their part
in many facets. I mean, we can extrapolate this out
to the last decade. They're the last one of the
last teams to actually incorporate an analytics department.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
I mean, they didn't even have that in place.
Speaker 5 (28:04):
You know. One of the talking points for JJ Redick
when he was hired, he said, Oh, I want to
hire someone to develop my program with nutrition and analytics
and all this stuff. And people are saying, you didn't
already have somebody in this role in the building already,
And it's twenty twenty four.
Speaker 4 (28:17):
You know.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
The day that the Laker mystique died is when they
did a free agent pitch to the Marcus Aldridge and
did all these history onics with We're gonna have your
name on billboards and put you in commercials and do
all this stuff. This is the Laker brand, And the
Marcus said, what are you guys gonna do basketball wise
to entice me to come here. The fact that they
weren't aware enough at that point in time to realize
that they should be doing something different, that's selling the
(28:39):
Laker mystique means nothing, or at least means very little
to players anymore. These days. You can win anywhere. You
can be a superstar anywhere. You can be a superstar
in Oklahoma City, you can be a superstar in Oakland.
You can be a super It doesn't matter. It's an
international sport in Milwaukee, no one cares. At this point
in time, you're gonna get endorsement deals because the NBA
is a global sport, so the market that you play
(28:59):
in doesn't matter or whether it's an I look, the
Knicks learned this a long time ago. How many free
agents that they strike out on when they're trying to
sell people on come to the garden and do this
and do that. And you know what, the Knicks are
successful again. And how have they done it? They built
a roster full of grinders. This is basically the Knicks
from the nineties. No superstar player, really good players. I mean,
you know, Brunson is turning into an all star sort
(29:19):
of player, and he's only going to get better. But
it's basically him so rounded by a bunch of tough,
hard nosed, defensive guys building the right roster.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Your point right there. I have yelled and screen this too.
I've had this argument with Steven A. When everybody says, well,
you gotta come play with the Knicks. Why if you're
a twenty four to twenty five year old kid, all
you know of the Knicks is a bunch of bad
basketball right for the last year, right like there is
this level of yeah. But the Garden I will never
forget we were playing when we were touring, I played
(29:48):
Madison Square Guard. My right arm is a tattoo of
all the places that might like the places I've lived
in the moments in my career, in my life that
I'm proudest part of that is the Madison Square Garden logo.
Like I grew up spending a lot of time in
New York. That show meant so much to me. And
I remember walking into that venue and I had goosebumps, man,
because we had a sold out show at Madison Square Garden,
and I remember a guitar player in the band that was,
(30:10):
you know, probably fifteen years younger than me, looked over
and he said, this place is a s whole. That's
the first thing he said, like a dump. And the
guys walked in, They're like, man, this place stinks like nobody.
The next night we were at Barclay's doing the Victoria's
Secret Fashion Show thing and immediately everyone's like, man, this
arena is much nice. And then the garden like they
were kids, so the history didn't necessarily mean the same
(30:32):
thing to him. But I looked at that and I
was like, God, there's a lot of kids that are
coming like they don't remember watching wrestling in the eighties
at the Garden and being like, oh my god, this
is so cool. Like those moments didn't they didn't resonate
the same. So if you're twenty three years old and
you're playing basketball, the only thing you know about the
Knicks and the Garden is what your dad told you,
(30:53):
right Like, that doesn't hit the same way. And you're
right at this point, you can be honest and be
as rich as anybody playing Emil.
Speaker 5 (31:01):
And I think that's the thing that the Laker franchise
to your point, as far as them, you know, being
behind on the times just doesn't understand.
Speaker 4 (31:08):
You know, no one cares anymore.
Speaker 5 (31:10):
I'm not saying that being a Laker doesn't mean something
that you can't appreciate the legacy of the franchise and
all the great players who've won that jersey. You can
have an appreciation for it and also say, you know what,
this is in the best decision for me professionally, because
I don't think that you guys at the top know
what you're doing.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
So I'm gonna go ahead and b side of this.
Speaker 5 (31:25):
For as many people as who made fun of Maggie
Johnson for his press conference as saying I'm not gonna
be here anymore, there was a reason behind it because
I think Maggie Johnson knew the direction of the franchise
had and how they were operating up top, and he
was like, I really don't think I can succeed. And
I succeeded everything that I touched. I don't think it's
gonna work here, and so he decided to walk out.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Dan Hurley elected to remain the head coach at the
University of Connecticut.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
Look, I live ten minutes from that campus. I know
what Ucon basketball means. I know how important it is
to coach Hurley. I know his family really loves the
scenery there, all of those things. But if I invented
a time machine and I went back and told you
that Dan Hurley to ten, fifteen, twenty years ago would
turn down the Lakers job to stay in Hartford, I mean,
(32:12):
what would we think? What would that? That's what it
comes down to. And you know a lot of people say, well,
you know, costs of living all these things up Hartford's
got the second highest tax rate in the country. Connecticut
has the second highest tax rate in the country. Like
he would have actually taken a gotten a massive raise
by moving to California, as obscene as that sounds, because
the taxes are so incredible, I live there. I know this.
Like there's this moment of Dan Hurley turned down the
(32:34):
Lakers that to me still says something about the fact
that now we live in a global economy where if
you are great at whatever you are doing, you're making
so much money that money won't be the thing that
it has to be to move you from one spot
to the other. Like if Hurley felt like there was
even on even level playing field. He's made it clear
he wants to go to the NBA at some point.
(32:54):
If the two jobs are on level playing field, he
might jump. He prefers Connecticut. What does that say?
Speaker 5 (33:00):
But it also says to this point, because he also
said this to Dan LeBatard a couple of days later,
there's a price. I don't know what it is, but
there's a price that would have pried me away. Now,
the reported price was one hundred million dollars. The reported
offer from the Lakers was seventy, so again, you offer
him seventy And what are you saying in your pitch meeting?
We won't give you a hundred. But we're the Lakers,
(33:20):
and Phil Jackson coached here, and Jerry West was here
and all these other people were here. Don't you want
to be a part of that legacy? And if I'm
Dan Hurley, I'm like, no, I want a hundred million
dollars to upend my family up and move from everything
that I've ever known. You got to make it worth
my while. That's not a home run swing. A home
run swing has given the guy whatever he wants. And
if you truly covered him the way that you say
you cover him, you'll give him what he wants. That
(33:41):
price tag can't be too high. If you're the Lakers
and you love him as much as you say that
you love him, you'll give him whatever he wants. But
that's exactly that's a perfect example of the Lakers being
behind all the times we'll offer you less because we're
giving you the opportunity to be a part of what
we do.
Speaker 4 (33:56):
Now looking at it the other way around.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
And it says everything up their brand value that they
don't understand that the fact that they thought that simply
being the Lakers would allow them some flexibility, and the
fact that it doesn't says everything. If his number is
one hundred million dollars, then that doesn't matter if it's
coming from Milwaukee, or that matters if it's coming from
the Lakers. That speaks to the very brand thing that
(34:19):
we're talking about, and I just don't know how the
Lakers are going to do business in that environment. I
don't think it's going to get any easier for LA
over the course of the next couple of years, as
wild as that sounds. So speaking of wild, what if
I told you for all of the doldrums dog days
of summer, what if I told you we are only
days away from one of the best July days that
(34:40):
you will ever have if you are a sports fan,
I'm telling you it's right around the corner, and we'll
tell you what it is coming up next. But first,
if there's one feeling, and I know more than anything,
it's the electric buzz a game day all around you.
And when you're looking for that same vibe, what you
gotta do is you gotta check out Graduate Hotel.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (35:00):
Fits A stay at Graduate Hotels is like stepping onto
the field in those college towns.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
No, yeah, no doubt. Figure.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
In fact, I've been to a bunch of them.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
They're great. They all kind of echo the campus of
the place that they're closest to. Cadino and Rich the
Boys are going to be at the brand new Auburn location,
broadcasting live Friday, September twenty seventh for the game day
weekday of the of the Tigers versus the Sooners. Say
what you want to me, This is an incredible thing
here because they are so unique to the places that
(35:28):
they've been. I went to the Guys Show in Nashville.
It was incredible. College football is in graduates DNA. Graduates
is all about bringing the charm and legacy you love
about your alma mater into one of a kind hotel experiences.
They have over thirty locations across the US and UK,
and we promised they're like no hotel you've ever stayed
at before.
Speaker 5 (35:47):
So you want to keep that game day spirit alive
and book your stay at Graduatehotels dot com.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
Graduate Hotels because they're graduate where we are all students.
One event coming up in July that you cannot wait for.
It's only a few days away. You'll be hyped. We'll
tell you about it next. Scavino and Rich, Kevin Figures,
Jason Fitz figging it, findle in it. I don't know.
Speaker 7 (36:06):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live. Scavino, I'm Rich on Fox Sports Radio. Coming
at to live from the tiraq dot com studios. Chason Fitz,
Kevin figures in for the guys. Gotta tweet.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
Judy tweeted us and said, I can't wait for you
in the clown working with you today to eat your words.
Hitting on LA analytics stinks. I'm paraphrasing. Gotta feel the
game and play the game. I hope JJ Lebron shut
up everyone, Okay, I mean look, I got no skin
in the game. I don't really like find if the
Lakers turned around to win a championship, good for them.
(36:50):
I don't think it's gonna happen. It's just that for me,
it's kind of that simple. I don't think it's gonna happen.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Well fits as someone who asks into the game, who
considers himselves still a Laker fan.
Speaker 4 (36:59):
I hope I'm wrong.
Speaker 5 (37:00):
You know, I A few people are more critical of
their favorite team than I am. So if I feel
like they're doing something that's holding them back and basically
holding back there with their ability to be able to.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
Win, I'm gonna call it out.
Speaker 5 (37:12):
I'm not gonna be some fanboy that just worships every
single thing that they do because I'm not being fair
to myself and basically fair to the team at that
point in time.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
Hold the team accountable.
Speaker 5 (37:21):
If you're the Lakers and you hold yourself to a
high standard the way that you say you do, then
the fan should hold you to a high standard too.
And if there's something that you're doing that's not putting
you in the best position possession position I should say,
to be successful, then I'm going to call you out
on it.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
We're coming at to your life from the tyrack dot
com studios. I agree with that. I love everybody comes
in super confident. I'm like, okay, like you tell me then,
I mean, you're willing to insert tweeter here, whoever's coming
at it. You willing to bet your house on the
Lakers winning a championship. This year, because I sure as
hell wouldn't. You're willing to bet your house on the
Lakers winning a championship in the next three years, I
sure as hell wouldn't. I mean, if I got to
(37:57):
take the Lakers or the field for the next three
years to win a tie, well I feel pretty good
about that. I'm gonna end up owning your house. That's
just I have no confidence in JJ and Lebron to
be able to bring home a championship in the next
three years. And that's just what usually the Lakers have
been judged by. Like, the Lakers have created the very
standard that makes this life difficult for them that when
they are doing these things, they get questioned to that
(38:18):
level figuring right.
Speaker 5 (38:19):
Yeah, And there's a difference between hope and faith. I
hope the Lakers do great. I hope Bronnie James starts
in to a great a role player, contributor. Hoped Dealton
connect makes an impact as a rookie. Hope Lebron James
and Anthony Davis stay healthy. D'angela Russell if he stays there,
figures things out, and they stay healthy and they make
you deep run. Do I have faith that's gonna happen. No,
why should I Please tell me why I should have faith?
(38:39):
And any of that stuff is gonna end up sussing
itself out of the course of eighty two games and
put the Lakers in a position to compete for a
championship going into the playoffs. I have no faith in that,
and there's no word there. I've been given no reason
to have faith in that. But I certainly hope it happens.
That's two different things, though.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
He's Kevin Figures, I'm Jason fitz In for the guys.
All right, So we're about a week away. What's your
level of excitement Because EA Sports College Football Game comes
out for the pre ordered people on July sixteenth, I
think it's July nineteenth for everybody else. The level of
excitement figgy, because, like, look, you and I both love
college football, right and for me, and part of this
is just about the opportunity to see so many of
(39:18):
the experiences that we fall in love with on Saturday.
That's what the game needs to capture, and it will
capture from everybody I've talked to that's looked at it
or played it. Yet the game has to capture the
experience as much as anything. That's why this is going
to be so special. I don't remember ever seeing a
more hyped video game release in sports than what we're
seeing here. And I know people all over the place
(39:40):
that are just they're ready to take the day off,
sit down with their buddies, and play games all day.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
No doubt.
Speaker 5 (39:44):
I mean this is I waste the days of my
life back in the day playing this college football, especially
in the Dynasty Mode or Legacy Mode, whatever it was called.
Speaker 4 (39:52):
You can go out and actively recruit.
Speaker 5 (39:54):
And obviously they've made so many different enhancements to that
situation that I haven't even seen yet. There's like a
new trailer coming out every single week of the new
things that they're doing. The problem with me fits is
I wonder if I just missed the boat. It has
been gone for so long, I've forgotten about it. I've
moved on to other things. Do I have to invest
in buying a game video game system that can actually
play it? Am I going to be able to invest
(40:15):
the time? Do I want to invest the time to
be able to play it? I feel like, as much
as I love the game back in the day, it
has been gone for so long. I really don't know
if I'll be able to rekindle that passion, even if
with all the new features and innovations looks amazing, I
just don't know if I'm at a point in my time,
in my life where it's really going to roll me
back in.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Here's the thing. I think there needs to be like
a mode. You know, for Madden players there's Rookie and
Molpro and all Matt and you go through that. There
needs to be a mode in this one. It's called
Welcome Back. And that's just for all of us that
haven't played like that game in so long that we're
having to figure it out how to rock against some
kid that's you know, thirteen and is just absolutely a
woopart buds like that.
Speaker 4 (40:53):
That's inevitable.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I also think most of us are just going to
have to do this is so embarrassing to say. I
think most of us that own us is to buy
this game are going to have to wait to invite
a friends over until after we've got like gone through
the tutorial. I think we're gonna have to actually do
the whole like practicing where it's like, okay, how do
I run the triple option here? Like what like there's
gonna be this real clumsiness of trying to figure out
(41:15):
how to work the controller again. Like, this is all
gonna be very real. You're gonna have Nintendo thumb all day.
Look it up, Guz, It's like we used to get
a Nintendo thumb where like you get a little pocket
on your thumb to get an end inch and because
the one controller always did that, we're gonna have that
from this game.
Speaker 5 (41:28):
Yeah, I never I was never diagnosed, but I'm pretty
convinced that I got carpal tunnel. I feel like I
got carpelton on once one of my hands hurt, except
when I was grabbing my Xbox controller. That was the
only time that it felt comfortable literally doing anything else.
Speaker 4 (41:41):
It felt awful.
Speaker 5 (41:42):
I feel like I got Carpal Tunnel because all I
did was play Madden and play NCAA all day long,
every day, and I dominated. Now if I try to
pick it up and try to play. Now, to your point,
some seven year old somewhere is gonna absolutely kick my
ass up and down the field before the end of
the first quarter.
Speaker 4 (41:58):
I can already see that.
Speaker 3 (41:59):
That's that's why you were the headset and tell them
that you're also a kid that's the other right, and
then like, I'm not sure what to do with this
because like for me, I'm gonna I'm gonna stay one,
I'm gonna start it up and a fire up. I'm
gonna go into Dynasty mode and I'm gonna go with
you and LV like I'm going to try and make
a terrible, terrible football program the number one team in
all the land. For repeating like I want to win
(42:19):
multiple national champions I don't know if I can respect
you if you're coming in and you're like, yeah, I'm
winning games and I'm playing this Bama like you got
to take one of the other teams, right, like yeah,
off the beaten path.
Speaker 5 (42:28):
Once part of the final being able to do that,
and with my favorite team in Madden as the Raiders
have been so bad for so long, you basically are
taking a terrible tea in trying to turn them around,
so you didn't have to try.
Speaker 4 (42:36):
There's no effort, it's already it's well built in there
for you.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
God, I barely remember what it was like to play
video games where the Raiders were really good. Those rich
can in years. All right, Dynasty or parody? What do
we really want out of our favorite leagues. We'll answer
that next. Cavino and Rich Kevin figures Jason fitz In
for the guys.
Hosts And Creators
Rich Davis
Steve Covino
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.