Best Of Query & Company - Tuesday 8/5/25 - Query & Company

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now we had mentioned with Indiana feverhead coach Stephanie White
when she comes on, it's we let Coach White pick
the music right because with all due respect, and I've
always heard that Garth Brooks literally is apparently like the
nicest performer of all time.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
And if you remember, Jake, when we had this debate
the first time we had Coach Wight on, we were trying
to guess who she had blasting in our car radio
her send year of high school, and Garth Brooks.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Was my guest. I think that's right, and I think
she said that was a possibility. But here's the thing.
I think she wanted that song because and it's it's
not necessarily that she would claim that we're friends, but
she does know that I'm in low places. I think
that's what that means, and that's why she selected that song.
I don't know if I should take this as a
compliment or not, but I should be flattered by the

(00:50):
fact that it is nine fifteen, I believe it on
the West Coast and Coach White joining us on the program. Coach,
how are you?

Speaker 3 (00:56):
I'm good?

Speaker 1 (00:57):
How are you excuse me?

Speaker 4 (00:59):
You know what?

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Were good? I just swallowed the wrong way.

Speaker 5 (01:02):
But other than that, over the song, Yeah, that's.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Right, it's that song's allowed for me to swallow. Admittedly, Hey,
let's get to this. You guys right now maybe the
hottest team in the league just in the in the
way that you're playing. And I was thinking about this
as I was watching the game in Seattle, and each
time the storm kind of got things close and that

(01:26):
crowd got going. I thought it was Tosh Howard that
really made big plays for you guys. So it was
facilitated by others, but it was like different game, different night,
and you never know which one it's going to be
that is your go to. And so I'm curious from
a coaching standpoint, what has led to kind of this balance,

(01:48):
if you will, of being able are you are you
schematically picking different players each night that you're saying this
is an area we can exploit or is this just
speaking to the depth you guys are now being able
to show.

Speaker 6 (02:00):
I think it's really speaking to the depth that we're
able to show.

Speaker 5 (02:03):
Number one.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
I think number two.

Speaker 6 (02:05):
You know, we certainly know that that teams are going
to game plan for Kelsey and for ab and so
how do we you know manipulate coverage, so to speak,
to try to get Sam easy buckets to loosen them up.
And you know, Tash is a great off ball cutter.
She finds the seams, she finds the gaps. Oh, you know,
she kept a lot of plays alive on the offensive glass.

(02:26):
You know, she had some really tough finishes and you
know those finishes and her ability to get loose allowed
AB to get loose in the fourth quarter because then
they couldn't stag off a Toash, they couldn't help onto Ab.
And so you know, she's really timely and her ability
to find those seams and and and her teammates do
a great job of getting it to her.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
How impressed have you been and how satisfied have you
been from a coaching standpoint in the professionalism of Aery
MacDonald to come back into a situation and maybe not
even know just how much was going on be expected
and now to be really kind of a glue piece
for you guys here during this stretch.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Yeah, she has been.

Speaker 6 (03:06):
And you know, Aery comes back and expects to play behind,
see no doubt, And and and with with with Caitlyn's injuries,
she's been she's been thrown into not just the.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
Starting role, but you know her the.

Speaker 6 (03:19):
Role where we need her to make plays on both
ends for us, and and she's really stepped up to that.
And you know, she's so fast. She changes the way
we play because of her speed. Her decision making, you know,
has been really good, and when to get to the rim,
and and and and when to find her teammates. She
adds another downhill driver. Prior to having Airy, really Kelsey

(03:40):
was our only downhill driver. And she adds another downhill
driver driver that gets defenses in rotation for us, and
she sets the tone for us on the defensive end
of the floor. I've just been really impressed with not
just the way that she's come in and produced, but
the way that she's managed the team from the point
guard position without having gone through training camp and just
being thrown into the fire.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Fever and action. Tonight takeing on Los Angeles, their head
coach Stephanie White, joining us on the program. Coach I
wanted to We've talked before about the fact of kind
of parlaying your knowledge from your playing days into coaching,
and you know, situations and things like that when you
go back to your days as a player, and you

(04:20):
had to play for different coaches, Which is a bigger
challenge or which do you think when you look back
on his was harder to do in the moment, being
a player that had to adapt to different styles that
the coach wanted, or being a coach that has to
coach differently to the different responses a player has.

Speaker 4 (04:40):
You know, I think it's changed so much because back
in those those days, back in those old days, it
was more about a coach's system and.

Speaker 6 (04:51):
Players fitting into that system. I think now it's about
coaches adapting to what kind of players you have and
you and manipulating a system to fit them. So I
think it's it's it's a little bit of both.

Speaker 5 (05:04):
You know.

Speaker 6 (05:04):
Certainly it was difficult at times to to play for
a lot. I played for a ton of different coaches
three and four years in college. I played for one, two, three, four, five,
and in the in the W.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
As well, So it was an adjustment.

Speaker 6 (05:19):
But it is a challenge now because players are better
than they've ever been, that they're more versatile than they've
ever ever been. The game has changed so much, and
and and you as a coach have to adapt.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Your your system and what you're looking for.

Speaker 6 (05:34):
To to who you have on your team and and
how to.

Speaker 3 (05:36):
Best utilize each player on the floor.

Speaker 6 (05:38):
You know, certainly for us, we have a lot of
different pieces, and we played differently you know, with a
group that we have right now than we do sometimes
when when Caitlyn comes.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Back and when Caitlyn plays as well.

Speaker 5 (05:50):
So it's a challenge.

Speaker 6 (05:52):
But I think that that's one of the things that
I love about this game is that it is a
chess match, uh and you have to try to figure
out how to how to with the pieces in position
to be successful, and and it's it's it's a good challenge.
It's it's one of the things that I loved as
a player is the IQ portion of it, the x
is and o's portion of it.

Speaker 5 (06:11):
And it's one of the.

Speaker 6 (06:12):
Things that keeps me motivated every day. How do we
how do we put our team and our players in
positions to be to be successful.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
How do you as a coach, how long does it
take for you to really know the personality and the
way a player responds, you know, because player A may
be one that needs to be challenged daily. Player B
maybe one that does not respond to that at all,
and rather needs to be trusted and that's how they

(06:39):
best respond. And the coach's job is to kind of
know which players need to be pushed, and which players
need to be pulled, and which players need to be padded.
As a coach, how long does it take you to
really get that feel of the personalities of a team.

Speaker 6 (06:54):
Yeah, it takes some time and and you know, quite honestly,
you can't even really do it, uh and in practice
as much as in the game, because practice, as much
as you want to try to simulate game situation, it
doesn't adequately simulate the pressures, the moments, you know, the.

Speaker 5 (07:12):
The the ebbs and flows of a game.

Speaker 6 (07:15):
And so you can with some players early and just really.

Speaker 4 (07:18):
Get a sense of of of what they need, and
some of them it's it's in the moment.

Speaker 6 (07:22):
It's it's being able to do it through experience.

Speaker 5 (07:24):
You know.

Speaker 6 (07:24):
I feel like by All Star Break, we had we
pretty much had a had a sense of of of
most players on our team, but a lot of it's
just you know, I say this all the.

Speaker 5 (07:33):
Time about about players and playing.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
It's like, you you know, there's no.

Speaker 6 (07:36):
Substitute for experience, And it's the same in interactions with players,
There's there's just really no substitute for the.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Experience that we get.

Speaker 6 (07:44):
Through through playing together, through adverse dealing with adversity, through
being in time and score situations on the floor. You know,
not just who to get the ball to and who
takes the shot, but who can facilitate, who can inbound
the ball, who can handle the pressure of the moment,
Who do you need to pour into.

Speaker 5 (07:59):
You know, who do you need to challenge?

Speaker 6 (08:00):
Those kinds of things happen throughout the course of the season,
and you know, we've had We've had a pretty good
idea of some of them prior to coming in just
based on experiences that we've had, but the others we've
had to really get to know.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Have you seen the movie Coach Stephanie White is our
guest Fever and Action tonight, taking on Los Angeles there
and seek of their six straight win. Have you seen
the movie Miracle about the nineteen eighty Okay, so spoiler
alert for those that haven't seen it. You know, there's
the famous scene where Herb Brooks is making them continue
to skate shifts after a game where they were not

(08:36):
getting his message, and then finally Michael Rusi a Rouzioni
shouts out, you know, Michael Rouzioni. He says, who do
you play for? He says, I played for the United
States of America. And it's the moment that you know,
you're supposed to realize the team's gotten it right. The
epiphany is there. Have you guys hit that point this year?
And if so, is was there a moment where you,
as a coach looked over the roster and said they're

(08:58):
getting it?

Speaker 6 (09:00):
Yeah? Yeah, I don't know if there's been one singular moment.

Speaker 3 (09:03):
You know, I think there have been.

Speaker 6 (09:06):
There have been a few instances, you know, certainly putting
ourselves in position to win the Commissioner's Cup and and
and do it, you know on Minnesota's home floor, you know,
dealing with dealing with adversity and and seeing this group
continue to come together. You know, I felt really pleased
when we were in Seattle and there had been.

Speaker 5 (09:26):
Moments throughout the course of the season where we have
not handled.

Speaker 6 (09:28):
Opponents runs very well. You know, we double digits. I
think they closed a third quarter on a ten to
one run. We got back up in the Ford Skyler
dig into t an and one to either tie it.

Speaker 5 (09:38):
Or cut it to one or something, and you.

Speaker 6 (09:40):
Know, the crowd is erupting, and and the group just
came together. They came together and you could see their
their their their heads were held high, their chests were out.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
And it was like, we got this.

Speaker 6 (09:49):
And that's the moment that I'm really proud of because
throughout the course of the season we haven't always responded
that way. And I felt really good about where we
were in that moment and how they came together, how
they handled the runs. I mean, Seattle's a tough place
to play. It's a louder arena, it's a loud environment.
That's a really great team, and I felt in that moment, okay,

(10:09):
like we get it. We get it now, we've handled
this and and we're gonna finish this one out.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
You know. So I was we mentioned yesterday we had
John Nolan on who was doing the radio play by
play for that, and I was running Errand's on Sunday
listening to the game as I'm driving in my car,
and Coach, I'm not kidding you. There were a couple
of times late in the third I think Seattle got
it within four It was almost hard to hear him.
It was that loud, at least coming over the radio.
It was that raucous within that arena. Is that the

(10:40):
fan base that has the potential to be the loudest
in the WNBA. Is that as good an environment as
you see?

Speaker 6 (10:48):
Yeah, I mean it's always been as good of an
environment from the time I was, you know, playing to now.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
It's it's a fun environment. It's a good environment.

Speaker 6 (10:56):
You know for me, you know, it's it's it's crazy
because once I went I get out there as a coach,
I don't.

Speaker 5 (11:01):
Really hear a lot anymore.

Speaker 6 (11:03):
But but certainly when I think about the history of
the league, Phoenix used.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
To be that way as well.

Speaker 6 (11:09):
I remember back back when I was a player that
that was a place that got really really loud as well.
You know our environment, heck, the way that we get
in our arena too. And I think that we're seeing
that what used to be a Seattle in New York
when they were playing in the Garden a Phoenix. Uh,
now it's happening across the w and and it makes

(11:30):
it so much fun to go into these arenas with
these passionate fans and and to allow our players to
experience environments like that.

Speaker 3 (11:39):
I mean, it's just it, it's so much fun.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Kelsey Mitchell has experienced a lot of different things within
this franchise coach, and now they're having a lot of success.
Your team is and I've heard step I've heard Sophie
Cuttingham talk about this along with Kelsey Mitchell countless times
this year. Just how special of a group this is.
From your perspective. You've been around the w and BA
for pretty much the last twenty five years. Where does
this groups come rank within the teams that you've been

(12:02):
a part of.

Speaker 6 (12:03):
Man, I mean they're really tight. You know, it's I
remember our twenty twelve team was pretty tight.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
Uh that's the team that won the championship. You know.

Speaker 6 (12:12):
I I don't know that I was ever on a
w NBA team that was as tight as this group
and has such good chemistry and it's selfless as this
group and it it really is.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
This is a This is a team.

Speaker 5 (12:23):
Mean, we're deep.

Speaker 6 (12:23):
And sometimes when you're so deep, it's challenging because everybody
wants to play right and and and everybody deserves to
play in certain moments, but it's not gonna happen because.

Speaker 3 (12:31):
You have that depth and.

Speaker 6 (12:32):
Their chemistry, their ability to to pull for one another,
their ability to know that it can be anybody's night,
and to to feed that person and to empower that
person or those people.

Speaker 3 (12:45):
You know, it's a selfless group.

Speaker 6 (12:47):
And we talk about all the time choosing the we
over the me, and and this is a group that
does that and lives that. And they genuinely like each other.
They have great chemistry.

Speaker 3 (12:56):
They're a connected group.

Speaker 6 (12:57):
And and and I'm not sure you know that I've
seen a group a team in the W that is
as connected as these guys, and it makes it really
special and fun to.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Go to work.

Speaker 1 (13:06):
Coach. I'm going to ask you a question that we
have from a listener here. That's something you and I
have touched upon a couple of weeks ago in our conversation,
but I want to revisit it. And I know it
sounds like kind of a nitpick, easy thing to pinpoint
when you have a star like Caitlyn Clark out, but
I still think it's a good question from Charles, and
he says, I'm just curious, is there any thought that

(13:27):
perhaps the Fever do in fact have more of an
advantage when Caitlyn is not on the court, because teams
don't know exactly what player it is that the fever
will be going through as opposed to the obvious that
she is somebody you'll be going through when she is
on the court. Is there some truth to that?

Speaker 6 (13:45):
I think there's some truth to that. You know, it's
interesting because I compare it to I called a Dallas
Mavericks game before Thanksgiving and Luca was out with injuries,
and I asked Jason Kids very similar question, and I
would say I would answer it very similar to what
he did.

Speaker 3 (14:02):
It is different.

Speaker 6 (14:03):
There's some truth to that in that you don't know
who whose hands the ball is going to be in.

Speaker 5 (14:08):
You get production. We get production from.

Speaker 6 (14:10):
Multiple players every night, so it's very difficult for a
scouting report to key on one or two players. Caitlin
Clark is always going to be the top of the
scouting report. So when she is on the floor, yes,
they know that she's.

Speaker 5 (14:23):
Going to have the ball in her hands.

Speaker 6 (14:24):
Yes they know that she is a dynamic playmaker. But
because of that we also open up other things for
everybody else.

Speaker 3 (14:30):
I think what this group has.

Speaker 6 (14:33):
Has learned and the advantage that it has given us
is that when we get in those crunch time moments
when Caitlyn Clark is on the floor, no one is
afraid to take the big shot, no one is afraid
to make the play, no one is afraid.

Speaker 5 (14:46):
To make the extra pass.

Speaker 3 (14:48):
Because they trust one another.

Speaker 6 (14:49):
Implicitly, they know that one another is going to is
going to step up in those moments. And because Caitlyn
is able to see that as well, inherently, she's going
to have that trust in her teammates.

Speaker 3 (15:00):
And I think that it makes us.

Speaker 6 (15:02):
While we want to have her on the floor, it
has made us a.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
Better, more confident group.

Speaker 6 (15:06):
She's able to see that from the sideline and see
and she's a smart player. What are the smartest players
I've ever been around and understand how I can get
my teammates in positions for success.

Speaker 5 (15:15):
And I know when they're sending two and three defenders at.

Speaker 6 (15:18):
Me that I make the right play and they're going
to get it done.

Speaker 3 (15:22):
And I think that that will pay dividends for us.

Speaker 1 (15:24):
And by the way, congratulations to Aliah Boston, who has
been named the w NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week,
that announcement coming within the last hour or so. Stephanie White,
the head coach of the Fever our guest, Stephan, I
did want to ask you as well. You know, your
old franchise that you were part of, the Connecticut Son
Obviously you are aware of the reports of their sale

(15:45):
now to an investment group led by the minority owner
of the Boston Celtics, and the report that that franchise
will be vacating Connecticut to move to Boston. I'm sure
that even though you came from Connecticut to hear that,
there's still some part of Connecticut, you know, within your
heart just your overall reaction to that news.

Speaker 6 (16:04):
Yeah, you know, first and foremost, you know, the Meet
and Sun Tribe and and the Council of Elders there
were just are great ambassadors for women's sports. And I
think back to the time that they moved the Orlando
Miracle to Connecticut and we didn't quite know what to expect,
and they have taken great care of the w n
b A and great care of of the franchise, and

(16:24):
really we're leaders in the in the movement of the
w n b A at that time, you know, and
and I think that it's a different time now, and
and continuing to to make the decisions that need to
be made to whether that's building a practice facility or
having a different arena or relocating a franchise are hard decisions,

(16:45):
and you know, I don't I don't know where we
are with with with with actually if that's coming to
fruition or not.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
I mean, I know that there's some some other reports
out there as well, but I really.

Speaker 6 (16:56):
Do want to emphasize just the the passion with which
the tribe.

Speaker 3 (16:59):
Have for the w n b A and for the players,
and for the Connecticut.

Speaker 6 (17:04):
Sun organization, and how well they have taken care of
and elevated the w n b A as well.

Speaker 3 (17:10):
You know, obviously, I think Boston's a great city.

Speaker 6 (17:12):
I've had two experiences coaching in TD Garden. The environments
were amazing, and so if that happened.

Speaker 7 (17:18):
It would be a great w NBA city.

Speaker 6 (17:20):
But I'd be remiss if I didn't just remind people
how invested the Mohigan Sun tribe had been in women's
sport and how much they poured into the w n
b A.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
Co ch ur Tiam arguably the hottest right now in
the WNBA. Winners six straight, eight and tune the last ten.
You're taking on a Los Angeles Sparks team that beat
your team twice at game bruce Field House, and they
are arguably the second hottest team right now in the
w NBA. They're seven to two in their last nine.
What challenges do they present because Azuway Stevens and deer
Can Hanby after the All Star Break, I've been playing

(17:54):
at a different level.

Speaker 6 (17:55):
Yeah, I mean they're the toughest thing for us is
just their links. Their link causes us challenges. Is you know,
they've got Azaray Stevens who's at at like six five.
They've got the Eric Hanby who's at six to four,
Cameron brink Is back who's at like sixty six. Rakia
Jackson's a six.

Speaker 5 (18:10):
Three wing, you know she she's long.

Speaker 6 (18:13):
Julie alamand Is is a six to one point guard.
I mean, so their link has caused us problems. We've
gotten in situations when we've played them where where we've
at times over penetrated, gotten too deep, have not been
able to find the right play and find the right pass.
We've got to really do a good job of making sure,
uh that we make the easy play. We've got to
make sure that we offensively, that we make the easy

(18:35):
play that we read their switches. But defensively, you know,
they've been dominant in the paint and and and they've
been dominant from the three point line. And so we've
got to be really disciplined in not giving up easy shots,
trying to force them into tough twos as much as possible,
and and and and try to keep them off the
free throw line. It's it's gonna be a tough matchup
for us, and we we've got to make sure that
we're incredibly disciplined on both ends.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
Where do things stand? Finally coached with Kaitlyn Clark and her.

Speaker 6 (18:59):
Rich Yeah, I mean there's there's no changes yet, you know,
continuing to go through this rehab process, you know, beginning
to do some to do some running and and build
some endurance and and continuing to take it to take
it's low and make sure that when when she does
come back, when she does return to court activities, that
she's one hundred percent ready to go.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
By the way, Eddie, somebody pointed out that the Garth
Brooks you bounced back with might have been a cover
and not actually Garth Brooks coach, Whiter, are you a
big enough Garth Brooks fan that you can determine whether
or not that was a cover or the actual Garth.

Speaker 5 (19:28):
Brooks, Oh, well, I don't know. Let's see play it.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
Play it, Eddie, I don't have it anymore.

Speaker 2 (19:33):
X song for the next segment.

Speaker 6 (19:34):
Q already, well, he prepared, he's thinking, he's thinking one
Papa head.

Speaker 1 (19:39):
Eddie's back to Oasis, he's off the Garth Brooks, Well,
trade h coach. Best of luck tonight against the Sparks.
Appreciate the time as always, travel safely obviously, but good
luck in getting six in a row.

Speaker 3 (19:50):
All right, thanks?

Speaker 1 (19:51):
All right, Stephanie White joining us on the program. Colt's
just getting underway with practice in Baltimore. Now, are they
practicing in Baltimore or are they like in Towelson or something.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
I believe they're in Baltimore. There's not many teams nowadays
take that practice. I know, off campus for a lack
of a better friend.

Speaker 1 (20:11):
Cowboys are one, right, don't the Cowboys still go to California? Yes?

Speaker 2 (20:14):
I bet the Rams are off site somewhere.

Speaker 6 (20:17):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (20:17):
They probably got to like Hawaii or something. The Stealer
where If you're the Rams, why would you go anywhere?
You're in Los Angeles. They're the Rams stake. They always
do the extravagant stuff. When I covered the Rams, they
were in McCom Millinois. I'm pretty sure they had most
exciting place to be was the Walmart. I think they
may have had like OTAs in Mexico or something. Really Yeah, okay,

(20:38):
fair enough joining us now, and I'm sure thrilled to
be doing so. Joel A. Erickson is with the Indianapolis Star.
He is the beat writer for the Colts. Joel Ware,
exactly do the Ravens have their training camp? Are you aware?

Speaker 7 (20:54):
I believe it's.

Speaker 8 (20:54):
In Owings Mills, Maryland at their normal performance center.

Speaker 1 (21:00):
Owings Mills, Maryland. Yes, that's a fun sounding town, isn't it.
Do you think that? Do you think it was an
old mill town? Is that what it is? And some
guy named Owing owned them all?

Speaker 7 (21:11):
I don't know.

Speaker 8 (21:12):
I'm interested in the fact that it's like it's both
plural Owings Mills.

Speaker 1 (21:17):
You know. You know what's interesting is if Owing is
the guy that had the mills, then at the time
he actually was Owing owning mills, right, that's true? Yeah,
I mean the alliteration is just off the charts. Okay,
we'll begin with this not listed at quarterback. Okay, the
depth chart yesterday, so I'm taking the quarterback off the
board for you. That's the low hanging fruit. What when

(21:40):
the Colts unofficially released or you know, they released an
unofficial depth chart, was there anything that truly jumped out
at you that you were a little surprised of where
they had someone either to the positive or the negative.

Speaker 8 (21:53):
Cameron mcgroon over Jalen Carlis at linebacker caught my eye.
All off season. We've kind of that Carlis was going
to be the guy there, but they've got Carlis behind
him now and that actually does fit somewhat what we've
seen in the field. They've rotated those linebackers all over
the place like it's the linebacker, I would say, is
the hardest one to keep track of who's playing in

(22:15):
what group, So it it probably isn't settled yet, but
it's interesting that mcgron, you know, local guy with really
he's only played eight defensive snaps for the Colts in
his last three years, is listed ahead of Carlis. To me,
that was that was one that was interesting, And then
the other one was was Tanner BORDERLINI over Danny Pinter,
because they've been they've been pretty much neck and neck

(22:37):
in terms of reps throughout the first part of camp.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
I thought, and I agree with that on Carlist, because
they they've been pretty high on him, right, I mean
they they vocally have talked of their praise of him
and been supportive of him. Correct.

Speaker 8 (22:52):
Yeah, especially from a front office level, from a from
a coaching level. I think, you know what, they didn't
have him in the in the May June portion of it,
spring workouts, whatever you want to call that, and I
think that maybe didn't help him getting started. But yes,
I think everyone has assumed that that spot has basically

(23:15):
been you know, carved out there for Carlis, and it's
interesting that it seems to be more of a battle
there than we thought.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
Okay, the other one that I found interesting, So let's
begin with this, Joel, They, in your opinion, will keep
how many tight ends?

Speaker 8 (23:32):
I think four?

Speaker 1 (23:33):
Okay, So if you look at those four, you know
you've got obviously you know Tyder Warren, that's a given, right,
Moali Cox, I think a given. Then you get Drew
Ogletree and Will Mallory. Maybe those two are interchangeable. It's
interesting to me because one and two meaning Warren and
Moali Cox. Then if you were to look at the

(23:56):
style of play and what they bring to the table,
I kind of think Mo as Mallory as a poor
man's Warren and Ogletree as a poor man's mo aleey Cox,
even though ogle Tree is a better receiver than ali Cox, right,
So you get kind of all your bases covered there.
Jilantie Woods to me was interesting because they have been

(24:17):
so patient with him and waiting out not one, but
two years of injury. Is that just because they simply
wanted to see what he could do and he just
has not been able to rise to the occasion at
this point.

Speaker 8 (24:30):
I think the biggest thing was there just wasn't much
reason to cut ties with him from a contractual standpoint.
He's not making that much to where you'd have to
do it, you know, for monetary reasons, and you know
he's on that rookie deals, he's been hurt, you might
as well just keep him around to see if he

(24:51):
can tap back into that. Now, I would say that,
you know, the biggest thing is he's probably competing for
a receiving not probably, he's competing for a receiver tight
end spot because he's just not really a blocker from
what we've seen on the practice field, you know, and
that puts him up against Will Mallory because obviously Tyler
Warren is your number one receiving tight end and honestly,

(25:13):
just Mallory's had a really good camp and Woods has
been a little more up and down. So I think
it's it's pretty obvious. But yeah, you hang on to
him just because you know he was hurt last year.
It's not like you could have traded him at you know,
at cutdown day or something like that. I didn't, I
was I didn't think he was going to make the
roster last year before he got hurt. So I think

(25:37):
more than anything, it's just this doesn't cost that much.
It's not hurting us. We can't there's no value we
can get out of it elsewhere. Let's just take into
camp next year and see what happens.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
Joel, what would you describe as a successful rookie season
for Tyler Warren.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
Warren?

Speaker 8 (25:54):
I think I think to me, it's gonna have to
be a little bit more of an eye test than
a numbers test with Warren, because I still have my
doubts about whether or not the quarterbacks are going to
give us a really good read on how a player
is doing. You know, I think we all have kind

(26:16):
of learned with with Alex Pearce that the quarterback can
play an oversized role in how a receiver looks some
or what one of the skilled position weapons looks. And
so you know, I think that, well, well, I think
that you'd expect like sixty catches something like that. You

(26:40):
can't do that because I just don't know what this
team is going to be like as a passing team
and how much how many passes this team.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
Is going to throw.

Speaker 8 (26:47):
I think it's gonna have to be you know, just
us watching and saying, you know, what is this?

Speaker 7 (26:51):
What did this guy look like?

Speaker 1 (26:53):
You know, the guy that I on the roster am
most intrigued by at this point. And Joel, I know
this will stun you when I tell you this. I'm
a late bloomer intellectually, okay. So I started getting serious
about school when I was like forty seven. Okay, typically
problematic with your early academic career. So I was asleep

(27:15):
on this a little bit until I was really studying
the roster. And then and only then when I studied
the roster did And I don't know if you've ever
heard my and I have a wide array of characters
that I do famously. Kids love it, people love it
in public. Have you ever heard my British polo playing
character that I do on the radio show Joel, I

(27:36):
have not. He talks like that. It comes from the Highlands, right,
you know the guy, he's got a pipe. He's in
like a library. That's you know what I mean. There's
a fireplace in the background. So that guy when he's
studying the Colts roster, okay, he's looking at it. He said, yeah,
I'm not sold on Anthony Richardson. Okay, that's how he talks.

(28:00):
I look at the roster and I see one name
that jumps out of me, and I go, that's it.
This character that I've been doing on the radio for
years now is named this guy. It is that that
is the exact name. And so I need this guy
on the roster for the rest of the year to
carry on this character because listeners of the show love it.
They just love this this character. Kids in particular, would
you like to guess what character or what what player

(28:22):
I'm talking about? What name on the roster is the
British polo player. Yeah, that's correct, Savarius Ward. You know,
there's an outstanding guess and many would think so. And
he's not a bad player, but he's more of a
box cheball guy. Clearly, Clearly the guy that I'm doing
here is Ulysses Bentley the Fourth.

Speaker 8 (28:43):
Oh, okay, obviously.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
We need Ulysses Bentley the fourth to make the roster.
I need people walking around and I mean you got
people walking around at games where Matt bouzat jerseys for
crying out loud. Why out of Bentley? You can break
out your Albert Bentley jersey if you'd like, and just
put a fut IV on the end of it. Right.
We need Ulysses Bentley the Fourth to make the roster,
partially because his name's Ulysses Bentley the fourth, partially because

(29:06):
he's a twenty four year old rookie from Old Miss,
and also because the running back position is one of
those fungible positions where in week eleven, all of a
sudden you get injury and some guy goes in there
and goes eight carries for forty eight yards and it's
a good story, is please tell me, that's going to
be my man ubi, which is my euphanism for Ulysses
Bentley the fourth.

Speaker 8 (29:26):
He needs he probably needs some space to clear in
front of him for that to happen. I will say this,
though he did. He had occupied a place that I
always feel like it's the hardest position in camp is
whoever the undrafted free agent running back is. I think
that's the hardest position in camp because you're the only

(29:48):
one that they'll allowed that anybody will allow to hit,
and so you get beat up way worse than anybody else.
He got to catch a touchdown pass of today U
and I thought that that was a nice you know,
thank you president for forgetting being the running back in
all of the live sessions and everything like that, because
you know that that undrafted spot you just get hammered.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
He's used to it. He's used to it. You know
why he's used to it, Joe, Why have you seen
the way they take things to the rugby fields in Scotland.
I'm just telling you or what it's worth, right, true,
Ulyssa is Bentley the fourth, that's my guy. Okay, let's
go to the quarterback position. Your anticipation of who will

(30:34):
and I had, I had kind of a a reverse
psychology answer on this. But you believe that the guy
that will get the most reps in this preseason game
number one against Baltimore will be which ed quarterback.

Speaker 3 (30:51):
In the first game, I see.

Speaker 8 (31:02):
It'll be Richardson.

Speaker 1 (31:03):
Okay, I believe. Now the green Bay game is the
one preseason game number two, that's the one that everybody says, well,
that's the real look of you know, that gives you
the real indication of the depths in that one the
guy that you think will get the most snaps as which.

Speaker 8 (31:20):
Well, if I said Richardson for the first one, I
have to say Jones for the second one, because Steiken
told us that's how it was going to go. I'm thinking, though,
that the third preseason game is the one we need
to watch because with joint practices before the first two,
I'm not expecting the Ravens of the Packers to play
anybody that really matters to them.

Speaker 1 (31:43):
Because here's my thought. Then you tell me that I'm
out of my mind here, Okay, I think that we
meaning you, myself, Colts fans, whatever it might be. Okay,
for that matter, Ulyssa Bentley, the third might be thinking
this right in hopes of make a roster. So everybody
looking at it is going to say to themselves, if

(32:06):
Daniel Jones gets starting nods throughout the preseason, that that
means he's won the job. But I think it's entirely
possible that the Colts look at it and say, we
made the mistake of giving the keys to Anthony Richardson
too early in his career. So even if we feel
he is going to be the guy in the regular season,
we want to make sure that we are continuing to

(32:27):
push him and that he is responding because he has
responded to this first camp where he truly had competition.
So therefore, we are not going to pull the reins
off that competition until the eleventh hour when we finally
have to make that decision officially.

Speaker 8 (32:42):
Does that make sense, Yeah, I think that it's going
to be a while, you know, Stich said the other day.
Him saying the other day, though one guy is going
to get more of the snaps in the first game,
then the other guy's gonna get more snaps in the
second game.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
Like that told me.

Speaker 8 (32:57):
That we're already past where he was as a rook
He in the you know quote unquote competition with Gardner Minshew,
which I think most of us, you know, don't seriously
consider to be that. And and I think I think
you're right. I think they're going to push it out.
I think they want to know for sure, and I
think they feel like they can they can wait to

(33:18):
do that. Like I said, I have that last preseason
game earmarked just because it seems like every time there's
a joint practice, whoever they're joint practicing against, is like, well,
our starters have gotten their work on the practice field,
We're not going to expose them to the game reps.
We're going to pull all those guys off. And if
I was if I was Shane Styke, and I would

(33:40):
want to see them in game action against some guys
they might actually see on a Sunday in September or
October instead of just the guys that they're trying to
make the roster.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Joel, if you're thirty four years old and you've been
in the league for let's say you're a quarterback entering
your eleventh season in the NFL, you're thirty four year
years old, would you rather right now go to New
England and be the starter? Making nine million a year
or go to Kansas City or Buffalo and be the

(34:15):
backup making six and a half million a year.

Speaker 8 (34:21):
It's a fantastic question.

Speaker 1 (34:25):
Has Joel already won a Super Bowl? No, Joel has
been a starter, that is, you know, a five hundred
percent you know, he's He's been a guy that has
gone nine and eight for the majority of his career
as a starter. This is Andy Dalton, Derek Karish type

(34:46):
of gardner Minshire, right.

Speaker 8 (34:49):
I think I want the starting job. I think I
want the starting job because as long as I have
a chance of convincing somebody that they should pay me,
you know, three years forty five million or three years
fifty million or something next year, I think I want
to take that. So if I go to New England
and things fall the right way and I look pretty good,

(35:12):
maybe next year I'm going to end up with the
larger contract, whether I deserve it or not.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
Would you rather be Obi Topping on this last year's
Pacers team or gosh, I'm trying to think of who, like,
you know, Jordan Poole on the Washington Wizards.

Speaker 8 (35:34):
Obie Topping for sure, Okay.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
Even if the other one gets you paid more Yeah.

Speaker 8 (35:41):
I think I think that. To me, that discrepancy is
so so big that I'd I'd rather much. I'd much
rather be Obi top. And the thirty four year old
quarterback is probably going to be back in free agency
next year and may may get one last chance at
a starting contract.

Speaker 1 (35:59):
What has to this point, Joel, what storyline has yet
aside from quarterback? What storyline has yet to clarify itself
and resolve itself with this Colts team during this training
camp that you are surprised you are still having to

(36:19):
write about.

Speaker 8 (36:23):
That's a good question. I'm surprised at the cornerback position
all of a sudden looks iffy, right, you've got hamstring.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
Injury or of that's injury, right, I mean that give
them credit. They had what we thought they had depth
at that right. We thought like they had this really
good cupboard and then all of a sudden, two of
the dishes fell out and got cracked right.

Speaker 8 (36:46):
Right right, So yes, exactly, Like that's the biggest thing
is that is that you you thought you had depth there.
But that's that's the position that all of a sudden,
more than more so than anything else, that's the position
where I'm going I I don't know, you know, we
don't really know exactly what Ward is dealing with. Shane
Seigen said tightness in his legs. I think that's, you know,

(37:09):
as vague of descriptions as you can get for a
player's injury. And then you know, we know that Jayalen
Jones suffered a pretty significant hamstring injury. Stichen himself told
us that, and then Juju Brents, you know, is a
player that has struggled with this stuff throughout his career

(37:30):
and also with the hamstring. And I think most sports
fans know by now that hamstrings are are unpredictable, and
I think that that position, I'm just going, man, they
really thought that they felt like they had a lot
of depth. I'm sure they still feel like they're okay
for the regular season because it's a month away. But man,

(37:51):
that's a lot of corners down already where you're seeing
Jonathan Edwards, who's an undrafted free agent playing with the
starters at.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
Cornerback, by the way, the okay, the tight end position
with Tyler Warren. This is an assignment for you, Joel.
This is a rainy day assignment for you because I
know you love those right of course, I'd like to
know a list. I'll give you till the end of
the year to come up with this. Okay, I'd like
your the list of the twenty greatest NFL players all

(38:20):
time whose first name and last name both are either
the first or last name of a US president. Wait.

Speaker 8 (38:30):
Think, off the top of my head, Roosevelt Colvin seems
like he'd be on that list.

Speaker 1 (38:37):
Is there a president with the first or last name
of Colvin? Oh, I'm saying both?

Speaker 8 (38:42):
Wait, I got I got the parameters rough both.

Speaker 1 (38:44):
I mean, here's the thing for Tyler, Warren Tyler. Warren's
got the double wayman of John Tyler and Warren Harding.
I mean, like basically bottom of the barrel here, right,
But still two presidents, right, I mean one had the
teapot Dome scandal, the other got impeached. I mean, let's go, right,
we don't have any.

Speaker 8 (39:01):
We don't need president's named Reggie.

Speaker 1 (39:03):
Right, what's happening?

Speaker 8 (39:05):
We don't have any president's named Reggie right?

Speaker 1 (39:06):
Actually, John Taylor did not. John Tyler did not get impeached.
He just did not get nominated again by his own
party after serving presidency, which is pretty bad. Uh. No
president named Reggie correct.

Speaker 8 (39:17):
Man, I'm trying to think of. I was using the
two bushes is hoping that, like, there's definitely got to
be someone in there. Man, I was hoping I could
come up with one right off the.

Speaker 1 (39:27):
Bat, and it's not working. Here's the thing, and you
realize what just happened here right m about two thirty
in the morning, and you know how much harder it's
going to be for the beer fairy to surprise you
on the porch now, because you're gonna be up at
two thirty in the morning sitting there thinking about damn,
President's right, That's exactly what's going to happen. This is
why you come off this program, is it not.

Speaker 8 (39:47):
It's I'm going to look at every roster this year
I know there and go through it.

Speaker 1 (39:53):
Listen, listen, I'm telling you right now, people are in
their car right now saying this guy in the radio
is a complete idiot, and then tonight when they're sitting
around dinner, they're going something interesting today. I'm telling you,
this is what goes on in this noggin that is
essentially like four sixty five rush hour traffic. It's just
always jammed up, right, Okay, lastly, before we let you go.
In all honesty, Joel and I appreciate the time. Joel A.

(40:15):
Erickson is our guest from the Indianapolis Star. He is
the Colt speed Ryder, the thing that we really want
to look for and see in this trip to Baltimore
from this team, aside from the obvious, but areas that
you think that Shane Steichen or Chris Ballard might be
looking at with more of a fine tooth comb than
we would guess. And obviously, yes, depth corner is an issue,

(40:36):
and then obviously yes, the quarterback position, but there are
other areas, whether it be offensive line, defensive line, linebacker,
whatever it may be, what jumps out center.

Speaker 8 (40:48):
I think the Ravens are a great test for centers
because they're going to bring a lot of blitzer.

Speaker 3 (40:52):
They're going to make them do identification.

Speaker 8 (40:54):
Bordolini and Pinter are competing. It feels to me like
that competition is a bigger deal than we think. I
think center is a big one.

Speaker 7 (41:03):
I think this is.

Speaker 8 (41:04):
This is probably something people were already looking at. But
if they take a field goal, just pay attention. Spencer
Strader has been much better than Maddicks. Trujillo so far,
but he hasn't been to the point that Brian Mason
wants him to be as a special teams coordinator. He
said he's he's at eighty seven percent the other day,
and they would prefer him to be at ninety in practices,

(41:26):
So anytime somebody kicks. And then the other thing that
I'm curious about is how does this defense, particularly the
defensive line, look against Baltimore's offensive line, Whether it's in
practice I believe they're practicing right now, or whether it's
in the preseason game. I think the practice I care

(41:47):
more because I'm assuming guys like the Forrest Buckner are
probably not playing on Thursday.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
By the way, didn't he didn't the Colts have a linebacker?
And did they have an Andrew Johnson linebacker? Am I
right or wrong in that they have an alex Andrew
Jackson and Andrew Jackson linebacker? That's what I'm thinking, named
Andrew Jackson Jackson. Did they have an.

Speaker 8 (42:10):
Alex Johnson corner? Does that cout with an Alexander and
a Johnson?

Speaker 1 (42:15):
What what president was Alexander? Oh, alex You're right, there's
not one. Yeah, Alexander Hamilton. See, I've always thought Ben Franklin,
Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr. Those are three guys that
a lot of people think were presidents at one point,
but they weren't. Yeah, now here's the last thing, Joel,
And I'm going to give you a permission to use this.
And it's not often that I let people, you know,
give permission to use my stuff. Right, But in the

(42:38):
NBA circles, I have the famous quaryism of twenty twenty
five guys. You've heard me mention this. Guys that score
twenty a game on a twenty five win team their
entire career. Okay, Kyle Kuzma, quintessential twenty twenty five guy.
You probably heard me mention this before. But with this
situation that we're monitoring at corner for the Colts, I
always say, defensive backs an offensive lineman are the NFL's

(43:03):
cell phone chargers and sunglasses. You can never have too
many because just when you think you do, one of
them breaks or you lose one. Every time, there you go.

Speaker 6 (43:14):
I like that.

Speaker 8 (43:15):
I like the offensive line is definitely true. I mean, yeah,
I think most people feel good about the Colts offensive line.
But if something happened to dark Ryman, everyone feel really good.

Speaker 1 (43:22):
Rat all of a sudden, you gotta have a Swiss
army knife. That's one of the and I'm not saying
left tackle is an area where he can do it.
But people laugh at me when I say that a
guy like Danny Pincher has a lot of value, but
he kind of does because he is a Swiss army
knife guy that can play at a couple of different
spots for you. And that's important at line because you
never know where a leak can pop up.

Speaker 8 (43:44):
There was that one year where they all play, they
all started every game or something like that, and I
think a lot of Colts fans are like, well, that's
what happens with the offensive line.

Speaker 6 (43:51):
All the time.

Speaker 8 (43:51):
Yeah, no, you just play every game and it's never
happened again.

Speaker 1 (43:54):
After that, I think it was like twenty nineteen was
when it happened, you know, kind of like how you
feel each time me come on the show. That's never
going to happen again? Is what you say to yourself, right,
more often.

Speaker 8 (44:04):
Than not, absolutely not. I will always say yes to
the beer Faiie.

Speaker 1 (44:09):
Yes, you're not supposed to know the identity of it. Joel,
all right, Joel appreciate the time as always. You bet,
you bet, that's our friend. The exhausted Joel a Ericson
joining us on the program. Eddie Garrison continues his tour
of random bad country music, although I will admit again
summertime like this is a fun concert. Kenny Chessea's fun

(44:29):
concert joining us now in the program, and I'm sure
thrilled because it feels just at home in Texas by
hearing that kind of music. Mac Ingele is with the
Fort Worth Star Telegram, native of Indianapolis, and there are
all kinds of connections between the two. To be honest
with you, Mac probably is wondering why I wanted him
to come on the show today, and Mac, I do

(44:52):
think that even though I want to talk to you
about some Indianapolis based things, there is an element of
you know, the Dallas Cowboy are a national brand, and
you know the NFL is the eight hundred pound gorilla.
And it just seems like every year, but more so
this year than most your coverage of the Cowboys, you
are right there in the biggest drama soap opera of

(45:14):
the NFL, at least from afar. That's how it seems.
What about when you're actually in the midst of it,
covering them.

Speaker 7 (45:21):
It's even louder. It's even louder. And I don't know
if I have a real I think the best comp
I could think of for Hoosiers is Indiana basketball under
Bob Knight in the eighties, and you know, because he
was such a personality. And obviously this is different because
you've got players involved, and you've got a game that's

(45:44):
you know, has a stranglehold on America that certainly eclipse
eclipses the popularity of college basketball even back in the eighties.
So you've got a handful of players who have star wattage.
And then you have an owner who really reshaped arts
consumerism in America and really globally since he bought the

(46:05):
team in eighty eight. So and he's just completely poured
gasoline over all of it because he recognized almost before
anybody else that there was money to be made in
just talking about it. And the more you talked about it,
the more eyeballs that were drawn to it. And so
we took a brand that was already renowned because of

(46:28):
the success they had, and then he just completely turned
up the volume on it to the nth degree. So
now everybody's interested in it, even though they haven't won
anything of note since nineteen ninety six. It's really impressive.

Speaker 1 (46:44):
It is Jerry Jones Mac guilty of thinking that, because
he's been around it, that he is a smarter football
mind than he is.

Speaker 7 (46:56):
Well, he has one thing going for him that no
other owner I think in sports has going for them.
I think Jerry played major college football. He was an
offensive lineman, which is hard to believe if you look
at the van, but he was an offensive lineman or

(47:17):
the University of Arkansas national championship team back in I
don't know however many sixty three or whatever year it was.
And if you look up and down sports owners, none
of them played. I can't think of any of them
who played.

Speaker 1 (47:30):
I mean, Jim Mercy did peripherally, right, but I realize
he's the late Jim Mersay now, but you know what
I mean here, You're right, Jim.

Speaker 7 (47:37):
Jim played a little bit and certainly he had you know,
he did some things on the side in terms of weightlifting,
and so he put himself in the arena, like you said, peripherally.
But Jerry always had that going for him, and it was
the one thing about his resume that he could point
to you wouldn't, I wouldn't, But he could point to
and say, listen, I played the game, I was around

(47:57):
this guy or this guy and this guy. I was
on a team with Barry Switzer, I was on a
team with Jimmy Johnson, I was on a team coach
by Frank Boyles, and blah blah blah. So he could
use that as a solid point of sale to his
football expertise. And the guy's not a total idiot. I mean,
you think you'd be around from it for thirty years
you would have learned something, and he has. But the

(48:18):
inescapable reality of it is that he doesn't really put
that much emphasis on some of the details that you might,
or a coach might. His idea is that you give
me the best talent, we're going to win. These coaches
are pretty much all the same. They're all pretty good.
He doesn't really distinguish one from the other. Even though

(48:38):
most people would say, yeah, Bill Belichick with Tom Brady,
he was probably better than Bill Belichick with Vinnie Testaverdi.
Bill Belichick is still a good coach, and in Jerry's mind,
Bill Belichick was made by Tom Brady. So that's just
how he sees it and so and then if you
couple that expertise and arrogance and experience with the fact

(49:00):
that he mercilessly markets anything that he does in the
zombie like ambition to make more money no matter how
much he has, Well, now you've got this cocktail that
is unlike anything that really we've seen in sports in
the last fifty years.

Speaker 1 (49:17):
Okay, the Colts aren't really in the market for a
pass rush guy. I mean they I think they think
they have it in Leatu Latu. Quinny pay is probably
just a guy, but he's okay. He's not great, He's
just okay, But you know, his first round you kind
of want more. Dallas has it at Micah Parsons in
an elite level pass rush end. But now that's the

(49:38):
big drama. There seems to always be drama around the Cowboys.
What is the latest on Parsons and where's he going
to end up?

Speaker 7 (49:45):
Well, you know, he's their franchise guy. He's Lawrence Taylor
two point zero, which is a lot to put on
a guy. But from a talent and athlete perspective, he's
just he's amazing. I mean, he could be an Olympic
caliber wrestler today if he wanted to, because he was
a wrestler in high school with almost no effort. He

(50:07):
was a guy who athletically would walk on any field
and kick the hell out of anybody that he was
on the field with. And unbelievably that translated his Penn State,
and now it's translated to the NFL.

Speaker 3 (50:19):
Normally you see.

Speaker 7 (50:19):
That guy kind of weeds itself out and he kind
of evens out. Well, Jake, this guy's still so good.
So now he's the man. And now he's up for
a contract extension, not this season but next season. But
this is usually when you get those deals done. You
get the extensions done the year before they go into
the final year of their rookie contract. So now he's

(50:40):
been going back and forth directly with Jerry Jones, not
the agent, and the agent, a big powerful guy in
the NFL, guy named David Muguilea, says well, no, I
need to be a part of this, and Jerry's like, no, no, no,
I want to be able directly with the player. Well,
of course he does, because the players it's easier to
take advantage of it. Even though even though they taking

(51:00):
advantage players and NFL contracts is almost impossible anymore because
of these contracts now are are mostly predetermined because of
the collective.

Speaker 1 (51:10):
Bargain Players Association and all that.

Speaker 7 (51:12):
Right, yeah, yeah, this is done. He's gonna get basically
what Miles Garrett got and then TJ. Watt got. It's
gonna be something really close to that. It's done. It
maybe a little bit more, but effectively, just look at
what of those two guys got and what he's gonna get.
But it hasn't been ironed out yet. You know Michaeh
Parsons who has his own podcast of course, and to

(51:34):
recount all this other stuff, well, he's banging the drum
to create noise intention to try to get this done,
to the point where he does something that no other
Cowboys player has ever done. We were talking about this,
Michaeh Parsons requested the trade. All these guys who have
been in contracts bats Jerry Jones have never requested the trade.

(51:57):
None of them want to leave the Cowboys because you
can make so much more money as a cowboy in
peripheral stuff and marketing opportunities, which is limited anyways in
the NFL. But you can make more doing that than
you would be if you were quested and were granted
to trade to say Jacksonville or you know, Pittsburgh or something.
So Micah has done that and that's what has set

(52:18):
this part. Would they trade him, They're not going to
trade them.

Speaker 1 (52:20):
Yeah, they're gonna sign him, right, he's gonna get the money, right,
don't get the money.

Speaker 7 (52:24):
I would imagine what August fifth or something. I would
imagine around the twentieth or something. Maybe maybe they wake
through the eleventh hour. But you and I both know
players of that ability in Caliboy. They don't.

Speaker 3 (52:35):
They're not.

Speaker 7 (52:35):
They weren't going to play in the preseason anyways. I mean,
there's more value now in not playing football than in
playing football because all the everybody's terrified of injuries in
every sport. So now this guy wasn't gonna do anything anyways.
So he's out a camp in California, collect making sure
that he doesn't get fined, but he's not doing anything.

(52:57):
Kept walking around talking to coaches. These guys a freaking athlete.
He's fine, but he's not going to get traded. If
just for the sake of argument, let's just say it
goes to that bat and they say, Okay, give us
your best offer. I would think the Colts because I'm
not sold. Who's the kid from UCLA that they drafted? Yeah,

(53:19):
no way, I can't believe they drafted him. I had
that surgery and I realized I'm twice, I'm a middle
aged man. But I'm like, they're all lying to themselves
about the long term ramifications of that surgery, lying just
full of it. He might be really good now he's
not going to age. Well, he's not. So if they
go out and let's say they say, okay, jee is,
if we can get Michael Parsons, let's do this, it's

(53:40):
going to be at least two number ones. Jim Mersey's
ghost is not going to come in and pull a
Fred Young and give up two number ones for Michael
Parsons or anybody else that isn't a quarterback. So I
can't see any team giving up two number ones to
acquire a phenomenal defensive player as good as he is.

Speaker 1 (54:00):
You know, when you look mac at like where the
Colts are, and I'm curious from your standpoint, I think
that we you know, this is a franchise and a market,
and you know this you're from here, you know, we've
been pretty spoiled, and the fact that the Colts have
just you know, for years they fell out of bed
and won twelve games, right, yep, Yeah, And it's hard

(54:23):
to grasp that since their last AFC South title, every
other team in the division has won it twice since
the Colts last won it. From your perspective, taking your
connection to Indianapolis out of it, what is the Colts
level of relevance in the NFL right now in twenty
twenty five?

Speaker 7 (54:44):
Bottom third? You know, when we were kids growing up there.
The only reason why the Colts were interesting when they
moved from Baltimore Indianapolis. They had a new facility and
they had the stain nationally of having left There's at
Baltimore in the middle of the night. And then they
traded for Eric Dickerson. That was a big deal. But

(55:06):
other than that, they weren't really relevant until you know,
they had that quick bump with Jim Harball leading them
to the AFC Championship game and damn near winning it.
But you know, that franchise had mostly been a bottom
five team until Peyton Manning and Bill Polling and that
whole thing lined up and they made a generation of

(55:28):
Colts fans. And I don't think I ever shared this
with you. I remember visiting with Tony Stewart, the NASCAR driver,
and I introduced myself to being from Indiana, and we talked.
He was great, and I said, how is it now?
He said, you wouldn't believe it. He said, the Colts
have completely remade that state. He said, there's He said,
it'd always be basketball, but football has a place now
next to it because of the Colts on that on

(55:50):
that mantle in terms of priorities. Well, now ever since
the Andrew Luck retirement, we look at it and it sucks.
I hated for the city, you know, so I hate
it for my family. I hated for my friends. I
hate it from you all because you it really does help,
and it is a point of civic pride. When the
team's pretty good. You know, you're not gonna win Super

(56:12):
Bowl every year. But I would say where they are now,
they're not where they were when we were kids, and
they were first moved to town and they were awful,
and you know, barb Ursay had no idea what he
was doing. But you know, I would say, I mean
Jake as much as I hate to say it, I
would be willing to bet all of my money. I
may have said it to you on your show. I'd
be willing to bet all my money half of that building,

(56:35):
the Cults building, thanks Anthony Richardson, can't play and they
need to move on, and they'll never do it. They
have they have to see it through. But until they
get that position fixed, I don't I don't think a
lot of people were really thinking about the Indianapolis Cults
these days.

Speaker 1 (56:49):
Mac. How old were you, Mac Engles, our guest Fort
Worth Star Telegram uh in that capacity in covering sports
in the Dallas Fort Worth area? How old was Miles
Turner the first time you met him?

Speaker 7 (57:00):
I also was the scene. He was going into his
senior year of high school, being recruited by everybody and
their brother in the state and nationally, a five star
kid at a local public high school. And what's interesting
about that is that was ten or eleven years ago.
A player of that calenber now probably would not be
at a public school. He would be at some private

(57:21):
school on scholarship. But he was at a public school
and one of the more charming, bright young guys I've
ever had a chance to visit with and he made
a fan out of me. I really enjoyed getting to
his dad, David Turner. But he was a hell of
a player on a team where he had no help.
I mean, just he should have won a state championship,
but he was just on one of those teams where

(57:42):
he was the best player by leaps and bounds, and
he just couldn't literally was one on five.

Speaker 1 (57:48):
May have I would assume Mac in that capacity you have.
You know, it's disingenuous to say, like, well, you've stayed
in great touch with him and you guys talk all time,
But I would assume that when he comes back to
the Dallas Fort Worth area, you have covered him, or
interviewed him, or made the connection about Indiana and et
cetera in that capacity within those conversations. Were you surprised

(58:11):
the way things ended here in Indiana?

Speaker 7 (58:15):
I think only because I've done this long enough, Like you,
the surprise of it is gone, I put, let me,
let me change that, the shock of it is gone.
But I was surprised. I was surprised only because I
had heard Rick Carlisle and maybe other members of PACER's

(58:36):
management keeping him was a priority and the other part that,
and then he was gone and everything I read, the
Bucks just came in and blew him away, and Indiana
didn't want to match it.

Speaker 1 (58:50):
And the part that Indiana didn't get a chance to
match it, though, mac is the thing, right, I mean?
And I think that's what surprised Indiana is that Miles Turner.
And the reason I ask it is this not to
lead the witness here, but so so Miles Turner, by
all account here sits down or his representation does. And

(59:13):
the Pacers don't know that Miles Turner has a pending
offer from Milwaukee, and the and the Bucks basically say, look,
here's this offer, and you take you take it or
you leave it, and you cannot give Indiana a chance
to counter. And Indiana throws their offer out and he says,
I'm taking Milwaukee's then, and they didn't realize it at

(59:35):
that moment that Milwaukee was in play by knowing him
and knowing him at an age or seeing him at
an age where he was more vulnerable and influenced. Does that, then,
when I say it that way, surprise you that he
would have been that eager to act and act in

(59:57):
that way? Is the wrong way of saying it, but
act upon that.

Speaker 7 (01:00:00):
Yeah, I really, you know, I I you know, I
was texting you occasionally doing the Eastern Conference Finals and
NBA Finals, and I wore a little bit of that
one on my sleeve. The kid, the pacer kid, Pacer
fan and me really came out. I had the sheriff,
the sticker, the pennant. I was really into it, and

(01:00:20):
I was, you know, I was somewhat biased because and
I've interviewed Miles and I've I wanted to see him
do well. And I know he's I know that he
has been a good steward and ambassador for the NBA
and the Indiana Pacers in Indiana, UH, dealing with when
he's been out in the community. That's worth something, and

(01:00:42):
you know, I don't know how much it's worth, but
it's worth something. It's not nothing. And I've commended him
for that, and I wanted to see guys like that
stick around, and I want to see him do well.
And when he didn't do well in the NBA Finals,
and I don't think anybody could sit there and say, well, no,
he did. Okay, it's not the number. No, he just didn't.
He didn't unless I unless, Jake, you watched something that

(01:01:05):
I didn't see. I saw a guy who was completely
overmatched and had no place in that series whatsoever.

Speaker 1 (01:01:13):
He has come back to Dallas Fort Worth. Correct. Have
you got a chance to talk to Miles Turner since
his knowledge of team?

Speaker 7 (01:01:20):
No, he came back. Well, let me let me back
that up. Let me ask you that I want to
ask you that question. Do you think he had a
place in that in that final series or they completely
exposed him and took him away?

Speaker 1 (01:01:31):
Uh? Exposed is probably the wrong word, but yes, I
think he was taken away, you know what I mean?

Speaker 7 (01:01:37):
And he answer your question, Yeah, he was back. And
can I share the anecdote that you and I talked about?

Speaker 1 (01:01:45):
Yeah? Absolutely have so.

Speaker 7 (01:01:48):
Uh. He he comes back to Dallas for Worth and
he's going to work. He's going to do a public
appearance at a fast food place that's popular in the Southwest.
I don't know if it's over south east rather at
our office in Indiana or not. A place called Raising
Kaine's Chicken. And the PR guy from Raising Kaine's Chicken
reaches out to me and says, I would love you

(01:02:08):
to come out and talk to Miles. I know it's
the last minute, would you like to do it? I'm like,
oh my god, yeah, love to see him again. This
would be great. And it's twenty minutes from my house,
which the ease of it.

Speaker 3 (01:02:18):
It was like, oh yeah, let's go.

Speaker 7 (01:02:20):
So the guy emails me. He said, what do you
want to ask Miles, which has now become standard, and
I said, well, coming back to the DFW, the NBA Finals,
but making it all the way to the finals, leaving
Indiana and going to Milwaukee. Guy says, when you ask
about raising Kaine's chicken? I said, yes, absolutely, sure, of course,
for sure, that's could pro quo. That's totally normal. Ten

(01:02:41):
minutes later I get an email says Miles team says,
no questions about the Pacers, Bucks or the finals, only
questions about coming back and raising Kaine's chicken, to which
I said absolutely not. I mean, I can't be a total,
just walking commercial influencer. I have to be able to
add ask him a couple of weeks about basketball because

(01:03:02):
if I'm not, and what am I even doing there
other than being, you know, an influencer. So I was like, no,
I'm not gonna go. I can't do that unless you
want to give you a thousand dollars, which you know
I'm I'm saying that tongue in cheek. No, I didn't
see him. I wanted to. I wanted to congratulate him,
and I'm like, no, I'm not going to totally debase
myself yet unless you're gonna give me more money. But no,
I didn't see him, and I was, you know, like

(01:03:24):
I said Jake, I was really bummed for him. I'm
happy he got a bunch of money. Good for him.
But I don't know when Allie sits in Milwaukee, I'm like,
how is that going to work? But those guys are
a lot smarter than I am, so maybe it'll work out.

Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Mac, you're an influencer.

Speaker 5 (01:03:38):
I totally am.

Speaker 7 (01:03:39):
I'm not fooling myself anymore.

Speaker 1 (01:03:41):
You're an Instagram influencer. I know this around. I mean,
I can't go anywhere whether you're going around, you're taking
selfies the whole time. I get it right, I mean.

Speaker 7 (01:03:53):
I'm telling you I made the wrong career choice. If
I was a young, hot blonde, ESPN would be burying
me in money right now. As a social commentator influencer,
I made a huge mistake when we were kids at
that one to the list.

Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
Yeah, there you go, right, And so why it works
all right? Mac g Engle fort Worth Star Telegram. So
Michael Parson's going to stay in Dallas, right and Leatu
Latu not going to be another market Michael Parsons.

Speaker 7 (01:04:15):
Uh yes, and Mike is not going anywhere. And I
would give that kid, the UCLA kid, a good three
to five year window and anytime after that I'd be
holding my breast.

Speaker 1 (01:04:25):
And that's me. He It was a neck surgery that
he had right.

Speaker 7 (01:04:28):
Next husion surgery. And what happens is now he's a
lot younger than I am. Pro athletes, I'm not kidding myself.
But what does happen is that it does degenerate somewhat
and it's harder to remain. It's hard to remain to
maintain your strength. That's that's what I've noticed.

Speaker 1 (01:04:43):
Gotcha all right, Mack, appreciate it, man, enjoy the summer
down there, all.

Speaker 7 (01:04:46):
Right, was great talking to you.

Speaker 1 (01:04:47):
Thanks Joys. One hundred and fifteen degrees down there, I'm sure.
Mac Engle fort Worth Star Telegram

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