8/22/24 - Ralph's American Grill Pregame Sports Talk with Mo Egger - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station versus Rolf's American Grill.
Pregame Sports Talk presented by your Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Toyota Dealers. Pregame sports Talk is brought to you by
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(00:21):
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(00:42):
at the Roberts Center.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
No pregames sports talk.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
That's us. It's a pregame sports talk. It's Ralph's American Grill.
Pregame Sports Talk on ESPN fifteen thirty. We are presented
by your Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Toyota Dealers. My name's Malwager.
Thrilled that you're with us. We're here Toll six thirty Tonight,
Wayne box Miller comes your way with countdown to kickoff
at six thirty and then the preseason finale. Mercifully, the

(01:07):
preseason finale kickoff at eight. Dan Horde Dave Lapham had
the game for you. Bengals hosting the Indianapolis Colts. Most
Cincinnati starters not expected to play. A lot of Indianapolis
starters are expected to play. Cincinnati for what it's worth,
looking for its first win of the preseason more than anything,
hoping to get out of the venue formerly known as
Paul Brown Stadium healthy. We have a lot to get

(01:30):
to when it comes to the Bengals. James or Pene's
gonna join us in just about thirty minutes, Tony Pike.
We are doing a Bengals training camp report today, even
though obviously there is no training camp practice because they're
playing a practice game. Uh. Lots on the Jamar Chase
thing too, because you know, we've seen some numbers. Richard
Skinner yesterday tossed out some numbers that maybe Jamar Chase
is looking for a handful of things tonight. Preseason games.

(01:53):
There's only so much. There's only so many interesting things,
especially when the main guys aren't playing. But you know,
let's face it, there are some careers that are kind
of hanging in the balance tonight, and some interesting roster
decisions that could be dramatically influenced by tonight's game. That
we're gonna spend a lot of time on that. Between
now and six thirty, you get an extra half hour
of me today. How about that. I got off the

(02:13):
air last night at six o'clock and it was one
of those one of those nights where I had to
hang around the radio station and do some stuff. So
I get out of here a little bit after seven
o'clock and, like most, maybe like you, I walk out
of here, I walk toward the elevator, and you know
how it is, right, The first thing you do is
look at your phone and I hit Instagram and there's

(02:33):
Joey Vado announcing his retirement. Tarren, do you have the
audio of Joey Vado making that announcement of his retirement
last night? He did this on his Instagram, a long message.
It was heartfelt, it was cool, it was kind of
vintage Joey Vado. He hangs it up, and the timing
of it is obviously interesting because it coincided with the

(02:55):
series finale between the Blue Jays, and the Reds. Here
is the announcement made on his Instagram last night.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
That's it.

Speaker 4 (03:08):
I'm done.

Speaker 5 (03:09):
I am officially retired from baseball.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Now. In the caption, he goes on and on and on,
and it's great talking about fans, talking about baseball fans,
Reds fans, Toronto fans, players, coaches, teammates. It's it's really good.
And so Joey Vado, we've talked about him a lot
this week because the Reds and Blue Jays did have
a series that a lot of us wondered, you know,

(03:35):
back in April, is Joey going to be a Blue
Jay by then? And you know what kind of season
is he going to have? And you know what's it
going to be like watching him play against his former
team and is he going to make them regret not
bringing him back? And it just didn't happen. Even as
recently a Sunday night in the Toronto Star, there was
a piece kind of like wondering, are the Blue Jays

(03:56):
going to bring up Joey Vado? Does this make sense?
Has he earned it? Should they do it?

Speaker 6 (03:59):
For?

Speaker 3 (04:00):
From a pr perspective? So should they do it? Because
they owe Joey Vada because of the player that he
has been. As it turns out, well, Joey wanted to
get to the big leagues, back to the big leagues
because he had earned it, and let's be honest, in Buffalo,
he didn't, and he said in his caption on Instagram,
I'm not good anymore. And so he announces his retirement

(04:20):
with the city of Buffalo in the background because that's
where he's been playing, takes a shot of his Buffalo
Bison's locker, and then drives to Toronto and catches up
with some of his former Reds teammates before they jet
off to Pittsburgh where they will play tonight. I have
a confession, and I've done this show. I've done the

(04:40):
show long enough that I think you would identify me
as a Joey Vado fan. I've been called a Joey
Vado apologist. I'm a Joey Vado fan. I don't want
to say though, that I was. I wasn't actively rooting
against him, like I wasn't checking in with his progress
with the Blue Jays minor league team in Buffalo, hoping

(05:02):
that he would fail and fall flat on his face.
I think too much of the player there's no reason
for me to do that, but I will admit, as
a Joey Evado fan and as a Reds fan, last
night feeling relief, Feeling relief that it's over, feeling relief that,
you know, like watching Joey at times toward the latter

(05:25):
end of his career in Cincinnati wasn't easy, As is
often the case with aging players, they get hurt a lot,
they're maybe not as productive, and that's no fun when
you have a player that so many of us hold
in the esteem that we hold joe Evado.

Speaker 6 (05:41):
But I.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
Also think I also think it's cool when a guy
ends up playing his entire career in one city. And granted, yes,
he did play with the Bisons, he was a member
of the Blue Jays organization. That's going to be remembered
about as much as we remember Anthony Munio going through
preseason with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's it's gonna be
a footnote that everybody forgets Joey Vado played his entire

(06:07):
big league career as a Red And while you obviously
can play in other cities and be revered in the
city you started your career in, or the city where
you accomplished the most in or a city where I'm
like Joey, you win a championship in you know, in
Red's history. I've always separated, like Johnny Bench and Barry

(06:30):
Larkin from all the other greats. Now, Pete Rose is
revered in this town right and should be at least
as a player. And Joe Morgan is revered here and
should be. And for you know, much older fans, Frank
Robinson carved out a hell of a career in Cincinnati
before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. And there are
you know, less players of lesser statue who are still

(06:54):
you know, celebrated. Eric Davis is, for my money, the
coolest baseball player of all time, but played in a
bunch of other cities. I've always kind of separated Johnny Bench.
Johnny Bench is the greatest catcher of all time. But
he played his entire career in Cincinnati. There's just something
special about that that a lot of his well his
teammates didn't have David concepts. He don't played his entire
career here. Barry Larkin played his entire career here. That's

(07:17):
that just makes them different, doesn't make them greater, but
just it makes them different. And there's something special about
those careers that you know you can't you can't really
talk about when it comes to so many of those
other guys. And so there's a part of me that's
relieved that we will have gotten Joey Vado to ourselves,

(07:39):
like in San Diego, mister Padre, Tony Gwynn, they get
to themselves, and Baltimore Getsky Ripken to itself, and Yankees
fans get Derek Jeter to themselves, Like I think that's cool.
That doesn't mean that Albert Poolholes, for instance, shouldn't be
celebrated forever in Saint Louis, but he did spend a

(08:01):
lot of time in Anaheim. And that's not that that's
bad or not that that's wrong, But there's just something
almost inexplicably cool about having a player of a certain stature, who,
for my money, will be in the Hall of Fame
one day, and should be in the Hall of Fame
one day, who spends his entire career in one city,
representing one club, being identified with that one club. I'll

(08:27):
be honest with you, it's not that I actively rooted
against him, but I wasn't really rooting for Joey to
join the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that this year
is not really going anywhere, and play a half a
season or a couple of months, and maybe in those
couple of months he would have played great. I would
have rooted for him to do that, But I also

(08:49):
didn't want to see him be a Buffalo Bison's version
of Joey Vado in the American League East. I didn't
want that. Selfishly, as a fan, I didn't want that.
So my one of my first reactions was relief. We're
gonna talk a lot about Joey Vado today. Is I

(09:09):
think you would understand? Five point three seven, four nine,
fifteen thirty is our phone number. I've got poll questions.
I have three pole questions, only once about Joey Vado.
But go check it out on x at moegar thanks
to United Heartland Insurance, the greatest insurance company in the world.
Go to uhi ns dot com. Uh the word that
comes to mind first. I was thinking about this, you know,

(09:31):
I see it on Instagram. I get in the car
and I'm listening to the Reds game and I has
listened to Sammi Thral and Jeff Brantley talk about uh,
Joey Evado, The first word that comes to mind. The
first two words that come to mine are unique and different.
And unique and different, for my money, are good, especially
in a sport that hasn't historically celebrated unique and different.

(09:56):
And in a realm where I kind of feel like
conforming and boringness, speakinging cliches and stuff like that being forgettable.
I think those things are celebrated more than they should be.
With Joey Vado, regardless of whether you thought he was
great or overrated, or overpaid or misunderstood or underrated, I

(10:22):
think you would acknowledge that he was very willing to
be different and unique, and I love those things. I
don't think those things are celebrated enough, especially when they
don't harm anybody. And so one of my favorite things
just watching Joey over the years was if he would
have a big game and he'd be interviewed on you know,

(10:44):
on TV outside the dugout, you always knew you were
going to get a different type of answer than almost
any other player. Or when I would see the like
Sea Trent rosecrans that a Q and A with Joey
Evado or on a national level, like a buster One
did a Q and A with Joey Evado. I was
always excited to read it because I knew the answers
were going to be introspective, they were going to be
thought out, they were going to be interesting, they were

(11:06):
going to be revealing. How many athletes are revealing, how
many athletes take you inside how they go about perfecting
their craft. But also he was a unique player at
a really interesting time in the history of how we
talk about the sport. And this is where we come

(11:27):
back to, like twenty thirteen, twenty twelve, maybe a little
bit twenty fourteen fifteen, where Joey was at the epicenter
of I think the intersection of how we have traditionally
talked about baseball players and how we've now I think
fully embraced how we talk about baseball players. And I'm

(11:49):
referencing the walks and the on base percentage. And I
did talk shows every single day during that stretch of
time where you know, you'd hear from people that were
pissed off that Joey Vado was walking too much, or
didn't want to hear about his on base percentage, or

(12:11):
were angry at the fact that he didn't have enough
RBIs or didn't get why he was unwilling to make
a productive out and would instead choose to take a
base on balls. And then you had folks who thought,
go out of your mind if you think Joey Vado
is not a good player yet to your mind, if
you don't understand the value and on base percentage and

(12:31):
of drawing walks and not making outs. And he was
kind of a different type of player at a really
interesting time, and I thought at times massively misunderstood. I
thought at times massively underrated. But I think that what

(12:52):
happened in later years is number one, he won a
lot of people over. If you remember twenty twenty one,
he changes approach. My favorite Joey Evado year of all
time twenty one, hit thirty six home runs and basically says,
screw it, I'm swinging for the fences. Throw me a strike,
I'm swinging. It was a lot of fun. By the way,
you couldn't help watch that season and wonder like, what
if this would have been the approach the entire time.

(13:13):
But I think that along with his willingness to let
people in and see a part of his personality that
early in his career we didn't see I think it
won a lot of those people over that, you know,
maybe six seven years prior, were complaining about the walks
and didn't want to hear about the on base percentage,
and complained about how much money he was making. But regardless,

(13:36):
this was a different cat, This was a different type
of player. This was a different type of person who
happened to be a baseball player. I remember, reasonably early
in his career, and I tried to find it, and
I don't remember who wrote it. I don't remember if
it was the late John Fay or C. Trent or
Paul Doherty. But there was a piece I'm almost certain
was in the Inquirer, and it was about how Joey Vado,

(13:58):
on his off days when they were on the road
go to art museums. Now I say this as somebody
who has never been to an art museum in his life.
I can't think of anything I'd rather do less. But
I remember reading that going like, all right, this isn't
exactly going to hit home with a lot of like
hardcore baseball fans, all right, and I just let's let's
be there's there's there's a there's a certain type of

(14:20):
fan who expects his or her favorite ball player to
do a certain type of thing, and it ain't hanging
out on his off days at art museums. Now, I'm
a whatever makes you a happy type of guy. So
if you like going to art museums in your free time, dude,
have at it. Awesome, just don't make me go. But
I remember reading that going like this is a different

(14:41):
type of guy. This is, by the way, I'm sure
not a whole lot of dudes on the team were like, Yeah, Joey,
can we go to the art museum? And maybe that's
not the best example. But when I when I think
of his career, and there's a lot of different ways
to assess it. We can do it statistically, we can
do it from the standpoint of how the Reds failed
to win with him, talk about it from a lot

(15:02):
of different standpoints, and I'm going to today and hopefully
you do too. But I think of his uniqueness. I
think of how he was willing to be different and
at least for me as a fan, for me as
a person, I like those things and that's why he's
one of my all time favorite players. When you're an adult,

(15:22):
you're not supposed to hold players in the same regard
you do the guys you grew up watching. So you know,
there's there's never gonna be another Nick van Xell as
far as I'm concerned, and there's never gonna be another
boomer a size, and there's never gonna be another Barry
Larkin or Eric Davis, but at least as an adult
looking at it through an adult lens. I became a

(15:43):
huge Joey Vado fan, and he's one of my all
time favorite players, and so I was relieved to see
him hang it up yesterday, but also a little sad.
Part of it is man like. I started doing this
show May of two thousand and seven. Joey Vado got
called up in September of two thousand and seven. Joey

(16:06):
Vado's career has lasted the entirety of this show, and
so I thought, of stupid as it might sound, like,
all the hours I've spent behind this microphone and other
microphones discussing Joey Vada, sometimes criticizing him, sometimes wanting more
from him, usually defending him, always appreciating him. Twenty minutes

(16:30):
after three o'clock, our numbers are five one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty show preview video is also a cry for
help on X at Moeger thanks to United Heartland Insurance.
No thanks to Emory Federal Credit Union. Thanks to Emory
Federal Credit Union. Yeah, your credit Union with heart since

(16:52):
nineteen thirty nine. I'm a member of Emory Federal Credit Union.
You should be too good to EMORYFCU dot Org. A
lot on Joey Vada this noon, James Rapine on the
Bengals coming up in under fifteen minutes, and Tony Pike
as well. We are getting set for the Bengals and
Colts tonight. It's the Ralph's American Ralph's American Grill. Well
off to a good start. Ralph's American Grill. Pregame Sports

(17:13):
Talk presented by Your Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Toyota Dealers
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Joey Vado making
his first big league start.

Speaker 7 (17:23):
He got his first at bat last night and struck
out against ire Momota. It's a center field that hit well.
Belt Tron going back, looking up and it's out of here.
Joey Vado at his second big league at bat, hits
his first big league home run, and he crushed that
ball to center field. Vado's first major league home ron

(17:44):
at it was major league in every respect.

Speaker 3 (17:46):
Free nothing, Cincinnati. I think that's Gary Cohen, the voice
of the New York Mets. That's Joey Vado's first ever
big league home run. September two thousand and seven. This
is a Ralphs American Grill pre game sports talk presented
by Your Cincinnati at Northern Kentucky Toyota Dealers. I thought
often of Joey's call up at O seven for two reasons.

(18:06):
Number one and both of these are going to be hokey.
That that Vado's first start. He had I think Pinch
hit the day before. But his first start came on
a Wednesday afternoon, and when I started my show, we
were on from nine to noon. I was on with
Greg Doyle, so the workday would be over basically twelve o'clock.

(18:27):
And I went to that game with my dad, and
so I remember Joey hit that like off the batter's eye.
It was insane, And you know, he was a guy
that we had talked a lot about but didn't necessarily
have the same hype that Homer Bailey had had her
earlier that year that Jay Bruce would have the following year.
But like my I remember going to the game with
my dad and we were both like cool, we get

(18:47):
a chance to watch as Joey Evano guy and he
hit a home run. And obviously my dad passed away
less than two years later, and but that's one of
the memories I have of at least being an adult
pint of games with with my own man. I also thought,
you know, that's seven. Joe Knucksall passed away in November
of two thousand and seven, and if you remember, he

(19:10):
was still he obviously wasn't the regular radio broadcaster, but
he was still doing some games, not a lot, not
a heavy workload, but you know, for instance, in September
of seven, Brandon Phillips had a game where he had
his thirtieth home run, became a thirty thirty member. Joe
Knuckshall didn't call that moment, but he called that game.
I went back and looked that up and Joey Vada

(19:33):
was in the starting lineup that night. Joey started in
twenty three games in September of seven, six of them
in left field, and so one of the very first
things I thought of last night, and I don't know why,
this is where my brain went to was Joey. It
was the last Reds player to play a game with

(20:03):
Joe Nucksall behind the mic like the player he was
still he was the last active player, last active Reds
players recently is last September to have played in a
game that Joe Nucksall announced, And that's one of the
first places my brain went to. That and being in

(20:24):
the stands with my dad. They're in the moondeck and
right field on a early September Wednesday afternoon to see
Joey Vado hit his first big league home run and
if you go watch the video, it is a poke
dead center off the batter's eye twenty nine after three o'clock. Meanwhile,

(20:45):
Bengals play the Colts tonight. There's some stuff to sift through.
James Orpene will help us sift through it. Next lines
a service a Kelsey Chevrolet Home of lifetime powertrain protection
and guaranteed credit approval from their family to Yours for
life Kelsey Chef. Bengals and Colts wrapping up the preseason
tonight kick off at eight live on ESPN fifteen thirty.

(21:06):
James Orpene joins us in just a second. Meanwhile, Reds
and Pirates Tonight first of four in Pittsburgh. Reds amid
the Joey Vado News come from behind down six nothing
and win last night, Ella Dela Cruz with a huge
evening six forty tonight, Nicole. This should be a good
pitching matchup, except Nicolodolo has stunk recently. Lodolo versus Paul

(21:26):
Skens sixty on seven hundred WLW. Reds have signed Dominic Smith,
first baseman who was having a credit year for the
Red Sox, to a minor league contract. Bengals Colts. Tonight
is gonna be a busy evening for our buddy James Arpene,
and so I cannot thank him enough for carving out
some time. James obviously Bengals talk SI. That's Bengals Talk

(21:49):
under the SI Umbrella and also Cincinnati Bengals Talk Enter
the Jungle. You can watch him on YouTube. He's on
Bally Sports Ohio more often than the Reds. He's on
X at James or Peene. He's got Enter the Jungle,
the book which if you didn't buy it a year ago,
you should buy right now. And you know, he was
the first person to kind of talk us off the

(22:10):
ledge when it comes to the Miles Murphy news to
tell us it's it's a sprain, it's not going to
end his season, and then everybody else piled on his
original reporting, so you know, back off, James is here.
How's it going?

Speaker 4 (22:24):
It's going well? Mow are you?

Speaker 3 (22:25):
I am? Well? I think there's some interesting things about
this game tonight because you have, you know, you have
some roster decisions, you have some careers hanging in the balance.
What will you be looking for this evening?

Speaker 8 (22:39):
First things first, don't play anyone that really really matters.
You mentioned Miles Murphy. You know what that means that
Josepho's side really really matters week one, and so I
don't want.

Speaker 4 (22:50):
Josepho's side doing anything besides maybe.

Speaker 8 (22:52):
An intense warm up and so you hit the shower
before we hit the field for the game. That's what
DA Taylor should be saying for Joseph's side. Doesn't mean
he can't work out and get something in because I
get it they didn't practice yesterday. But Osai would be
someone that obviously wouldn't play. Dax Hill DJ Turner, big, big,

(23:13):
important cornerback battle. Right, the Colts are playing their starters.

Speaker 4 (23:17):
I don't care.

Speaker 8 (23:18):
I wouldn't play Hill or Turner just to give you
an idea where my mindset is. But you're right, there
are interesting things tonight, the first of which is probably
the most surprising draft pick the Bengals made in April.

Speaker 4 (23:30):
What does Jermaine Burton do? And can he?

Speaker 6 (23:34):
One?

Speaker 4 (23:35):
Does he play all game long? Two?

Speaker 8 (23:37):
Can he do something tonight to work his way into
a rotation that I think he's the odd man out
as of now? Now that doesn't mean he's not making
the team, obviously, but I just mean, like, there's a
real scenario where is Jermaine Burton active Week one? If
he's active, does he get any snaps on offense?

Speaker 4 (23:53):
Like I do? Wonder?

Speaker 8 (23:55):
And so that's one thing I'll be paying really close
attention to, and then honestly just both of these lines,
because they're going to be dealing with starters and whether
it's Chris Jenkins their second round pick, and dealing with
a starting offensive front that's really good. You're talking about
high end Pro Bowl caliber players for the Colts in
that offensive line. So oddly enough, me a guy who

(24:18):
looks at skill players all the time certainly will be
eyeing the trenches as well.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
All right, So I want to fling it back to Burton.
If you've just watched him, and you've ignored when he
hasn't played, and if you've just watched him in the
two preseason games, there's obviously a lot to Like, we
all know from a physical standpoint, from an athletic standpoint,
what he can do if the knock on him is, well,
you know, Joe Burrow doesn't trust him. Is there really
anything he could do to close that trust gap enough

(24:43):
to at all get on the field when the game's
actually matter.

Speaker 4 (24:47):
Yeah, I think that's.

Speaker 8 (24:50):
The challenge, right, Like if he catches I mean he
led that. He hit the longest reception in each of
these two games that they've had in the preseason. Now
last week it was just a nineteen yard reception, but
still that offense was awful, and so the fact that
he was able to do.

Speaker 4 (25:03):
That says something.

Speaker 8 (25:04):
At the same time, You're right, and I don't think
it's just a trust with Burrow or a playbook issue.

Speaker 4 (25:11):
And obviously people have discussed those things.

Speaker 8 (25:13):
Let's be honest with the reason we didn't talk about
Jermaine Burton is because we thought, oh, character stuff, the
Bengals aren't going to be interested. I'm sure there's some
maturity stuff that he's working through, and maybe just learning
how to be an NFL player, learning how to be
a pro and the things that come with that day
in and day out, and so that could be part
of it. And how he handles not even the demotion necessarily,

(25:38):
but the responsibilities that come with potentially being the sixth
receiver on a team in the NFL, the special team's responsibilities.
Last week, we saw him on return duties, which I
think he enjoyed. I come back to that. Did you
see when Zach was miped up? The Bengals released after
he Burton caught that touchdown, and he said something about
we're creating a monster to Jamarrow, I think they're trying

(26:01):
to make your main hit another level and get to
another level, and that means being kind of hard on
him right now. And the good news is they have
the luxury of doing that because they have a lot
of quality wide receivers behind Ti Higgins and Jamar.

Speaker 3 (26:14):
Chase Is is tonight a battle of the Tanners for
the last tight end spot.

Speaker 8 (26:20):
It might be, but not for me, and I think
on social media one way the way I do, Tanner
Hudsons a lock. I mean, you talk about someone who
has Joe Burrow's trust, he's got it. And if Mike
Gasicki gets nicked up at all, I think the first
tight end in isn't necessarily Eric All to play.

Speaker 4 (26:41):
That get Sicki role at all will be probably.

Speaker 8 (26:44):
Part of it, but I think it would be Tanner Hudson.
And so to me, tonight is about Tanner McLaughlin and
showing the Bengals that, yeah, I'm worth keeping five tight ends.
I can make plays because he's done fine when called upon.
He just hasn't had a ton of opportunity these yet.
And it's not like he's getting in with the first
team offense like Hudson is, like Eric All is. Obviously,

(27:07):
Sample and Gasicki are so right now, I think it's
up to the rookie of sixth rounder. The Bengals like
to keep their draft picks, even though they had ten
this year, but they like to keep their draft picks.
I think it's up to him to earn a spot,
and that could be tonight.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
James Repene with his Bengals Colts. Tonight, you talked about
the lines, and you know, one of the maybe the
biggest question for me when the preseason started was I
want to see what the offensive line depth is like,
because it wasn't tested at all last year. And we've
seen some not so good and we've seen some things
that are really encouraging. Matt Lee last week with sixty
snaps against the Chicago Bears relative to what a lot

(27:45):
of us wondered when the preseason began, should we feel
dramatically better or worse about their offensive line depth?

Speaker 8 (27:54):
I feel better, but I think that there are still
some questions. Like I believe in the the center spot
more now than I ever did last year. Part of
that was because Max Sharping was their backup center and
they kind of converted him there because Trey Hill was
bad and they were like, all right, we got to
find someone that can play center and guard. And heck,

(28:15):
Trey Hill and sharp and both made the team. To me,
Matt Lee is a clear upgrade, and not that he's perfect.

Speaker 4 (28:20):
I don't think he's a great run.

Speaker 8 (28:21):
Blocker right now, but if you put him in a
game and you need it to pass protect for Joe
Burrow say at arrowhead with the season on the line,
I think he could do that. I think it's physically capable,
mentally capable of handling those responsibilities.

Speaker 4 (28:35):
So feel good about that.

Speaker 8 (28:37):
I think the third tackle spot is as good as
it's been now. Health is a huge part of that.

Speaker 4 (28:42):
A Marius Bin's.

Speaker 8 (28:43):
Needs to be healthy because if he is, it's either
Mems or Brown as your third tackle. Cody Ford's gotten
a ton of reps at tackle as well. I think
they're confident in him. And then the other one in
mo this is this is a guy we'll see if
he makes the roster. I think he's going to play
a ton to night and I have and making the roster.
But there were multiple guys in the building that mentioned

(29:04):
Jackson Kirkland to me months ago as someone to just monitor,
and the actions back then up over the past few
weeks of where he's been playing, the fact that Jackson
Carmen has a bunch of penalties and now Kirkland is
lining up at tackle even though he's really a guard.

Speaker 4 (29:19):
They want to see if.

Speaker 8 (29:20):
They could get by with him at tackle, and so
I think he's another guy that's impressed. And so yeah,
I do feel better about their debt? Can you always
have more?

Speaker 4 (29:28):
Absolutely?

Speaker 8 (29:29):
I don't think we'll ever be content with the Bengals
offensive line, but I do think it's in a better
spot today than it's been really at any point during
the Joe Burrow era.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
Does it feel to you, and you know you mentioned
the lines, injuries have been a big part of the
equation here during camp on the defensive front, does it
feel to you like that as a position where they're
likely to try to find somebody who gets cut by
another team?

Speaker 4 (29:51):
Yeah? I hope.

Speaker 8 (29:52):
So, yeah, they need to, especially with the Miles Murphy stuff,
because like the other day, I was told like outside
chance at week one, but certainly it's you know, he's
not going to miss extended time, and so houselow do
they want to do this with him? If you're not
rushing him back, Well, then you kind of have somebody else,
right because right now it's Hubbard, you lost sample for

(30:14):
the year. Obviously you have Hendrickson, and so then your
third guy's Joseph Osi. Well, he hasn't been a beacon
of health mo. So I think that adding a proven
piece would make a ton of sense. And then at
the same time, I could make the same argument for
nose tackle. They're starting nose tackles McKinley Jackson and starting
his relative. He may not start games, but he's in

(30:36):
a brace right now, not going to play tonight, hasn't
taken snaps because he's been injured, and so it's BJ Hill,
And then you're dealing with what Sheldon Rankins Chris Jenkins,
and then you would like to have a true nose tackle,
a veteran, just in case McKinley Jackson misses time and
missus the start of the regular season.

Speaker 3 (30:55):
I go back to pre draft twenty twenty two. You
were the first person to name to mention the named
Dax Hill, and you've watched the downs and ups of
his NFL career. You know, I feel like if we
would have handicapped this back in May or June, we
would have wagered against him being the starting number two corner.
And the ascension here in training camp has been really

(31:17):
fun to watch. It's been really fun to watch, and
it's not like he's been perfect in the preseason, but
he looks the part. And so from the standpoint of
somebody who's there watching practice every day and has kind
of been on the Daxell Bandwagon since it was still
in ann arbor, kind of walked me through what it's
been like to watch him put himself in a position
to grab a gig that I would have said two

(31:38):
months ago he's not likely to get.

Speaker 8 (31:41):
Yeah, I said the same thing probably everywhere DJ Turner
has been playing corner his whole life. You're telling me
that he's not going to beat out Dax Hill, who
clearly wanted to be a safety and stay in safety.
And to me, it starts with the mental element to this.
I think Dax from day one was willing to move
and didn't have sour grapes, wasn't frustrated with it, didn't

(32:05):
question the coaching or the mindset behind it, and that's
hard to do. So I give him credit for that alone,
because I probably would have been the other way and
been really frustrated behind closed doors.

Speaker 4 (32:16):
And he just wasn't. And it's not just.

Speaker 8 (32:20):
You talk to anyone in the building that would have
known that his around acts and they all said the
same thing, that he embraced the change, and I think
it helped him early in camp because there were a
lot of video. There's plenty of videos of him getting
det andre Josavash gets him, and I think Kendrick Pryor
got him a couple of times in the red zone,
and so those videos are out there and it's like, oh, well,

(32:40):
this cornerback battle is over. Going into that first preseason
game DJ Turner one.

Speaker 4 (32:45):
I think a lot of people had that a few
weeks ago, and you.

Speaker 8 (32:48):
See him play that night, and his instincts take over
and he's starting to build some confidence.

Speaker 4 (32:53):
And then he.

Speaker 8 (32:53):
Does what he did last week where he looks the
part again against the really quality unit, quality group. And
in between those sessions, he's had some really nice plays
on defense in practice. So I think he's been consistent.
I think his confidence is growing, and I would agree
with you. I think he is the starting corner. He
wouldn't touch the field tonight. I went and play DJ either,

(33:14):
because both guys are going to play a ton and
really the past couple of weeks, he's built some momentum
and it's like, all right, well, what's his ceiling?

Speaker 4 (33:21):
Now?

Speaker 8 (33:22):
You start to think it almost get greedy, like is
his ceiling the top corner in that room? If he
keeps playing and gets more comfortable. I'm not there yet,
of course, but I do think that he could be
a darn good football player, and I'm happy that he's
had this success over the past couple of weeks that
he's had well.

Speaker 3 (33:36):
And when we talk ceilings and floors and we spread
that across the secondary, like I love that group because
I feel like there's some high floor guys Cam Taylor,
Britt even though there's still maybe something to prove, certainly
what they've done in safety, definitely with the slot corner,
but with the young guys on the outside and in safety,

(33:58):
like there's so much high and potential. I said this
on my show yesterday, like if you're if you're a
defensive coordinator and you have to get a better performance
from your secondary overall from last year to this year,
there's a lot of people who would love to have
the pieces that lou Anroumo does.

Speaker 8 (34:14):
For sure, in the versatility, the ability to have veterans
that have been there, done that, but then have the
young legs, whether it's Ken Taylor, Brett, Dax Hill, DJ Turner,
you could go beyond that. Josh Newton is someone that's
impressed a ton. Obviously, you have Mike Hilton in that
nickel spot and so there you go. I mean, I

(34:35):
think those five corners are all locks, right, and so
you feel good about that.

Speaker 4 (34:41):
But I agree with you.

Speaker 8 (34:42):
I think that the stabilizing force that has been Ginostone
and von Bell it has been everything they could have
hoped for and then some. And it's really not even
me saying that based on what I've seen on the field,
and obviously both guys have made plays, but it's just
talking the guy in the building and just the their

(35:02):
facial expressions and how they talk about having those guys
on the back end and the trust that they have
in them. I just think it's a one to eighty
from last year. Some of that has to do with Dax,
of course, I'd safety a lot of that has to
do with Nick Scott as well, but I think they
feel really darn confident in that group, and you're right,
it's it's versatile.

Speaker 4 (35:21):
I think they'll they'll be able to do a lot.

Speaker 8 (35:23):
I mean there's been times where Mike Hilton comes off
the field for a seventh rounder and Dejon Anthony, Yeah's
who's made some plays and shown some nice abilities. So
it's it's going to be interesting to see how Lou
juggles these guys especially early in the season with that
Week two matchup against Kansas City.

Speaker 3 (35:39):
I've gone over the time I allotted for you, so
I don't have any time remaining to ask you about
who the potter is going to be.

Speaker 8 (35:47):
I think it's Brad Robbins, if he's healthy enough. And
I've been on the Robbins train for a while. I
know everyone hates him from last year. I think he's improved.
We'll see, but it's about health now in that hip
flex or if he can get healthy. If Ryan Rico
you're punning for your NFL life tonight, Yeah, we'll see.

Speaker 3 (36:04):
And blew a chance against the Bears, which was disappointing
to watch. All right, man, I know you have a
long night in front of you. Cannot thank you enough.
If I don't see you before the first Tony and
Most Football show, I'll see in Florence on September the ninth.

Speaker 5 (36:17):
Thanks so much.

Speaker 3 (36:18):
Dam Wait, thanks mom, There you go. James Orpene, get
his work, Cincinnati Bengals talk. Watch it on YouTube. It's
on Bally Sports, Ohio all the time, and obviously Bengals
talk Under the Si Umbrella and get his book Enter
the Jungle. Follow him on X at James Rapine and
he's filling in for Tony on the first Tony and
Mo Football Show, which is a twin peaks in Florence

(36:40):
on September the ninth. Speaking of Tony, he's back with
a training camp report. Next, I'm Court.

Speaker 1 (36:46):
Elvis sister Training camp report brook to you by Kember
Credit Union on ESPN fifteen thirty, the official home of
the Bengals.

Speaker 3 (36:57):
Bengals and Colts tonight at the venue originally known as
Paul Brown Stadium. That means they're not practicing today. NFL
teams don't practice on the afternoon of night games, so
Tony Pike is not a practice and steadies here. As
we get said for the wind down of the preseason
Tonight high Tony Himo, Bengals and Colts, most Cincinnati starters
will not be playing. Indy's gonna play a lot of

(37:18):
their guys. So what are we looking for tonight?

Speaker 9 (37:20):
It's an awesome time to look at depth and to
build depth on the defensive side of the ball and
on the offensive side of the ball, especially on the
offensive line. This team last year, as we've noted many times,
didn't have to play a backup last year We're already
talking about the possibility of them playing a backup week one,
not knowing how Trent Brown is gonna be able to
play every snap if Marius Mims is not available, So

(37:40):
they need to develop depth on the offensive line. I
want to see what Matt Lee looks like. Is he
gonna make this roster? Are they gonna keep nine? Are
they gonna keep ten? The question then becomes after that,
if you keep nine or ten there or do you
keep four or five tight ends? So I think Eric
All is safe to make the team. Mclofton, I'd like
to see more. Yeah, when he's gotten opportunities, he's played
really well, he'll get more snaps tonight. And then just

(38:03):
in interior defensive line depth, you can never have enough
of it. You're banking on Trey Hendrickson being in there
every game. You're also hoping Sam Hubbard can make it
through a season, but if not, what's the edge look like.

Speaker 5 (38:13):
Miles Murphy's banged up right now.

Speaker 9 (38:15):
So to me, tonight is all about depth and trying
to create and build that in different ways.

Speaker 3 (38:19):
Yeah, and I think thank you and I talked about
this earlier this week. But if you're to target an
area where they're most likely to look for a veteran player.
I think it's on the inside of that defensive line.
That's already been a position we've talked about a lot.
I'm watching that unit tonight hoping there's not another injury,
because then that's going to exacerbate maybe the need to
go get somebody else.

Speaker 5 (38:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (38:39):
I mean, if they lose anyone on either side of
the line, you're going to be in very bad shape.
So it started with Cam Sample, went to Miles Murphy.
Sam Hubbard has missed a ton of camp. This team,
as currently constructed on either side of the line, cannot
afford major injuries this season. If so, then I think
this team becomes very active, and I still think they

(39:01):
might depending on what they evaluate from a depth standpoint tonight.
Then you say, Okay, do we have the answer on
our roster or do we need to look at other
rosters when other teams trim down to fifty three as well.

Speaker 3 (39:12):
Also feels like the punning battle. Not that this is
something anybody really wants to focus on, but it feels
like that's still love for grabs. Yeah.

Speaker 9 (39:19):
I still think right now it's Robins by default, even
though he hasn't done much because of injury, but he
was the most consistent, not the best, right, but the
most consistent. And that is ultimately what Darren Simmons wants
each and every time.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
All right, Tony, thank you so much. We'll bring you
back at four forty five. As we get said for
Bengals and Colts tonight. This is Ralph's American Grill pregame
Sports Talk. We are presented by your Greater Cincinnati and
Northern Kentucky Toyota Dealers. Kickoff is coming up at eight
o'clock this evening. Let's take a look at tonight's player spotlight.
It is brought to you by Furniture Fair. Get the

(39:51):
guaranteed low price or it's free at Furniture Fair. I'll
put a couple in the spotlight. And you know some
guys we just talked about with Jane, Tonight is a
battle of the Tanners. And you know, Tanner McLachlin might
have a chance to make the team and and and
maybe that comes at the expense of Tanner Hudson. Tanner
Hudson is did not play last season like the kind

(40:13):
of guy that would make you feel like, you know
what that that should be our start, our starting tight
end moving forward. Right. That's that's not doesn't have that profile,
but did did look like a reliable piece, a suitable backup,
a guy who had Joe Burrows trust, a guy who
looked like he fit the part of competent, complimentary piece

(40:34):
in a tight end room. But they're only going to
keep so many tight ends, and so if it feels
like Eric All is a very good bet to make
the team. Understanding the practice squad does exist, it does
kind of feel like there's one tight end gig up
for grabs. And maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like

(40:54):
it comes down to the two Tanners. Matt Lee look
very quick ascension here, seven round pick, a guy that
a lot of folks love. Sort of felt like early
in camp he was not so much on the outside
looking in, but faced a very uphill battle to make
the team. And his performance against the Chicago Bears last
week he played sixty snaps and you talk about looking

(41:16):
the part, he looked the part. Can he finalize his
bid for a spot on the roster. Offensive line depth
has been one of the big storylines all throughout training
camp and the preseason, and then as as much as
you might roll your eyes at the suggestion that the
punting battle is a big deal. To be honest, man,

(41:36):
uh punter was a position of consistency and reliability for
a very long time, and that hasn't been the case
the last couple of years. Bengals used a draft choice
on Brad Robbins. Brad Robbins is right now dealing with
a hip flexer. Is he going to be healthy enough
week one? If you decide he's the guy? How much

(41:57):
did Ryan Rico hurt himself last week against the sh
Chicago Bears. And obviously it kind of based on how
many times he gets a chance to punt. My guess
is there will be plenty. Can he Can he make
a last ditch bid to be the guy? And be
the guy kind of independent of Brad Robbins. It feels

(42:17):
like if if all things were equal, if both players
were completely healthy, Brad Robbins would would be the guy.
But can you count on him to be healthy when
the games actually count? Starting two weeks from Sunday, a
couple minutes away from four o'clock ESPN fifteen thirty, our
phone lines are open for a while. Five one, three, seven,
four nine, fifteen thirty eight sixty six, seven oh two

(42:39):
three seven seven six. We are going to do our
segment with our buddy at Chad Brendle Bearcat Journal dot com.
You see opens the season in nine days Bearcats v. Tousand.
By the way, if you miss Scott Sadafield earlier this week,
you can go find that conversation on the iHeartRadio app.
Thanks to our friends at Long Neck Sports Grill, Chad's
gonna join us at four to twenty to kind of

(43:00):
go over all things U see football, maybe toss in
a basketball question as well, and obviously a lot more
on joe Evado. I did a radio interview this morning
in Florida and the two hosts wanted to talk about
Joey Vado and they both said to me, Joey Vada
is a Hall of Famer. I'll give you what my

(43:20):
answer was, because it's about more than just the answer
being yes. We'll do that next on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (43:29):
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station versus Rounds American Grow
pregame sports talk presented by your Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Toyota Dealers pregame sports Talk is brought to you by
Skyline Chile. Feeling good. It's Skyline Time, a door and
window company. They sell the best and service the rest

(43:50):
on Core technologies. Visit OnCore dot Tech Cincinnati Asphalt where
precision paves the way. Your Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Toyota did.
Visit Toyota dot com for all Toyota offers Toyota Let's
Go places and by a Rouff's American Grill at Wilmington, Ohio,
just off seventy one, Exit fifty inside the Holiday and

(44:11):
at the Roberts Center.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
No pregames sports Talk.

Speaker 3 (44:15):
I'm mawegar four minutes after four o'clock ESPN fifteen thirty.
This is Ralph's American Grill Pregame sports Talk presented by
your Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Toyota dealers. We've got the
Bengals and Colts. Kickoff is just about four hours away
from the venue originally known as Paul Brown Stadium. Wayne
box Miller has countdown to kickoff at six thirty. Dan
and Lapp had the game the preseason finale at eight o'clock.

(44:38):
Bengals will play very very few of their players who matter.
We are expecting to see some Anthony Richardson for the
Colts tonight. A couple of headlines, one of them related
to the Bengals. We talked before with James about Miles Murphy,
and again James the first to break the news that
Miles Murphy is dealing with a niece brain a. Jeremy
Fowler of ESPN does report to the are expecting Murphy

(45:01):
to miss about four to six weeks, and he says
the team will be conservative with him to make sure
he's a full go on return. Four to six weeks
obviously takes us into the regular season. Defensive line, just
inside and out, has been a position where we've talked
a lot about injuries. We've talked a lot about maybe

(45:21):
needing to see a little bit more from some players.
And look, you're always looking to make your roster better
at every position, whether it's running back, whether it's what
it doesn't matter, You're always looking to make your roster better.
But I think if you were, based on the way
things have played out, if you were to right now
prioritize an area where you would be I think most

(45:42):
looking for a veteran from another team as cutdown day
gets closer, I feel like it's on the defensive line.
That's not to say you can't address running back. Our
buddy Paul Danner Junior was with us yesterday and he
came out and said, look, I think some ajp RAN's
going to be cut some ajp Rian's going to be
the guy going to add him to the running back room.
But it really does feel to me like if you

(46:03):
were to prioritize one area that you would really, really
really like to see them at a veteran, it would
be on the defensive line. It's bad news for Miles Murphy.
Miles Murphy at the end of the season last year
did some really good things in early in camp, showed
some flashes and then you know, let's face it, I mean,
year two for a first round pick is when you
really want to start to see some production. And this

(46:25):
team's outside pass rush, granted, Trey Hendrickson was awesome last year,
could use a little burst of productivity. Going to be
a little while at least before Miles Murphy can give
it to them. We've talked a lot about Joey Vado.
The Reds played last night and won a game that
when it was six to nothing. Chances are you said
there's no chance they come back and win this one.

(46:47):
They did. They have made a roster move. Jake Frayley
to be expected, I should say, goes on the injur
list with a right Niese brain. It's retroactive to the
twenty first, which is yesterday. Dominic Smith, I think I
said before was a minor league contract. Dominic Smith signs
to the big league club, so he is going to
join the Reds. Dominic Smith had not been in the

(47:10):
middle of a very good season with the Boston Red Sox.
He was batting just two thirty seven with an ops
of seven h six. He is a guy who spent
six seasons in New York with the Mets and as
a career two forty seven hitter with a career high
of twelve homers for the Washington Nationals one hundred and
fifty three games. Last year, he had six homers and
two hundred and seventy eight played appearances with the Red Sox.

(47:32):
So he has been added to the roster Reds and
Pirates tonight. Chad Brendall and the Bearcats coming up in
just about fifteen minutes and more from Tony Pike plus
Brendanman and Jones on Baseball. We have a lot to
get to this hour. I started the show by talking
about Joey Evado. I have a poll question. I have
three one of them is about Joey Evado, And I

(47:54):
know the city that I'm in, and I know how
most fans feel about Joeyvani and so the results of
this question were easy to predict. But I asked, would
Joey Vado get your Hall of Fame? Vote ninety three
point seven say yes, And I think Joey's going to
be a Hall of Famer. Now, I wrote a piece

(48:14):
back when I used to blog about why I thought
Joey Voda was going to get into the Hall of Fame.
I wrote it back in twenty seventeen. Now, one of
my one of my premises is that the right premises.
One of the reasons why I ended up being wrong
about because I thought Joey's skill set was going to

(48:36):
enable him to, for lack of a better way of
putting it, age gracefully, that I thought when he got
into his when he got closer to forty in his
late thirties, he might not be the player that he
was when he was at his best, but he was
still going to be good enough if he could stay
healthy to pile up numbers and maybe reach statistical milestones

(49:02):
or plateaus that stand out to some Hall of Fame voters.
If you look at it, you know. Twenty twenty one
he had a really fun, resurgent year, hitting thirty six
home runs, but post twenty eighteen, he his production really
dropped off. Precipitously, injuries were a big factor twenty twenty one. Obviously,

(49:25):
being the outlier, I still think he's a Hall of Famer.
I still would vote for him for the Hall of Fame.
I don't know if he's going to get into the
first ballot. I hope he does. But if you get
in on the first ballot, or if you get in
on the sixth ballot, you're a Hall of Famer. I
think he will be. It is interesting, and I think this,

(49:45):
in many respects sort of cuts across generational lines. I
was asked to go on a radio show in Florida today,
and the city that I was asked to go on
in frankly escapes me and the two gentlemen who had
me on, are they're good radio hosts. I've heard their show,
I've been on with them, but they're they're older than me,

(50:08):
and I'm forty six. They're older than me. And the
question was basically like, got I read that Joey Vada
is a Hall of Famer, but is he really like?
I just don't see it. And my response was, well,
it comes down to how you feel about one statistic,

(50:29):
and frankly, how people feel about this one statistics has
to me often been a generational question as much as anything.
The statistic is on base percentage. Now, I'm sure I
can find baseball fans in their nineties who value on

(50:51):
base percentage, and I'm sure I can find baseball fans
in their twenties who don't value on base percentage. But
as a general rule, generally speaking, it is felt to
me like younger observers, writers, media members, talk show hosts, fans,
and people in the game value on base percentage more
than perhaps people in the same capacity who are a

(51:14):
little bit older. And to me, that's what the argument
comes down to, how do you feel about on base percentage?
Joey Vado led the leaguet on base percentage seven times
in his career. The only players to do so more
Ted Williams, Barry Bond's babe, Ruth Rogers, Hornsby, awesome company,
all those guys Hall of Famers, Barry Bond should be

(51:38):
And I feel like, whenever, whenever, we're gonna have more
of these. As we get closer to what twenty twenty nine,
I guess more and more pieces about why folks either
did or didn't vote for Joey Vado. The ones who did,
I promise you are going to cite that this guy
was awesome at this one skill, and this one skill
is important. He's awesome at winning the pitcher batter battle

(52:03):
and getting on base led the league seven times. Now
you are going to find, I think, mostly older observers
who don't care as much about on base percentage. It's
not a It's always been a statistic. When I was
a kid, you looked at the back of baseball cards,
you saw on base percentage. But I believe it really

(52:26):
wasn't one that was valued forty years ago the way
it has been over the last fifteen twenty years, and
so I think that's what it comes down to. Now. Look,
the overall statistical profile is still insanely good, you know,
Unfortunately because of his last couple of years. He retires
as a sub three hundred batter, but batt at two
ninety four an ops of nine to twenty. He's one

(52:51):
of thirty four players in Major League history to have
a career OPS plus of one forty four, which puts
him ahead of a lot of Hall of famers like Harmon,
Killer Brew and Chipper Jones, Owes, Mike Piazza. He's one
of only nineteen players with a four hundred on base
percentage and nine hundred slugging percentage. Sixteen of those nineteen

(53:12):
are in the Hall of Fame. One's Barry Bonds, one's
Manny Ramirez. One is Lance Berkman, whose Hall of Fame
case is better than it was given credit for being
when he was on the ballot. His peak seven year
war ninth among all, ninth all time among first basemen,
trailing seven players already in the Hall of Fame, and
our pooh holes who will be on the first ballot.

(53:34):
His war from Baseball reference higher than a lot of
Hall of famers, including Willie McCovey, Todd Hilton, Mike Piazza,
Joe Mauer. The raw counting numbers three hundred and fifty
six home runs is not a number to sneeze at.
But and look from an award. He won an MVP,

(53:54):
you won a Gold Glove, he was an All Star
six times. I think in the eyes of some voters,
he's going to be dang because you know, he didn't
have a standout postseason moment, because he didn't really often
get the postseason stage. That's not Joey Vado's fault. But
you know, there are some players that you go, you know,

(54:15):
would boosts their candidacy is what they did in the postseason.
Kurt Schilling is not in the Hall of Fame because
there are a lot of people who don't like him
for the human being that he is. But his Hall
of Fame supporters have often mentioned that, say which one
about his regular season totals, which are really impressive. What
would push him over the top for them is how

(54:37):
awesome he was in the postseason. And he is one
of the best two or three postseason pitchers of my lifetime.
Joey in the postseason was not a terrible performer. Hit
three eighty nine in the twenty twelve NLDS lost to
the Giants, but he never played an e League Championship Series.
He obviously never played in a World Series and so
that kind of hurts him. But I think at the

(54:57):
end of the day, I brought this up years ago
and talking about why I thought Joey was going to
be a Hall of Famer, because the interesting case study
to me was that of Tim Rains, who had an
unbelievable career mainly with the Montreal Expos but played twenty
three years and then you know, kicked around with the

(55:17):
White Sox, went to the Yankees, won a couple of
World Series with the Yankees. I believe he finished his
career with the Oakland A's. It took him forever. I
think he didn't get in until his ninth or tenth try.
What happened during that time that he was on the
ballot was the electorate changed, and so when he first

(55:38):
went on the ballot, there were a lot of people
who didn't They certainly, I'm sure, thought he was a
good player. But the number that jumped off the page
when he looked at his candidacy was the three eighty
five on base percentage and the fact that he had
multiple years where he got on base at a plus
four hundred clip led the league in on base percentage
one year. It's what he did really well. He was

(55:59):
elite at that. He's a good overall hitter. He's a
terrific base dealer. Led the National League and stolen bases
a bunch of times, led the league, and runs scored
a bunch of times. He's great at getting on base.
But over the course of his time on the ballot, well,
a lot of older voters, and I don't say that
to be insulting, it's just a lot of older voters

(56:20):
tended to not really appreciate or care about on base percentage.
But then the electorate changed and some people who maybe
didn't have votes when Tim Rain's first went on the
ballot suddenly had a vote, and they're a little bit younger,
and maybe even though they didn't cover Tim Rains, they
appreciated Wait a minute, this dude was awesome at getting
on base, and so he got in. Well that was

(56:42):
a few years ago. That was Tim Rains got into
the Hall of Fame in twenty seventeen. Joey will be
on the ballot more than a decade later. Well, the
electorate will continue to change, and there's going to be
a lot of people who, as they covered the sport,
didn't just appreciate on base percentage, more relied on it

(57:03):
as their main metric to evaluate players. And I think
that's really going to boost Joey's candidacy and be enough
to get him in. Is his candidacy going to have
some detractors. Sure, he's not going to be unanimous. He
might not even be first ballot, And you know, one
of the fun things to do in sports is have
Hall of Fame debates. But for a player who, as

(57:24):
when he was active, was kind of at the the
heart the epicenter, if you will, of the discussion of
new stats versus old stats, older way of evaluating players
versus newer way of evaluating players, I think that's I
think that's going to play itself out when we talk
about his Cooperstown candidacy. And I think the overwhelming majority

(57:47):
of voters enough to hit the seventy five percent threshold
are going to look at his numbers and go, yeah,
we're putting that guy in Cooperstown. I could be dead
wrong about it, and again I certainly have seen like
the well guy didn't even hit four hundred home runs.
I think that matters. By the way, he had some
terrific power seasons. Terrific power seasons. You know, hit thirty

(58:10):
six home runs in his late thirties a couple of
years ago, multiple seasons of hitting over thirty homers, three
hundred and fifty six lifetime three plus one hundred rbi seasons,
very close to a three hundred hitter. But I think,
what's going to push him over the top. And by
the way, if you take away twenty twenty two in

(58:32):
twenty twenty three, which you know you can't do, but
through twenty twenty one he was an above three hundred hitter.
The last two years killed him. And you know, also,
I think you often have to look at it like
a player's peak, like how long was his peak? And
with Joey it's it's basically nine through twenty and seventeen.

(58:52):
And in that stretch of time there were fewer hitters
as great as he was batted three to fifteen during
that stretch, average twenty five homers a year, got on
base at a four to thirty six clip, which is insane.
During that strap stretch, was a top five MVP vote
getter three times, including when he won it in twenty ten,
was an All Star during six of those seasons, was

(59:15):
the best player on two teams that did win the division.
Was one of the elite offensive forces in the game twice,
leading the league in ops, once, leading the league in
doubles twice, playing one hundred and sixty two games, two
other times playing one hundred and fifty or three other
times playing one hundred and fifty eight or more. Like
they're going to be more people than one might imagine.

(59:39):
Who view that as a slam dunk Hall of Fame resume.
I read a piece today MLB dot com where they
canvas one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight of
their writers, and each one of them has him in Cooperstown.
He's getting a Cooperstown and his speech will be awesome,

(01:00:02):
So as Chad Brendel. He joins us next on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station Cincinnati's es weeks ago, it's
two weeks ago. Today. I was driving to Columbus and
I did my show from iHeartRadio in Columbus because I
went to a concert in Columbus that night. And I
don't spend a lot of time in Wilmington, because nothing

(01:00:26):
against the fine folks in Wilmington. I don't know anybody
in Wilmington. I don't live near Wilmington, but I'm driving
up by seventy one and it's about lunchtime and I'm
getting hungry, and I'm going to Columbus and there's the
sign for Wilmington, and I go Ralph's American Grill. There's

(01:00:46):
my shot, this is my chance. And so I had
lunch at Ralph's American Grill. I got the bacon cheeseburger
and a Coca Cola and it was terrific. Right there,
it's very close to is seventy one left. I made
a right and then I was in the parking lot
and I was at Ralph's American Grill. So I could

(01:01:06):
tell you from experience if you're in the Wilmington area,
or you know what, even if you're not, and you
want a nice little, I don't know, nice night trip
or something, go get dinner Ralph's American Grill. It was
lunchtime and I had to work and I had to
continue driving to Columbus, so I didn't get a chance
to im buy. But it looked like have an unbelievable
bourbon selection, delightful server Ralph's American Grill. In Wilmington. Tell

(01:01:32):
him I sent you. Why not do you see Bearcats
play a football game a week from Saturday. In nine days,
they take on Towson. Chad Brenda Bearcat journal dot Com
has been covering an insane detail training camp, and obviously
we'll give you a comprehensive coverage of the season opener
when the Bearcats play Towsand Chad's with us because it's Thursday.

Speaker 6 (01:01:55):
Hi, Chad, I'm well, we're any of the Cumberland family
at Ralph's America.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
Dude?

Speaker 3 (01:02:02):
That where you went Ralph's American Grill? I did not
say again, it was it was lunchtime. Maybe had I
flung back for dinner, I would have seen the Cumberlands.
But no, they, to the best of my knowledge, were
not at Ralph's American Grill two weeks ago today when.

Speaker 5 (01:02:15):
I had lunch.

Speaker 6 (01:02:17):
Unfortunately, Hey, we got.

Speaker 3 (01:02:18):
A non crew. I'm gread we've got a non conference
basketball schedule.

Speaker 6 (01:02:24):
I know that is one of the things that makes
you more excited than life itself.

Speaker 3 (01:02:29):
Yes, yeah, yeah, I'm excited, uh from a football perspective.
And you, you and I have talked every week since
since camp got underway, and I don't know how much
brand new ground there is to cover. Let me ask
you this, what did you learn watching this team go
through training camp, either at higher Ground or at Nippridge
Stadium that maybe you didn't know coming in.

Speaker 6 (01:02:52):
I think the number one question for me was was
always going to be depth. But you know that that
was I think what got them in trouble as the
season war on last year and and guys either got
hurt or guys got worn down, and there there just
was there was the roster was okay at the top,

(01:03:13):
but there wasn't really much behind it. And and that's,
you know, ultimately where they paid the price was, you know,
trying to navigate that. And I see a lot more
quality depth than I did a season ago. I you know,
I look at safety, and I look at linebacker, and
I look at wide receiver, and you know, you just

(01:03:35):
those rooms are in so much better shape than they
were a CEO. And and maybe not at the top,
right like maybe the top there was similar talent, but
through the rest of the roster just so much more
quality that you know, you don't feel like you're you're

(01:03:56):
playing inferior talent. If you bring a sub in to
rotate and you have to do.

Speaker 2 (01:04:02):
That in this league.

Speaker 6 (01:04:03):
It's just that there's too much quality to survive not
not being you know, you know, at least too deep
and a lot of times three.

Speaker 3 (01:04:15):
Yeah, they didn't often look like especially when the death
got tested and you and I have talked about this,
they didn't look like a big twelve team. This year
when it gets tested, I want to see a big
twelve team. I might not see a great big twelve team.
I want to see a big twelve team.

Speaker 6 (01:04:31):
Yeah. And I think there's still some work that needs
to be done in terms of the overall size of
the roster. And I think that's something that you know,
that's not going to be fixed in an offseason. That's
not going to be fixed with one trip through the portal.
But what Candy fixed is length and athleticism and speed,

(01:04:52):
and I think they're going to look much more big
twelve worthy in those specific aspects than they were a
season ago.

Speaker 3 (01:05:00):
Are they going to be able to finish drives better?

Speaker 4 (01:05:04):
Do you hope? So?

Speaker 6 (01:05:05):
I mean you should have a quarterback that functions better
in the pocket. And let's be honest, a lot of
it is going to come down to a simple question,
how is the offensive line protecting? Because I know Emory
Jones takes a lot of heat for his performance last year,

(01:05:26):
and some of that rightfully deserved. But to go back
and watch those games, we're being honest with each other.
The offensive line was great at run blocking, they were
poor at pass blocking, and that's going to have to
be rectified, especially in the red zone. So you know
that's something that it's gonna it's gonna take until we

(01:05:49):
see the live bullets to find out. But you have
Joe Royer, which should help.

Speaker 4 (01:05:57):
I think a.

Speaker 6 (01:05:58):
Guy we probably should have talked about a lot more
in camp, and it's on me that we didn't. But
I thought Day had a great camp.

Speaker 8 (01:06:07):
And.

Speaker 6 (01:06:09):
You know, those two guys alone should make life a
heck of a lot easier in the red zone for
this offense.

Speaker 3 (01:06:18):
How long will the least be for Brendan Sosby.

Speaker 6 (01:06:24):
I would imagine pretty long. I think he's clearly the
best option. Brady Lichtenberg had a good camp, but I
think you brought Brendan Soresby in to be the guy
that kind of, you know, carries in the real version
of what Scott Saderfield wants to be offensively and I

(01:06:48):
think he's going to get a more than fair shot
to earn that. I thought he was clearly the best
guy in camp. That that is not to say that
Brady Lichtenberg, you broke up on.

Speaker 3 (01:07:02):
Me toward the end. What'd you say? Give it with me?
Now you there?

Speaker 6 (01:07:06):
You got me?

Speaker 3 (01:07:07):
And now I got you. You you started to talk
about Brady Lichtenberger, then I lost you.

Speaker 6 (01:07:12):
Brady Lichtenberg had a good camp, and it's not like,
you know, he had a poor performance and Sorsby pulled away.
But I do think Soorsby is, you know, gonna be
given every opportunity because you know, he has three years
remaining to be the starting quarterback here. Now, obviously you
want him to be great and as you go to
the NFL, you know, after the next year or whatever.

(01:07:34):
But I think there is a hope that he can
grab this thing by the reins and be your guy
for the next two three seasons. So I think he's
gonna get every chance to do that. I think you
have to be pretty bad for them to pull the
plug on that early.

Speaker 3 (01:07:52):
Yeah, that feels that way all right. Well, next Thursday,
the full blown Top to Bottom two thousand, twenty four
season preview. I hope you're ready.

Speaker 6 (01:08:04):
And then next Friday, a day before the season opener,
you're off.

Speaker 3 (01:08:10):
Yes, I will be in that chair, that's right.

Speaker 6 (01:08:12):
And so Thursday and Friday next week we're gonna talk
a lot of Bearcats.

Speaker 5 (01:08:16):
That's all.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
I'm excited for it. All right, Well, we'll talk to
you then, man, Thanks so much.

Speaker 6 (01:08:21):
All right, Thanks well.

Speaker 3 (01:08:21):
Chad Brendel on x at Chadbrendel, Bearcat Journal dot com.
U See versus Towson a week from Saturday. If you
missed a Scott Saderfield earlier this week, he was on
this show, go get it on the iHeartRadio app or
my page at ESPN fifteen thirty dot com. We also
had a conversation with Molly Alvi, the volleyball coach at
you See yesterday. She was awesome. Go get that as

(01:08:43):
well at the iHeartRadio app. It's twenty nine away from
five o'clock. We have a lot of groundcovers twenty Pike
again coming up at four forty five, plus Brenneman and
Jones on baseball and we'll address our poll questions. Plus
speaking of college football, Chuck Martin and Miami is beefing
with the new guy at Alabama. We have to spend
some time on that. And ESPN is ranked the Bengals

(01:09:04):
coaches fourteenth, fourteenth best in the NFL. We'll get to
that as well on ESPN fifteen to thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 10 (01:09:15):
Twenty one field goals from fifty plus yards in the
regular season for Money Mack. That is a record for
an NFL kicker in his first three seasons. This will
be a fifty four yard try from the right. Hash Rico,
the rookie punter, puts the ball down, The kick is
on its way. It has plenty of distance. Joy and
it is good. And the Bengals in the half with

(01:09:38):
three points as the clock hits zero on a fifty
four yard field goal by Evan nick Pherson.

Speaker 3 (01:09:46):
That is last week's delivery of the game from Money Mack.
It is brought to you by Ralph's American Grill and
Wilmington just off I seventy one Exit fifty inside the
Holiday Inn at the Roberts Center. Have I told you
that I went to Ralph's American Grill to we weeks ago.
Ralph wasn't there. I did ask for Routh. They said
he wasn't in Ralph's American grill, the delivery of the game.

(01:10:06):
I mean that was their only offense last week, Van
McPherson's fifty four yard field goal that accounted for all
the scoring. But Evan McPherson had a good weekend. He
made the kick, which okay, but he also got he
got paid, or as the kids say, he got the bag.
Sports headlines are a service of a Kelsey Chevrolet Home

(01:10:27):
of lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their
family to yours for life, Kelsey chev dot com. Bengals
Colts coming up in three hours and twenty five minutes
the game live on ESPN fifteen thirty. Our pre game
coverage continues with a countdown to kickoff at six point
thirty and then Dan Horden Dave Lapham have the game
at eight o'clock live right here on ESPN fifteen thirty.

(01:10:48):
And don't forget postgame coverage all the way until two
thirty in the morning. Austin Elmore handling the postgame show,
taking your until two thirty am. Then he's gonna get
back up the next morning and he's gonna be on
Sincy three to sixty by himself and then he's gonna

(01:11:11):
be producing this show because Tarren, are you taking off
because it's your birthday? That another reasons I got you? Okay, Well,
then he's gonna produce this show. Austin Elmore clinching august
iHeartMedia Employee the Month honors Miles Murphy is gonna miss
four to six weeks due to that niece brain that
according to a Jeremy Fowler, who looks like one of

(01:11:31):
the characters from Porky's he works for ESPN. Meanwhile, Reds
and Pirates Tonight in Pittsburgh at that awesome ballpark six
forty tonight, first of a four game series. Paul Skenes
throws for the Buckos. Nick Lidolo, who was abysmal in
his last outing, throws for Cincinnati. He has not really
been good for the last five or six weeks. He
gets the ball for the Red Legs. Your starting line

(01:11:53):
of tonight is hopefully aid well comes your way thanks
to Madewell Restoration gonna made well. Restoration. India's leading off
Ellie Dela Cruz, is playing shortstop. Aside from him trying
to stretch a single into a double when they were
down by six runs, which he shouldn't have done. Ellie
de la Cruz had a history making night last night

(01:12:14):
twenty and sixty man and helps the Reds to a
come from behind win. He is playing shortstop, batting second,
steering left Friedland center. Met Rosario is in right field tonight.
Santiago Espinal is at second base. Dominic Smith newly acquired
Dominic Smith, who was not having a good year for
the Red Sox, the latest in a long line of
guys the Reds have signed who maybe used to be

(01:12:35):
good but haven't been in a while. He's playing first
base tonight. Marte a Third mainly is catching and batting ninth.
I think it's all I got for your local sports headlines.
Let's take a look at what happened on this date
in Cincinnati sports history. It is brought to you by Pellow,
Windows and Doors Pella Now pay Later. August twenty second,
or as they say in English, August twenty second, a

(01:12:57):
significant day in Cincinnati sports history, especially if you're a
Reds fan. It was on this date in nineteen fifty
nine Frank Robinson Hall of Famer, the iconic Frank Robinson
hit three consecutive home runs for the Reds in an
eleven to four win over the Saint Louis Cardinals at
Crosley Field. Twenty years later, August twenty second, nineteen seventy nine,

(01:13:19):
Johnny Bench hit career home run number three hundred and
twenty five to break Frank Robinson's franchise record for most
home runs. And I thought of this game last night.
It was on this date in twenty ten, Joey Vado
hit a solo home run in the top of the
sixth inning off fellow future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw

(01:13:43):
to break a two to two tie, and then ended
a ten pitch at bat in the top of the
ninth inning with a two run single to ice the
game for the Reds and a five to two victory
over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. That's what happened on
this data in Cincinnati sports history, thanks to Pellow Windows.

(01:14:04):
If you are a longtime Reds fan, if you have
a good memory, if you remember that twenty ten team,
you know Joey Evado. I've talked often about how it's
it's a shame that you don't identify him with team success.
And that's no knock on Joey Vado. It's just if
you talk about the most revered, most cherished, most famous,

(01:14:27):
most accomplished, and best players in Red's history, for the
most part, you connect them to the team winning. You know,
all those iconic players in the Big Red Machine, Barry
Lark and Eric Davis. Eric Davis is not a Hall
of Famer, but for me, the first thing I think
of when I think of Eric Davis is two run
shot off Dave Stewart Game one ninety World Series and

(01:14:48):
then him making an attemper diving catch in Game four
and busting his kidney and not being there when they
won the World Series. Most of the best and most
famous and and most popular players in franchise history got
a significant postseason stage or when you think of them,
you think of their contributions to great teams. And with Joey,

(01:15:11):
you don't do that. That's not his fault. And he
did play on you know, four playoff teams, one of
them in the Goofy COVID year. But they won the
division in twenty ten, they won the division in twenty twelve,
they made the playoffs in twenty thirteen and then in
twenty twenty. But for the most part, the Reds stunk
while Joey was here. They stunk his first two full seasons.

(01:15:33):
They stunk in twenty fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen eighteen. They
were okay in twenty one but didn't make the playoffs.
They were beyond horrific in twenty twenty two, and they were,
you know, okay last year. You don't really think of
Joey Evado and team success, and that's that's frustrating. It's

(01:15:54):
frustrating if you're a fan of him, it's frustrating. I'm
sure if you're him all those other guys, you connect
with winning, you connect with team success. But at the
very least when they were good, he was the main
reason why, especially twenty ten, the twenty ten red season

(01:16:15):
might be my favorite of all time for a couple
of different reasons. Number one was the first year that
I did this show while the Reds were good. Secondly,
it brought people back to baseball in some respects. They
hadn't been good in forever, hadn't had a winning season
in ten years, hadn't made the playoffs in fifteen years,

(01:16:35):
and they made the postseason. You know, social media was
like the first good Reds team of the social media age.
Social media in twenty ten was not quite the cesspool
that it's turned into. There was a little bit of
an innocence to it. They had, you know, in two
thousand and eight, the Reds had free of the top
five vote getters in the National League Rookie of the
Year Award, which speaks to how you know, they were

(01:16:56):
starting to get some guys to the big leagues in
the by twenty ten, so many of those guys were here,
and it was fun and it was unexpected and it
came out of left field. But when I think of
that year, more than anything else, I think of Joey Evado,
and I think of Joey Evado winning the MVP Award
and having a great season. But if you recall, he

(01:17:18):
initially didn't make the All Star team, and this is
when a lot of us still cared about All Star voting.
But if you remember, they announced in late June early July,
they announced the National League All Star Team. Joey Evada
at the time led I think all of baseball, but

(01:17:40):
at least the National League and ops. Every year there
are players who don't make it who have a case.
Joey was an egregious snub and here we made a
big stink of it. Now it got rectified because they
had the I don't know what they called it, but
it was the second Chance vote whatever, where they put

(01:18:01):
you know, three or four players on a ballot, and
this city went nuts and voted for Joey and he
got to the All Star Game. But if you remember
the day that they announced the National League All Star Team,
Joey doesn't make it. They're in Chicago and he gets
kicked out of the game, which, by the way, also
a part of the Joey Vado story. The dude could

(01:18:23):
throw a temper tantrum. The next day they go to
New York and the story is in Cincinnati. They're whining
that Joey Vado didn't make the All Star team, and
against the Mets, he hits two home runs, sort of
his yeah I'm not an All Star moment. But anyway,
during that year, it was a really fun season. Late

(01:18:45):
in the year, I was thinking about this game yesterday.
I didn't realize untill this morning when I was preparing
for the show that it was on August twenty second.
But they play this game against the Dodgers, he hits
the home run off Kershaw. Clayton Kershaw is going to
the Hall of Fame, even though people talk only about
his postseason struggles. And then in the ninth inning has

(01:19:06):
this quintessential epic Joey Vado at bat where it's ten pitches,
he's fighting balls off, he's taking close pitches for balls,
and he gets a hit off. Jonathan Broxton, who's a
very good reliever ended up pitching for the Reds a
couple of years later, drives in a couple of runs
and it was this just really cool moment during a

(01:19:27):
season full of them for the team and for that
season's n LMVP, who somehow someway initially wasn't an All Star.
Tony Pike joins his next rouse American Girl pregame Sports
Talk presented by a year Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Toyota Dealers on ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:19:47):
It's just a training camp report, brought to you by
Hollywood Casino Lawrensburg. Up to ESPN fifteen thirty, the official
home of the Bengals.

Speaker 3 (01:19:58):
Bengals and Colts. Tonight final preseason game, Tony Pike is
with this final preseason game obviously means you know cut
down day is looming. There's still some time, a lot
of time between tonight and the start of the regular season.
But this is the cold reality of life in the
National Football League. There are gonna be a lot of
guys on both teams and around the league that tonight
is the last time they put on an NFL uniform.

(01:20:20):
How nerve racking is if you're one of those fringe
guys tonight and then the immediate period after tonight's game.

Speaker 9 (01:20:28):
I remember back when I was a rookie not more
Jimmy class than you knew they were going to make
the team. I was battling with Hunter Campwell from Louisville. Yeah,
and you literally put everything you have out there and
then you just hope that it was enough. And I
was sick to my stomach, didn't want to eat, didn't
want to talk to anyone. Families calling like I don't
want to talk to anyone. And then you get the
news that you made the roster. It's one of the

(01:20:50):
most unbelievable feelings to know that you're part of that
fifty three man And now it's so different because as
the money keeps going up. You can make a really
good living on a practice squad, and there's so much
film and so many analytics available that even if you
don't make the fifty three man here, you have an
opportunity to land somewhere else. So you have multiple avenues now,
whether it's practice squad, the fifty three man, or someone

(01:21:13):
else's fifty three man, where you can be maximized to
your ability. But and the time from when the game
is going to end tonight to the fifty three man
cut down is some of the most nerve wracking days
that you're gonna have because you just sit there and
argue with yourself mentally, did you do enough? You kick
yourself for bad plays you made in practice or a game.
I remember I fumbled a snap and like warm ups

(01:21:35):
of practice and I'm sitting there like, I'm like, is
that going to cost me the spot?

Speaker 3 (01:21:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 9 (01:21:40):
Like, you analyze every single thing you've done, and it
is agonizing for a lot of those guys at the
edge of the ross.

Speaker 3 (01:21:46):
What's the relationship like between you and a guy like
Hunter cant Well?

Speaker 4 (01:21:49):
Not good?

Speaker 3 (01:21:50):
Yeah, I mean you're going through Cara right your teammates.
But at the same time that's the guy in the
way of you earning an NFL paper.

Speaker 9 (01:21:56):
Yeah, you know, he had already been there, so there
wasn't many like arm around moments like here, this is
what you're looking for in this setting, and it was
I'm not trusting a word he's saying. And you know,
you're cordial and you're polite, but you look, it's a
battle within your own team, which is always unique, right
because your your teammates at the end of the day,
but also you want that guy spot and it does

(01:22:16):
become very very different.

Speaker 3 (01:22:18):
All right, Tony, thank you so much. Tony Pike. Back
at it for another training camp report coming up at
five forty five. Let's take a quick look at who's
hot in the NFL. It is brought to you by
a plump type. Because you deserve better. You need to
call plump type plumbing, heating, cooling and trains go to
plump tight dot com. It's the preseason. No one's really hot,
but the Chicago Bears are three and oh and because

(01:22:41):
they played in the preseason or played in the Hall
of Fame Game to start the preseason, even though the
Hall of Fame Game was abbreviated, they won that game.
They have a chance to be the only team to
go four and oh. Caleb Williams has looked all right.
I mean, Bengals defense did a good job against him.
They've got a lot of weapons. I think that Bears
team is fascinating. They've at least played well enough through

(01:23:03):
the preseason. Caleb Williams has gone ten of twenty four
one hundred and seventy yards. He has run for a touchdown.
They have a chance to polish off a perfect preseason
tonight with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Brediman
and Jones on Baseball is.

Speaker 2 (01:23:15):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

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Speaker 2 (01:24:33):
No pregame sports talk, that's us.

Speaker 3 (01:24:37):
It's five minutes after five o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty
Good afternoon on Mowager. It's the nicchelob Ultra five o'clock
Happy Hour. We are inching closed for the kickoff tonight
at the venue originally known as Paul Brown Stadium, Bengals
hosting the Indianapolis Colts preseason game number three. Our coverage
will continue at six point thirty when Wayne box Miller
has countdown to kickoff, and then Dan Horde and Dave Lapman.

(01:25:00):
I have to call Bengals v. Colts the preseason finale.
Expect very few players of any of significance to a
play for the Bengals tonight. Colts are gonna play some guys,
including by all accounts, Anthony Richardson, So that'll be interesting.
After the Bengals did such a good job against Anthony
Richardson and the joint practice on Tuesday, we'll see if
maybe he has an answer that defense was feeling itself.

(01:25:22):
And let's be honest, man, this has been one of
the stories of training camp so far has been the
the the evolution of the defense, like the Dax Hill
thing is, has been fun to watch unfold. You know,
I think when camp started, most of us would have

(01:25:46):
wagered against him being the starting corner opposite Camp Taylor Britton.
Now it's the NFL. It's a passing league. Whoever doesn't
win the battle between Dax and d Turner is going
to play. But it felt like when camp started, or
at least when the OTAs and mini camp were unfolding

(01:26:09):
that Dax had a little bit of an uphill battle
in front of him. He has done a very good
job in that battle. He hasn't been perfect by any
stretch of the imagination, but he looks the part. And
I I think that's the basic baseline assessment that I
like to hear and read and at some and at
times recite about players as they try to make teams,

(01:26:31):
or try to win jobs, or try to adhere to
new roles. Matt Lee as the backup center last week
looked the part. Dax Hill as a quarterback a new position,
has looked the part. The defense, by all accounts in
practice and certainly across the first two preseason games, has

(01:26:53):
looked the part. And for all the talk of Joe
Burrow's hand and how calmly is and wearing gloves, and
then all the Jamar Chase discussions, mechanically speaking, this offseason
and this camp have been about taking a defense that
last year was a train wreck and getting better results,

(01:27:17):
achieving better results across the board. Now there's no guarantee
that that's gonna happen once the games actually matter, but
I think if you follow this team and have followed
the ins and outs of who's done what on defense,
you have to be pretty encouraged about seeing major improvement
from that unit this year. It's time to check tonight's

(01:27:38):
keys to the game. They are brought to you by
Cincinnati Asphalt, where precision paves the way. Here's the key
to the game, tonight. Okay, get this bad boy over
as quickly as possible and move on. I mean, yeah,
there's some stuff. There's some stuff to pay attention to tonight.
How many tight ends this team keeps and how tonight

(01:28:00):
it impacts that decision, The depth on the offensive line,
are there more injuries? Can can the backups on defense
play the way they did against Chicago? Let's be honest.
Tonight is about getting this thing over as quickly as
possible and moving on and moving on to the season
and Week one against the Patriots, but also moving on

(01:28:21):
to what may or may not be next when it
comes to making roster additions, involving players from the outside,
and also achieving some conclusion for this Jamar Chase thing.
This has been one of the other stories of camp,
and it's been one of the other stories of summer
around the NFL, and there have been times where we've

(01:28:44):
talked about it. There have been times where I felt
like there's no new ground to cover. But I remember
when this first started back in late July, when camp
first gets underway and Jamar is not there and it's
all a part of the plan, and it was eye
opening for some, shocking for some that Jamar wasn't there,
and sobering for some. I think the question that many

(01:29:06):
of us had, at least the question that I had,
was Okay, right now, maybe this isn't that big of
a deal. Jamar is there. He's not practicing, but he's there.
He's involved, he's engaged, he's in meetings, he's talking with
some of the other receivers, he's communicating. He's there. He's
doing maybe the bare minimum, maybe a little bit more

(01:29:26):
than the bare minimum, but he's there, great, awesome, right,
So that's good. My question was when does this become
more of a thing. When does this become something that
is more than just a hold in and part of
the plan. When does this become something that you fear
could impact the actual season? And the answer was, at

(01:29:53):
least people that I talked to was well, when the
preseason's over and we turn the page to the regular season.
If this is still what we're doing, then the conversation
changes a bit now. Obviously with the new preseason schedule,
they're no longer being four games. There's a ton of
time before between the end of the regular season and
the start of the season. The Bengals will play the
Colts tonight and then they won't play another game for

(01:30:15):
sixteen days. There's more time, and so there's more time
for Jamaar to come back and practice. There's more time
for jama to sit out, there's more time to get
a deal done. Lots of different things can happen, and
so maybe things are a little bit different if come Monday,
Jamar is still not practicing, and then even more different
if the Monday after that he's still not practicing. We
had Paul Danner Junior on the show yesterday and he

(01:30:36):
talked about the possibility of, like Labor Day, they get
it done. Jamar practices were good to go, everybody's fine,
and they go and play the New England Patriots. But
once we put the preseason behind this, it does feel
to me like the conversations shift a little bit more
toward the maybe more distinct possibility that Jamar is willing

(01:30:57):
to miss regular season games. Our buddy Richard Skinner was
on since he three sixty yesterday, and you know what
he said was, according to what he has heard, Jamar
is asking for a contract in the four year, one
hundred and sixty million dollar range with one hundred and
twenty million dollars guaranteed. Now that is a significant amount
of money. There is a very good piece on eight

(01:31:20):
is sports dot com by John Sheeran, and he does
a really good job of kind of breaking down Jamar
Chase's contract situation, both in regards to his rookie deal,
but also what the numbers would look like if the
Bengals would sign him to the deal that he is

(01:31:42):
reportedly asking for. And I'll read a passage from it.
Go find it at eightyes sports dot com. He writes,
the reporter numbers from Richard Skinner are what would be
added to Chase's existing contract, which he's scheduled to make
twenty six million, six hundred and eighty I'm sorry, twenty
six million, six hundred and seventy eight thousand dollars in

(01:32:04):
cash over the next two years when factoring in the
signing bonus. That's been pro rated throughout the life of
his rookie contract. The total cap figure of both years
is thirty one point six. And then he continues to
do math and points out that two years and thirty
one point six plus four years and one hundred and

(01:32:25):
sixty million comes out to six years, one ninety one six.
The real cash value is one eighty six point six.
The real average annual value is all the way down
to thirty one point one mill, which that number ends
up being less than justin Jefferson's current average annual value,

(01:32:48):
which is thirty one point nine. Again based on Richard's reporting,
the average annual value of Chase thirty one point one
aa V for Jefferson thirty one point nine. Get that

(01:33:09):
deal done, like legitimately, get get that deal done. And
you know I I brought this up a little bit yesterday.
If you're Katie, Troy, Mike Duke, the people involved in
getting contracts done, the Jefferson deal gets done, Yeah, you

(01:33:34):
had to have you had to have a deep suspicion
that what Jamar was going to ask for is at
least close to the numbers that Skinny mentioned on this
radio station yesterday. And maybe you didn't want to hit

(01:33:55):
those numbers, but you knew you were gonna have to
offer numbers than what Justin Jefferson got from Minnesota. Are
those numbers really that different? And is the sticking point
really the number, the guaranteed number, the overall number, the
overall average annual value number, or is it simply the

(01:34:16):
fact that there's two years remaining on his current deal?
And again I'm asking questions that we don't necessarily know
the answers to, like, are they are they balking at
the price tag or are they balking at doing it
now versus doing it in March? If it's balking at
the price tag, if you know you were gonna have
to give more in terms of just the basic structure

(01:34:37):
of the contract than what Justin Jefferson got, and you
know what Jamar is asking and it's at least close
to what Richard is reporting. How far away could you
really be from the numbers that Jamar is asking for?
And if the sticking point is he's got two years
left on his deal, should that be so much of
a sticking point that you're willing to let Jamar Chase
miss actual games at some point in a season where

(01:35:03):
you're supposed to be all about winning, right, all about
winning the whole thing. I don't you want to do
everything it can to ensure that he plays in games
that count this year and not miss two, not miss three,
not miss God knows how many I've said from the
beginning of this often on this show that I don't
fail to see where the Bengals are coming from here.

(01:35:24):
I don't fail to see where Jamar Chase is coming
from here. But as somebody who badly wants this team
to win and views views the Chase deal getting done
as an inevitability, I just I'm on the side of
begging the Bengals to just go ahead and get this done,
so this goes away understanding you're going to incur some risk.

(01:35:44):
But when I heard those numbers from Skinny, I didn't
do the deep dive into the math the way John did.
But my thought was, Okay, if the Bengals are offering
more than what Justin Jefferson got and they know what
Jamar is asking for those numbers Skinny gave out four

(01:36:06):
for one sixty one to twenty guaranteed, could the two
sides really be that far apart? Sixteen minutes after five
o'clock five, one, three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty is
our phone number. A lot to get to between now
and when we're off the air. At six thirty, Wayne
Box Miller will have countdown to kick off. Bengals and
Colts coming up tonight at eight o'clock. A lot more

(01:36:28):
as it relates to the Bengals. Another training camp report
with Tony Pike coming up at five forty five. Yesterday
was a big, big day. It's a big day because
Joey Vado hung it up and we've spent a lot
of time on it today. More time on it coming
up on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station Cincinnati.

Speaker 2 (01:36:46):
Here's the two too. Nevado hit deep center field. Maybe
he'll gone.

Speaker 7 (01:36:51):
Back at the one.

Speaker 3 (01:36:53):
Joy good one. It's gone.

Speaker 2 (01:36:56):
Joey Vados delivering making me three big fran slam home
run A long.

Speaker 3 (01:37:04):
Distance Mother's Day.

Speaker 2 (01:37:06):
Crendit Torvado.

Speaker 6 (01:37:08):
I have a game, Joey three home runs and look
at this at home plate.

Speaker 3 (01:37:15):
It's Mother's Day. Twenty twelve Reds versus Nationals. There was
like a three hour rain delay leading up to that game.
I take my mom or my mom moved to nevad
about two years ago, but before she left, I would
take her to Red's game on Mother's Day or the
Reds a out of town on Mother's Day, the closest
Sunday to Mother's Day. That game, it rained all day long,

(01:37:38):
and the Reds were, you know, obviously really good that year,
but it rained all day long, and so if they
were expecting a huge crowd by the time, by the
time the game started, ain't nobody there. And we waited
it out. We waited it out. At the Holy Grail,
they're playing the Nationals. It's Mother's Day and Joey Vado

(01:37:58):
has maybe his signature game four hits, three homers, a
walk off grand slam to beat the Washington Nationals nine
to six Sunday, May thirteenth, twenty twelve at GABP. An
awesome night, an awesome day, an awesome moment, and an

(01:38:19):
awesome moment in an otherwise awesome career. By the way,
it's a rouse American Grill pregame Sports Talk presented by
your Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky tow Oter Dealers on ESPN
fifteen thirty. I'm moegar Bengals and Colts coming up. More
from Tony Pike here in just a bit last night's news.
I confess this, and I don't love I don't love

(01:38:40):
myself for it. But when Joey announced his retirement, you know,
I did a segment yesterday thanking the Toronto Blue Jays
for not promoting him in time for that series with
the Reds. And you know, let's face it, the way
the timing worked out, the way the whole thing worked out,
it certainly felt like that Joey was targeting I'm gonna
try to come back in time for the series with

(01:39:01):
the Reds, and if that doesn't happen, I'm gonna hang
it up. And you know, let's be honest, the Toronto
Blue Jays this season are going nowhere. So it's not
like he was working toward coming back and helping the
Blue Jays make a push toward the postseason. They're bad.
Reds are bad, but not as bad blue Jays are bad.
So all right, if I'm not going to play in
the postseason and I can't come back and play against

(01:39:22):
the Reds, what's the point. I'm not gonna keep toiling
away at Buffalo. And so I did a segment yesterday
where I thank the Blue Jays for not calling him
up so we didn't have to watch him strike out,
look clueless at the plate like he had when he
was trying to come back at Buffalo, and then we
do the show. In about an hour after the show,
we find out he is retiring. I felt relief. I

(01:39:46):
felt relief because as a Joeyvato fan, like, let's be honest,
if you're a fan of a certain athlete, regardless of sport,
you know, yeah, you want him to hang along as
long as possible, but you know you don't want to
watch players whose careers you loved. You don't want to

(01:40:07):
watch them simply hanging on. And I'm not even talking
about like, you know, watching their skills decline or watching
their production dip. That happens with everybody, but you know it,
it got to the point where it's like, man, if
they call him up, this guy is gonna be a
little bit of a punchline and it's gonna be painful
to watch. I don't want to watch that. And so

(01:40:31):
when I saw the instagram from Joe Evano last night,
my first my first emotion was relief, Like, we don't
get that, we don't get to we don't. We don't
have to watch Joe Evanou look awful at the plate,
look like a shell of himself, maybe get booed, get ridiculed.
We don't have to watch that. Awesome. Also, yes, he

(01:40:52):
tried to come back, not even gonna come back. It's
all like he was out of the game. But he
tried to make the Blue Jays and uh, and so theoretically, technically,
I guess not theoretically, but technically he played for two franchises.
His time with the Buffalo Bisons and his time with
the Dunedin Blue Jays is going to be remembered about
as well as Anthony Munos's time trying to make the

(01:41:14):
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's never going to be brought up.
And so I think it's really cool when a player
of a certain stature plays their entire career with one club.
You can be an iconic member of a franchise and

(01:41:36):
have played somewhere else. You can have productive seasons somewhere else,
help another team somewhere else win and still be treasured
and revered and honored by fans of the other team
you played for. But I've always viewed when we talk
about like Red's greats. I've always I've always sort of

(01:41:59):
pushed to one side the handful of players who are
among the greatest in franchise history who did only play
for one team. It's why Johnny Bench is special. Johnny
Bench is special because it's the greatest catcher of all time.
But among all those guys in the Big Red Machine,
he played played his entire career here, So did Davey Concepcion.

(01:42:22):
And that just makes them different. Does it make them
better than Pete Rose or Joe Morgan or Tony Perez.
But there's always been something special about players like that
played for a very long time, in Johnny's case, sixteen
years and Concepcion's case eighteen nineteen years, Barry Larkin's case
eighteen years, play their entire entire career in one place.

(01:42:46):
And you know, I mean, obviously you could talk about
players who played another markets for other teams, for one city,
and like Tony Gwinn's always going to be mister Padre,
not mister Padre who, yeah, he spent two years with
the Colorado Rockies or the Seattle Mariners or a cal Ripken.
You know, you solely the Baltimore Orioles, Derek Jeters, solely

(01:43:09):
the New York Yankees. I think it's I think there's
something cool about players like that, and Joey Vado, barring
a change of heart and joining another team, is gonna
end up being a player like that, playing in one city,
playing for one team, representing one franchise. And not that

(01:43:29):
anyone would have held it against him him playing somewhere else,
not that his place in Red's history would be compromised
at all had he played somewhere else, But there is
something really cool about watching a guy play for one
team and one team only and have the kind of
career that Joey had, And so I'm willing to admit

(01:43:51):
I'm not really ashamed of it, but it is a
bit of an admission. I wasn't rooting against him, necessarily,
because that's unfair, but I wasn't heartbroken to see him
retire because he gets to remain almost entirely ours. That
might sound stupid and hoki and dumb, and part of

(01:44:12):
it does, but I'm supposed to tell you how I feel,
and my initial feeling last night was awesome. That means
Joey Vada will have only played for the reds, and
as stupid as it might be, as old school as
it might be, as hokey as it might be, I
think there's something pretty cool about that. Twenty eight after

(01:44:32):
five o'clock, five point three seven four nine, fifteen thirty.
If you want to jump in. We've talked a lot
about Joey Vada. Today, let's take a look at how
every piece is important. It is brought to you by
Donado's Pizza, where every piece is important. Donado's the official
pizza of the Bengals. Every piece is important, which is
why I have talked and so many of us have

(01:44:52):
talked all summer long about offensive line depth. And there
were some good developments last week against the Bears, Matt
Lee's showing at center, Jackson Kirkland showing as well. Last
year's offensive line depth not tested at all, everybody stayed healthy.
The odds of that happening this year aren't great. When

(01:45:13):
we talk so much about protecting Joe Burrow when they
have to play the other guys when they have to
play backups. Can they keep Joe Burrow upright when they
have to play backups? Can the offensive line continue to function?
Can we get a greater glimpse into how we feel
about that answer tonight. I would like to think. So

(01:45:33):
we're not going to see most key players tonight. But
I talked about this extensively yesterday, and I think it's
turned into one of the themes of the summer. The secondary.
If you are lu Anarumo, put yourself in the in
the shoes of any defensive coordinator, where last year your
secondary wasn't very good, your defense top to bottom wasn't
very good, and now you got the job of fixing

(01:45:56):
the secondary, fixing the defense. How many defense of coordinators
would like to have the types of players that lou
has at his disposal, And so I think that's such
a key to the team. I'm not sure they're going
to be dramatically better against the run. We'll see if
they have a boosted pass rush. We'll see if the
linebacker linebacker corp Can play better than it did last season.

(01:46:19):
But the biggest storyline for the defense, for me at least,
is can you approve upon last year's showing against explosive plays?
They were the worst team in the NFL in giving
up not giving up explosive plays. Does that get better?
If the answer is yes, and I mean significantly better.
Bait means everything came together. I feel like the secondary,

(01:46:42):
you've got a lot of high floor, high ceiling guys.
Like even if you think Von Bells maybe slightly past
his prime, it feels like that floor is pretty high,
and Mike Hilton's floor is pretty high, and even Cam
Taylor Britt, I'd say the floor is pretty high. Still
something to prove there, but still. But the upside, the
side of Geno Stone, the upside of DJ Turner and

(01:47:02):
Tax Sol, the upside of Josh Newton, the upside of
Cam Taylor Britt, the upside of Josh battle Boy. There's
a lot to like about that group. We'll see how
that group plays tonight. Five point three seven four nine,
fifteen thirty. We have Pole questions on X thanks to
our friends at United Heartland Insurance, We've got to play
the audio of Chuck Martin, the football coach at Miami,

(01:47:24):
and Caleb de Borr, who's now the head coach at Alabama,
because one has something to say essentially about the other.
We'll get to that and our other pole questions and
our Bengals coaches ranking as well. On ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports station. Port's headlines are a service of Kelsey
Chevron Lay home of lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit

(01:47:45):
approval from their family to yours for life, Kelsey chev
dot Com. Bengals and Colts winding down their preseasons Tonight
kickoff at eight o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty. Our coverage
continues with a countdown to kickoff at six thirty. Don't
forget our postgame coverage goes all the way until two
point thirty tomorrow morning with Austin Elmore postgame sports talk.

(01:48:08):
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Miles Murphy is expected to
miss four to six weeks with that niese brain suffered
earlier this week. That is on the better end of
the news in relation to how we feared about what
Miles Murphy might be dealing with when we first saw
that he was hurt. Meanwhile, The Reds and Pirates I

(01:48:30):
wrote Padres Reds and Pirates Tonight in Pittsburgh, first of
four Paul Skeen's on the Hill for Pittsburgh. Nicolodolo, who
has not been very good recent leaves terrible on Saturday
Night six this evening on a seven hundred WLW Reds
starting lineup. We hope it is made well comes your
way thanks to Madewell Restoration. You know, they won that

(01:48:51):
series in Toronto. They were down six zip early last
night and then for Homers and Elie Delacruz becoming the
fifth player in history to join the sixty to twenty club.
They won that series and now they start a four
game series tonight. Made while restoration gives us tonight's starting lineup.

(01:49:11):
Jonathan India's dhing Ellie de la Cruz, Spencer Steer, TJ
friedel Ahmed Rosario is starting in right field tonight. Santiago
Espinal is playing second base. Newly acquired Dominic Smith, who
the Reds signed to a major league contract. He was
cut loose by the Boston Red Sox not having a
good year batting two thirty seven. He is playing first
base and batting seventh. Marte at third mainly is catching

(01:49:34):
six forty. This evening game is live on seven hundred
w WELW. Jake Frehley goes on the injured list unfortunately
with a knee injury. What else do we have? I
think that is it. I think that is at pregame
Sports Talk is brought to you in part by Encore Technologies.
Go to Encore dot tech. Our poll questions thanks to

(01:49:56):
United Heartland Insurance, go to uhi ns dot com. I
asked three today one. I knew what the results were
gonna be, and I agree with the majority. But would
Joey Vado get your Hall of Fame vote? And ninety
three point eight percent of you say yes. ESPN has
ranked every facet of every team this year. They ranked

(01:50:18):
the coaching staffs one through thirty two, and they ranked
the Bengals fourteenth. Now this is staffs, so it includes coordinators,
includes everybody. Coaching staffs. Bengals rank fourteenth. I got kicked

(01:50:41):
out of my ESPN plus account or I would read
the one through thirty two for you, or at least
tell you who was ranked number one, Bengals fourteenth. There
it is. I logged in very quickly. Las Vegas Raiders
number thirty two, Disney pop up at number one, No.
Number one, the Kansas City Chiefs, and let's be honest,
it's hard to argue with that. Kansas City, Detroit, the

(01:51:02):
Rams forty nine ers in Baltimore one through five, Pittsburgh
number seven, and the Cleveland Browns as scroll through this
number thirteen, So they ranked the Bengals with the worst
coaching staff in the division. And by the way, look,
John Harball's probably going to camp, Mike Comlin is going
to camp. Those are super Bowl winning head coaches. Kevin
Stefanski has been the coach of the year. Like, there's

(01:51:25):
a reason why we call the AFC nor At the
best division of the sport. The coaching staffs are a
reason why. I ask you on social media, Bengals at fourteen,
is this too high, too low, or just about right?
I think it's just about right now to this day,
I don't believe Zach Taylor and the offensive coaching staff,

(01:51:46):
which obviously they have a new coordinator this year, gets
enough credit for the work they did in getting the
team to the Super Bowl in twenty twenty one game
planning behind a difficient offensive line. I also think they
deserve credit for or how they made the offense function
late in the season last year with Jake Browning at quarterback.
But fourteen sounds about right, might be a little bit

(01:52:09):
too low. Forty nine point seven percent of you say
it's just about right. Forty two percent of you say
it's too low and eight point four percent say too high.
The other one. This story, this, this went viral today.
Chuck Martin is the football coach at Miami. You know
that he's done a good job at Miami. RedHawks had

(01:52:31):
a very good year last year, winning eleven games. But
as is the case at that level, and as is
the case at a lot of levels, frankly, in college
football right now, a player achieves certain status and then
gets poached. And that happened with his kicker last year,
who was the twenty twenty three lou Groza Award winner,

(01:52:53):
Graham Nicholson. Great year at Miami. Lou gros Award goes
to the best kicker in college football. And this offseason
went from Oxford to Alabama, who has a new head coach,
Caleb de Boorr who used to be at Washington, took
them to the national title game. So in an interview
on Miami's athletics website, Chuck Martin, who's always willing to

(01:53:18):
kind of tell you how he feels, said this.

Speaker 5 (01:53:21):
All right, special teams lost your kicker, Carter.

Speaker 12 (01:53:25):
We didn't lose him. He's at Alabama. We know you
know exactly where he's at. Like again, you media people.
It's all pretend like, no, Alabama stole our kicker illegally,
They illegally recruited our they illegally recruit our kicker and
stole them from us, and like that's that's a fact.
But that's that's cow. But we act like it's not.
We live in this la la world, like, hey, let's
not talk. I don't know why, I mean, knows what's

(01:53:45):
going on. So, yeah, Alabama stollar kicker. A couple of
a couple of other schools try to steal them. But
they think, okay, what's the question?

Speaker 5 (01:53:53):
All right, special team.

Speaker 3 (01:53:54):
Right, So he's now it's one thing to say Alabama
stole our kicker, it's something else to say they quote
illegally recruited our kicker illegally. I don't know what that means, illegally,
tampering contacted him before he hit the portal. I don't know,
but that's I mean, that's that's that's a hefty allegation.

(01:54:15):
And like, you know, coaches get salty, and you know,
i'vean pace went from Miami to UC and Chuck Martin
and I'm a U See fan, But I didn't blame him.
He's like, yeah, you know, I even Pace comes here,
he's awesome. You see, had no interest. Then you know,
suddenly he turns into a star, and now you see
he's interested. Like I'm sure that's frustrating. I'm sure that's frustrating,
and it's it's it's unfortunately part of the collateral damage

(01:54:38):
in that sport where at a certain level it's like
you feel like all you are is a farm system
for the big schools. I'm sure it's frustrating, but it's
one thing to be frustrated at something else to say
illegally recruiting our kicker. So Caleb de Boor is obviously
the dude who took over for Nick Saban, and I
guess he was asked about Coach Martin's I called him coach,

(01:55:00):
like he's my coach. Chuck Martin's allegations it.

Speaker 2 (01:55:05):
Started the Miami of Ohio.

Speaker 11 (01:55:07):
Coach accused you guys of cam bring with the recruitment
of Graham Nicholson.

Speaker 2 (01:55:11):
Do you have a response to that.

Speaker 5 (01:55:14):
I don't know anything about that.

Speaker 2 (01:55:15):
I guess that comment.

Speaker 5 (01:55:18):
Yeah, I mean he entered the portal and he reached
out to him.

Speaker 8 (01:55:21):
So that's how it built, was right, So we do
everything that you're closed.

Speaker 3 (01:55:25):
To all right. So poll question, Chuck Martin versus the
guy who took over for Nick Saban and Alabama. Who
you got Chuck or the other guy?

Speaker 5 (01:55:35):
Give me Chuck.

Speaker 3 (01:55:36):
I'm taking Chuck. I like Chuck. Chuck's been he's been
a guest on our show. He's done a good job.
I wrote against Chuck one time a year. I'm taking
Chuck like he's it also not new to this now.
I'm sure there's the illegal recruiting happening all over the place. Fine, whatever,

(01:55:57):
But I don't know that he's just gonna say that
just because he feels jilted that his kicker went to Alabama. Like,
if you're going to accuse another head coach of illegal tampering,
of illegal recruiting, that's not something you do. It's not
something you just throw out there. I'm taking Chuck. Fifty

(01:56:20):
four point two percent of you say you're taking the
other guy. I'm taking Chuck. I'm not taking Chuck in
this year's battle for the victory belt, but I'm taking Chuck.
When it comes to this guy who took over for
Nick Saban, I'm stuck with Chuck or whatever. It's time
for the sweet Life Heating and Cooling. Sweet stat of

(01:56:42):
the Week comes your way thanks to our friends at
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(01:57:03):
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sweetlife dot com. The sweet Life stat of the Week
eighteen eighteen. He might have going well? What is eighteen?

(01:57:30):
That is the number of tackles in the preseason by
Muma Jung Meta, the linebacker, undrafted free agent from Wisconsin.
By the way, terrific peace on him on Bengals dot
Com today. He has eighteen tackles in two preseason games.
He is tied for the NFL lead in tackles in
the preseason. He's got a legitimate chance to make this squad.

(01:57:54):
Special teams play will be a big reason why. But
fun success story. He has been terrific in camp, he's
been awesome in the preseason games, and he's got a
fun name to pronounce, Muma Jung. Meta eighteen hopefully builds
upon that total tonight. That is the sweet life, heating
and cooling sweet stat of the week. Uh before we

(01:58:17):
chat with Tony Pike. Mike, you're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 13 (01:58:21):
Good afternoon, Very kind of your mo Thank you. Sure,
I've been keeping up with this Venezuela, Japan Little game. Man,
It's terrific baseball. These kids are solid. Fundamentally, they are good.

Speaker 3 (01:58:34):
I watch some of the Venezuelan Little League team. How
many of those little league kids are kids? Well?

Speaker 13 (01:58:42):
Much at your latest conspiracy theory or what.

Speaker 4 (01:58:46):
Now?

Speaker 3 (01:58:47):
They just I've watched very little of the Little League
World Series, but I did catch a glimpse of one
of their games earlier in the tournament. They have they
do have one kid who just I'm sure he's of age.
He just looks like he's a little bit older than
he is.

Speaker 13 (01:59:00):
He's only twenty one. Through the other guys twelve, you know,
it's all right, What.

Speaker 3 (01:59:04):
The hell you know?

Speaker 13 (01:59:05):
You've been the rules a little bit here, a little
bit there. Hey, have you been listening to Petros and
Money as usual? You listen to him every day?

Speaker 3 (01:59:12):
I listened to him every day too. The best sports
talk radio show in the United States that's not produced
in this building.

Speaker 2 (01:59:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 13 (01:59:23):
Have you ever heard a guy out there named Steve
Hartman who's been on for forever? He used to be
on with that. Who was that Pa Pac guy that
wore the glasses that was on CBS Oben, Yeah, they
used to have a radio show together. I guess Pat
was fighting a pretty serious alcohol kit problem. They had
a great radio show together.

Speaker 3 (01:59:43):
Anymore.

Speaker 13 (01:59:44):
I got just one question, Yeah, major League playoffs? Okay,
do you give the Socks a chance to make an
interesting between with the Royals and the Twins?

Speaker 3 (01:59:58):
Sure, I have to.

Speaker 13 (02:00:01):
I got to look at their schedule and see what's
going on. But I'm just so impressive. I'm shocked by
this Al Central and Imus that should be the biggest,
biggest hot thing in all of baseball is what that
division has turned into. It's incredible.

Speaker 1 (02:00:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:00:15):
Last year, I mean, you know, last year it was
a train wreck. And unfortunately, more people talk about the
Chicago White Sox and how bad they've been this year
than they talk about the Cleveland Guardians or the Kansas
City Royals or or the Minnesota Twins. The Royals came
here this week, and I think there's a lot of
people who didn't realize how good that team is top

(02:00:35):
to bottom. Boy, Yeah, yeah, no, I think there's I
think there's a lot of folks Boston. I give a
puncher's chance to They got Tristan Casses back this week.
You know, him and Rafael Devers are a really good
one two power combo. That's the sort of in season jilt,
in season jolt that can give your team a little

(02:00:55):
bit of an edge. Yeah, I give him a shot.
I give them a shot. But you're right that the
American League Central relative to what it was last year.
Correct me if I'm wrong. Minnesota won that division with
eighty five wins. They were the only team that finished
above five hundred.

Speaker 6 (02:01:11):
Yep.

Speaker 13 (02:01:12):
Yeah, if they turn around is just I mean, I
don't know that I've seen that in sports in Mike
seventy one years. I don't know if I've seen that.

Speaker 3 (02:01:19):
And it's a good it's a good competitive race because
you know, the Guardians have come back to the pack
just a little bit. Minnesota and Kansas City are both
two back, and you know, this isn't one of those
years where, well the winner of that division is going
to be the three seed anyway right now, you know,
with with Houston's been obviously really good and Seattle just

(02:01:40):
fired their manager, and the Astros are going to win
the American League West. But if you win that division,
you have a chance to be the one seed, and
that's something we're playing for. So we might have a
little bit of an old fashioned Pennant race in the
American League Central Mic.

Speaker 13 (02:01:54):
Yeah, that would be a blast, wouldn't it. And and
then I know you gotta go but so so after
the Padres and the d Backs, did the Mets got
a chance in your opinion, to catch the breaks?

Speaker 6 (02:02:06):
Uh?

Speaker 13 (02:02:07):
Yeah, I just don't know anything at them.

Speaker 3 (02:02:14):
Yeah, I mean, you talk about a team that has
been they were awful early in the season, and the
people in New York wanted to blow up the team
play themselves back into the race. What five over five
hundred last I checked. Francisco Lindor has very very quietly
sort of played the way he used to in Cleveland.

(02:02:39):
It's not inconceivable that as we talk about the periphery
of the MVP race, he could play himself in. Yeah,
I mean, what are they right now? If my computer
was working, I could look this up for myself. There
a game. There are a game and a half behind Atlanta.

Speaker 5 (02:02:53):
All right, that's correct, they can catch.

Speaker 13 (02:02:55):
Atlanta game and a half behind Atlanta. Yeah, you seven
and eight and a half. You got it all right?

Speaker 4 (02:03:02):
Well, I know you got to go.

Speaker 6 (02:03:03):
Brother.

Speaker 13 (02:03:03):
I appreciate you very much.

Speaker 3 (02:03:05):
Thank you, Bwise Mike. Tony Pike joins us next on
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Deve the do oor
guy with us.

Speaker 1 (02:03:12):
It's a training camp report, Brook to you, bar skylight
Jilie feeling good. It's skylight time on ESPN fifteen thirty,
the official home of the Bengals.

Speaker 3 (02:03:24):
Bengals are not practicing today. They have the Colts tomorrow
at the Evenue originally known as Paul Round Stadium. But
we're committed to giving you the best and most thorough
and most in depth Bengals training camp coverage. So Tony
Pike is here without a practice to cover. Yeah, it's
good to have you.

Speaker 9 (02:03:38):
How do you view camp reports versus what we start
next week with season preview reports.

Speaker 5 (02:03:43):
How will you approach those differently?

Speaker 3 (02:03:45):
Well, the season preview reports, you know you're not going
to be at a practice, sure, so I'm not going
to get like the boots on the ground eyewitness coverage
of what's happening. So you know, we can preview the
Bengals all the different areas of the team, but we
could spend a day on each AFC North team and
maybe talk about some of the other AFC contenders.

Speaker 9 (02:04:03):
And as training camp comes to a close, everyone has asked, Okay,
what are your thoughts on different positions?

Speaker 5 (02:04:07):
What are you grading on?

Speaker 9 (02:04:08):
How would you grade this year's camp reports? Outstanding? Great, terrific,
You've been awesome, great, it's it's terrific. It's a lot
of fun to have somebody who's there when stuff is
happening at training camp practice, even if sometimes you're reporting
things that many of us might not.

Speaker 5 (02:04:22):
Like to hear.

Speaker 9 (02:04:23):
You know, the positive thing is that in years past,
I felt like I spent every day at camp talking
about the old line. Yeah, we didn't have to do
that as much, and we may have to at some
point with with Trent Brown's progression and the MEM's injury.

Speaker 5 (02:04:36):
But at least that part is refreshing.

Speaker 3 (02:04:38):
It is. But I'll say this, and I was gonna
mention this anyway. I still I still can't get past
the thought that number one, this is going to be
at very best a league average offensive line.

Speaker 5 (02:04:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:04:49):
And number two, when their depth gets tested, they're not
going to be ready. You know.

Speaker 9 (02:04:53):
I had Richard Skinner on Sincy three sixty today and
I asked him, what is one of the main things
you're still concerned about his camp breaks, and he said,
Trent Brown. Trent Brown in yesterday's joint practice took the
first rep of one on ones, got beat, went and
took a knee, didn't take one other rep. In most
of the team drills, he would take the first three

(02:05:15):
or four snaps and then he would sell himself out.
Talked after practice, and he's working through some stuff not
there yet and his skinny brought up September eighth, Say,
it's eighty five eighty eight degrees one o'clock. Are you
counting on Trent Brown to make every snap in Game one?
And if you're not, and if a Marius Mims is
not available yet, what's your option at right tackle in

(02:05:38):
the most important season that this franchise has had in
protecting Joe Burrow.

Speaker 3 (02:05:42):
I will say this, you're right, I mean to me
right tackle is still the biggest offensive question mark. We
don't know who's gonna play it, and if it's Trent Brown,
he's a guy who lessened two weeks ago was telling
everybody I'm not in football shape. I am sort of
interested tomorrow and seeing if we can see the continued
progression of Matt Lee, who was really good against Chicago Bears,
one of a handful of players who was in Jackson Kirkland.

Speaker 9 (02:06:04):
Can't wait to see those two because they're getting better
with each opportunity they get. The left side, we've really
not talked about Orlando Brown Junior, which is a great
thing on the offensive line. But the question after the
preseason game is going to be do they carry nine
ozer linemen? Do you carry ten offensive lineman? Because that
has the ripple effects on how the rest of the
roster is constructed. But it's just unique in the sense

(02:06:26):
of Mims is not ready yet, Trent Brown might not
be ready yet. Does that mean you have to carry
extra positions there? If you take ten offensive linemen, that
starts dipping into the pool of other positions and depth
across the roster. So I think offensive line construction, who
makes the fifty three man and how those guys perform
tomorrow night is huge.

Speaker 3 (02:06:47):
All right, Tony, thank you so much. We have another
half hour to go. We are just about two hours
away from kickoff. The opening kickoff brought to you by
a door and window company. They sell the best and
service the rest. And our thanks to Bill and Adam
Webber for their continued support of the Bengals all these
many years. James Rapena is going to join me after
the top of the hour. We are getting set for

(02:07:07):
Bengals and cold Sits Ralph's American Grill pregame sports Talk
presented by your Greater Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky Toyota Dealers
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station

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