7/8/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now your chance to win one thousand dollars. Enter this
nationwide keyword on our website. Man cash, that's cash.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Enter it now, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
All right, so we're what twenty three twenty three days away?
Twenty three days away from the trade deadline. The Reds
have eighteen eighteen games to go between now and the
trade deadline four o'clock on July thirty first.

Speaker 4 (00:25):
Okay, what's up, Mullgar. That's me.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Appreciate you listening. Hopefully you're
having like the coolest Tuesday afternoon of all time. The
entire show is being previewed right now on Twitter at mullegar.
Thanks to our friends at Emory Federal Credit Union, your
credit union with hard since nineteen thirty nine. Go to
EMORYFCU dot org and sign up for the golf tournament

(00:47):
on the eighteenth of August at four Bridges. It's going
to be a blast. Everything benefits Cincinnati Children's charities and
perhaps your fortsom can beat mine, which since I'm a
part of my foursome, you have a good chance of
beating my force and we will see. Sign up now
EMERYFCU dot org. So we have spent and will spend

(01:10):
a lot of time on the trade deadline. Are they buyers?
Are they sellers? Who could they get? Will they get
into a bidding war? Who are some of the guys
they could trade for? How much prospect capital will they
part with? Who's untouchable? What would the record have to
be for them to decide we're going for it? Can
they make multiple trades? What would it look like if

(01:32):
they decide we're gonna sell? What if they do nothing?
It makes for interesting conversations. It certainly occupies a lot
of time on outlets like this. But let's be honest, man,
Right now, it doesn't matter. It certainly didn't matter last night.
What matters is tonight's game, and tomorrow's game, and Thursday's game,
and Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And maybe I'm wrong about this.

(01:55):
Certainly wouldn't be the first time. I don't think the
trade deadline is gonna help For the third consecutive game.
The red scorer run last night, one hit going into
the ninth inning. It's one thing when Zach Wheeler the
Phillies does it to you. It's something else when a
guy named Jansen Junk does it to you. Uh so
like deadline buy sell Honestly, who cares?

Speaker 4 (02:17):
Who cares at this point because what they do with
the deadline ain't helping tonight.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
And if they lose tonight, they're a five hundred ball club,
and not that being at five hundred in the middle
of July, especially in the silly, watered down regular season
we have now because of the extended and expanded postseason
doesn't kill your chances of making the postseason. But I
don't know, man, I'm more interested in what like Matt
McClain does. The deadline's not gonna fix Matt McClain, who's

(02:45):
two for his last twenty four And call it what
it is, man, dude's not having a good year. Had
a nice stretch where he briefly pulled his batting average
over the Mendoza line. Maybe it's over it now. I
don't care. Matt McClain seemingly never makes hard contact, and
it's okay to say that maybe Matt McClain gets fixed.
They meaning the Reds need Matt McClain to get fixed.

Speaker 4 (03:08):
Now.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
The trade deadline's not gonna fix Matt McClain. The trade
deadline's not gonna fix Austin Hayes batting one to eighty
nine since he came back. The trade deadline is not
gonna fix Tyler Stevenson hitting one fifty seven over his
last nineteen games. The trade deadline isn't gonna fix. Whatever
the hell this was. In the top of the sixth
inning last night.

Speaker 5 (03:33):
Breaking on the ground a third, markte Fields comes home
with it, throws it away, throws it to the backstop.
The runner's gonna drive for second, and the throat a
second and.

Speaker 4 (03:44):
Is into the outfield.

Speaker 5 (03:45):
This will be picked up by Hayes, and Hayes will
just need it on a ground ball to third. The
Marlins get a run and get the batter all the
way to third base.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
You know, I was a really good little league second
baseman starting in the second grade, and I don't recall
being in that many plays, involved in that many plays
that even came close to looking like what we saw
from a major league baseball outfit, a contending major league
baseball outfit in the sixth inning last night. You could

(04:19):
watch the entire Little League World Series, which is coming
up in a month. You could watch all of the
qualifying tournaments leading up to the Little League World series.
You could watch every inning in Williamsport. I'm not gonna
do that, but you could, and my guess is you
wouldn't see a play that looked like what you saw
from the Reds against the Marlins with that contact play
in the top of the sixth inning last night. So

(04:41):
the trade deadline's not fixing that. We spent a lot
of time on Nick Krawl and ownership and the track
record of Nick Krawl and how much you may or
may not trust him and what you think about ownership,
and I get it, I've done it, we'll do our
share of it today. But none of it matters if

(05:02):
the players that are on the team right now don't
start playing better. I pointed out a couple of individuals,
and it's not to pick on them. There are others,
and by the way, those individuals at times this year
have contributed. Austin Hayes, in between all of his stints
on the DL or I L I should say, has
been pretty productive recently, he has not been. Tyler Stevenson

(05:25):
recently hasn't been productive. He's had his moments this year,
even Matt McClain. But like those are three guys and
it's not to single those three players out, But those
are three guys who, regardless of what the Reds do
with the deadline, are gonna still be on the team,
are gonna be playing, are gonna be getting a regular
playing time. So yeah, man, we can talk about a
u Hanio Suarez. That's the name at the tip of

(05:48):
everybody's tongue today, a u Haanio Suarez. Could the Reds
get him back? Could they swing a deal with the Diamondbacks,
who at last check are just a game behind Cincinnati
in the hunt for a wild card spot? Meaning I'm
not sure if their buyers or sellers, But could they
get ow u Haanio Suarez back? And maybe the answer
is yes, chances are the answer isn't gonna be yes
by seven to ten tonight. And even if the answer

(06:10):
is yes, what's the eu Haenio Suarez gonna do for
Matt McClain, for Tyler Stevenson, for Austin Hayes and for
one hundred greens growing The players on this team right
now need to play better, and they need to play
more consistently, and they need to hang their hat on something. Besides, hey,
we're on a team that never gets swept. If that

(06:33):
doesn't change. Number one, forget being buyers at the deadline.
Number two, forget who they may buy at the deadline.
This team's not gonna go anywhere. Oh they may finish
with eighty three wins, they may finish five hundred, they
may finish slightly above five hundred. They may play a
meaningful baseball in September, but the standard in twenty twenty

(06:54):
five should be are you or are you not playing
in October? The team that I have won over the
course of the last week is not going to play
at October. And so the idea behind buying is improve
your chances of getting to October. And maybe they do.
Maybe they do swing a deal, maybe they get a
u Haanio Suarez or Ryan O'Hearn or any number of

(07:17):
relievers that could be had out there. But even if
they do, if the players on the team right now
don't start playing better, none of it matters. We sometimes,
as fans, and maybe I've been guilty of it, we
don't love to put the onus on players. We love
to talk about ownership and general managers and coaching and

(07:38):
play calling. Sometimes it's on the guys who you've identified
as foundational core pieces. I just mentioned a few for you.
I've heard all season long. We'll just wait, just wait
until they get Tyler Stevenson back, and just wait until
Matt McClain starts to hit, and just wait until they

(07:59):
get awf In Hayes back. Just wait till they get
healthy Frankly Hunter Green, and I guess Jake Fraley aside.
They're as healthy as they've been all season. They're probably
as healthy as they're going to be all season long.
So I was told to wait for this. What I
was waiting for was apparently three consecutive games where they

(08:20):
score one run. Our phone numbers are five point three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. I'm not really saying anything that you can
disagree with. It's an obvious statement, but it sort of
cuts through I think all of the trade deadline chatter.
It's an obvious statement. Right Reds players need to play better,
But right now that's kind of independent of Nick Krawl

(08:42):
or Brad Meter or the draft or ownership or anything
that might happen in the building adjacent to a GABP.
So there was a tough loss last night, a sobering
loss at the beginning of a homestand I've made it
six out of seven because I guess I have higher standards.
But fine, we'll lower him a little bit. They gotta
go five and two because they lost the first game.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
We'll do it. Gotta go five and two. I was
told before the game.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
I'm standing outside the ballpark obviously there was a rain delay,
and I'm having a beer at the Holy Grail and
somebody comes up to me and says, you can't say
six and one mo. They're playing big league teams. Go five, five,
five and two. We'll do five and two. Not a
good start last night. On top of all that. Not
great news regarding Hunter Green. I think it's pretty established

(09:29):
by now. Like I'm a big Hunter Green guy. There's
to me nothing about him to not like in terms
of his stuff, his makeup, his character, how good he
is when he's healthy. But man, your guess is as
good as mine as to whether or not that guy
is gonna be able to come back in time to
help this team. And I know, I know, you know

(09:50):
they did an MRI, and they did it out of
quote an abundance of caution, and he still played catching
the outfield yesterday. But you know the plan was he
going to pitch a minor league game as part of
a rehab assignment this week. That's being scrapped. Your guess
is as good as anybody else has had to When
he's actually gonna pitch in a minor league game as
part of a rehab assignment, maybe he comes back by

(10:11):
the end of the month. Maybe he comes back in August.
So there's a couple of things about this. Number One,
it's just about Hunter Green. When he does come back
and pitch, how do you not hold your breath? Number Two,
when he does come back and pitch, how do you
not wait for him to go back on the injured list?
Hunter Green when healthy is awesome. He's just not ever

(10:33):
really consistently healthy. That's not a character issue. That's no
knock on him as a guy. It's not even really
a knock on him as a pitcher. It is a
statement about his lack of dependability because because of his
recurring health issues. And that's a big deal for this
team this year because we've talked about what they need offensively,
corner infielder, third baseman, corner outfielder, offensive help from somewhere

(10:58):
and bullpen arm relief help. Somebody who can provide some depth.
Maybe swing big, go get a closer, make a Milliopagon
the eighth inning guy. Okay, all that's well and good.
Do they have enough starting pitching depth? And do they
have enough starting pitching depth?

Speaker 4 (11:15):
When? When?

Speaker 3 (11:17):
And frankly right now, it's when when Hunter Green has
another injury issue, or when one of their other pitchers
has another injury issue, or when they decide we've got
to move Chase Burns to the bullpen. So yeah, man,
we could do the trade deadline, and there's lots of
areas the Reds could address. Are we totally sure they
should leave the starting pitching well enough alone? If the

(11:40):
answer is yeah, Moe, they should leave the starting pitching
well enough alone. You have more faith in Hunter Green
than I do. And that's coming from Hunter's biggest fan
at Moegger on Twitter. Thanks to Delta Dental, Delta Dental
is building healthy, smart, vibrant communities for all good at
Delta Dental oh dot com. You can hear the frustration
in my voice because it is just one regular season

(12:03):
game on a Monday night in July, and they happen
and they lose to bad teams, and that's okay. They
have time to recover. This week, it's still three more
against Miami. It's three with the awful Colorado Rockies. Man,
But I don't know, dude, like it has felt like
over the last week, a lot of what they did
to get themselves clear from five hundred, a lot of

(12:23):
what they did to thrust themselves into clear contention has
been undone, and it's been undone by things that the
trade deadline isn't gonna fix. Because the trade deadline is
still more than three weeks away, We're gonna give you
a chance to win some tickets. We're gonna play more
stupid trivia. So because everybody's talking trades, we're gonna test

(12:44):
your knowledge of the Reds and their history with trades.
Your chance to win Dirk Spentley tickets coming up at
about fifteen minutes later on in the show. Upper Deck
Golf tickets that coming up in the five o'clock hour,
we'll go to Frisco, Texas. Come up in just about
thirty minutes. The Pride of Elder Joe Royer is going
to join us preseason. All big twelve tight end and

(13:06):
a guy who's going to have his name called in
the NFL Draft. He is going to join us from
Big twelve media days, which are happening right now. The
big headline is typically the preseason poll. There's no preseason
poll in the Big twelve this year, which is utterly stupid.
What is not utterly stupid is what NFL Films and
Netflix have put together Quarterback. I watched episode one today.

(13:29):
Joe Burrow is a main part of it. We've got
to talk about it when we come back on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (13:36):
Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (13:41):
Traffic from the u SEE Health Traffic Center. You See
Health has expert dramacare focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and
supporting long term recovery and rehabilitation.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
Learn more.

Speaker 7 (13:51):
You seehealth dot com traffic volumes filming again one seventy
five north bound Mitchell de Pattock and southbound Aser Charles
through the Branch Spencer break. Also for seventy one. This
is north bonded Highway eight. It's a breakdown right lane
as black. We do have police on the scene. Hamilton
Avenue at US one twenty seven a crash as well.
I'm Rick Schrepp with traffic.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
This report is sponsored by Rappers twenty three after three o'clock.

Speaker 3 (14:15):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Moleger, thank you for listening today.
We had on our show last week a guy named
Steve Trout. Steve Trout is one of the producers. In fact,
he's the guy who oversees Hard Knocks and obviously one
of the producers for NFL Films, which has produced Quarterback,
which season two came out on Netflix today. You can

(14:36):
binge watch the entire season if you want. And Steve
is the three quarterbacks featured on this year's Quarterback. You
had Jared Goff, got Kirk Cousins, you got Joe Burrow.
Steve oversaw the Joe Burrow parts, and so he joined
us last week. If you missed that conversation, it was terrific.
Go listen to it now or later on the iHeartRadio app,

(14:58):
or on my page at ESPN fifteen thirty t podcasts
of the show or a service of long Necks. I
am a sucker for anything that NFL Films does Hard Knocks.
NFL Films presents anything miked up, quarterback, receiver, you name it,
I watch it. I pay closer attention when the Bengals
are involved, as we did with Hard Knocks in season

(15:20):
last year, and so I've been looking forward to Quarterback
ever since we found out that Joe was going to
be a part of it, and so I watched the
entire season came out this morning. I watched episode one
today and I will admit this, and I said this
to Austin and Tony. I watched episode one differently than
I typically would because I was under a little bit

(15:40):
of a time crunch. I wanted to watch the first
episode before I came on today, so I sort of
breezed past the Kirk Cousins and Jared Golf parts. But
I'll go back and watch episode one. It is so
well done. And look, we're all huge Joe Burrow fans
here in Cincinnati for good reason. I think he's the
best quarter back in the NFL. But I like it

(16:02):
when someone of his stature, and if you don't know
quarterback kind of takes you through Joe's life on and
off the field, which you know, there's there's already been,
you know, stuff out there from people who have watched
the entire season. You know, Joe talking about having his
home burglarized, wondering if maybe it was best for him
to move, altering his plans to buy the Batmobile. So

(16:23):
you get some off field Joe, you get some on
field Joe, and you get some on field Joe. That's
not great because it's week one. Episode one focuses on
Week one, which probably remember they got beaten by an
awful Patriots team, and so it takes the viewer through
the entire twenty twenty four season from Joe Burrow's perspective.

(16:44):
And I have an immense amount of respect for somebody
like Joe or the other quarterbacks who do this because look,
it's it's easy. It's easy to do the last dance.
If you're Michael Jordan, you have editorial control. But also
so they're gonna be showing you winning championships. Not not
that that ten part doc didn't go through some of

(17:05):
the more painful times of his NBA career, but the
crux of the story was, here's this season where I
won my sixth title, and it's gonna come out more
than twenty years after the fact. If you're Joe Burrow
and you agree to do quarterback, maybe they show you
leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl and you hoisting

(17:26):
the Lombardi Trophy, or maybe they show you going through
the type of season that Joe went through last year,
where he individually was awesome but the team itself stunk.
Or maybe you are shown and miked up and followed
around as you go through a terrible season for yourself
individually and for the team you don't know.

Speaker 4 (17:49):
I love it when.

Speaker 3 (17:51):
Folks of Joe Burrow's stature, and I'll include Patrick Mahomes
who was obviously featured on season one of Quarterback, and
will say the same thing about Kirk Cousins, and will
say the same thing about Jared Goff. I love it
when these guys expose themselves. You could follow me, you
could wire me for sound, you could document my life
on and off the field. And it's gonna be awesome

(18:11):
if I'm a success and if our team is a success.
But it's gonna be something different if I'm a failure
and my team is a failure. And so I love
the fact that Joe Burrow opened himself up to that.
I don't know how much. And again, I've only watched
the first episode. I'm not sure how much we're gonna
learn about him off the field. I'm not sure how much.
I necessarily need to learn about him off the field.

(18:32):
I think he's an interesting guy from the standpoint that
he's one of the most famous athletes in America. He
plays the most high profile and important position. He is
the most popular athlete here in Cincinnati, and he's got
some competition for that title. And yet there's still a
ton about him that we don't know. And he's only
gonna take you so inside. At the end of the day,

(18:54):
he can sign off on certain things being shown or
not being shown, but you're gonna be shown his football failure.
You're gonna be shown as football successes. I love the
fact that somebody like Joe Burrow signed up for this understanding,
I may be great, and if it is, it's gonna
be a cool project, I may be awful, and if
it is, it's not gonna be a cool project for me.

(19:15):
So I cannot encourage you enough. I'm not on Netflix's payroll,
but it's NFL Films. It's so well done. Episode one
was a blast, and I'll probably binge a bunch more
episodes tonight and I can't wait for that. But the
Steve Trout interview, if you missed it, I think is
really terrific. Go find that on the iHeartRadio app so
as listening to Joe Daniman today, the Ohio sportscaster of

(19:38):
the Year, the dean of television sports anchors in Cincinnati,
and he was talking with Tony and Austin about a
Uhanio Soarez, who's I think one of the more popular
players of recent vintage Red's players of recent vintage obviously
hasn't played here since twenty twenty one, is winding down

(19:59):
his expire in contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks and having
an excellent season. So could could a Uganio Suarez be
poached at the deadline. We'll discuss that coming up here
in just a few minutes. But first we got tickets
to go see Dirk S. Bentley, who's going to be
playing Riverbend a week from Friday, and we're giving away tickets.
Since the trade deadline is pretty much all anybody is

(20:22):
talking about, at least as it relates to the Reds,
we're going to ask you we're looking for a contestant,
We're actually looking for two. We're going to test your
knowledge of the Reds and their history with trades five one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty eight six six seven oh two three seven
seven six works as well. And if you get in
you could play our stupid trivia game and you might

(20:45):
go see Dirk Spentley a week from Friday at Riverbend.
We'll do that after sports headlines. It's three point thirty
on ESPN.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Fifteen thirty Sincy three sixty with Tony Pike. We want
to move on to Doctor keep Going and Bustin Elmore.

Speaker 4 (21:00):
I think you should continue.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
Let me keep going there Sincy three sixty Tomorrow Which
twelve News on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 6 (21:07):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (21:11):
Traffic from the u see Health Traffic Center. You see
Health has expert dramacare focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and
supporting long term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more u seehealth
dot com. Well, we do have Hamilton Avenue now shut
down miles to Burlington because of an accident at the
green Pine Drive. Seventy five southbound Cooper and Obama Reagan

(21:32):
Highway is filling in and southbound seventy five selling a
Sir Charles two of the Brens Spence Bridge. I'm Rick
shremp with traffic.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
This report is sponsored by so.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
We're giving away the Dirks Bentley tickets in just a
few minutes. The name of this song is she Hates Me.
Could apply that to me a few times.

Speaker 8 (21:50):
She loves a Mom a.

Speaker 4 (21:51):
Nome Do supports.

Speaker 3 (21:52):
Headlines are a service of Kelsey's Chevrolet Home of Lifetime
powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family to
Yours for life. Kelsey sh com Reds and Marlins again tonight,
a GABP seven to ten. Tonight's first pitch on seven
hundred WLW, Nick Martinez and Yuri Perez on the Hill
Reds trying to snap a three game losing skid and

(22:14):
trying to avoid falling to five hundred. Starting lineup for
Cincinnati tonight, TJ Friedls in center, Matt mcclaan at second,
Elie Is at short, Austin Hayes DHS, Gavin Luxon left,
Steers at first base, Benson in right field. Will Benson
nearly had two assists last night at home Plane. I
do think when they upheld the safe call on the
first ball where he nearly nearly threw a runner out,

(22:38):
I think they got that right, but it was still
a terrific throw, and then there was a play that
was not quite as close, but also a really good
throw by Will. He is on right field, batting seventh.
Travino is catching and hitting eighth. Noelve. Marte is playing
third base and batting ninth. Reds have sent Jake Frayley
on a rehab assignment to a Triple A Louisville, and
they have transferred the rehab assignment of Carson Spyers to Louisville.

(23:01):
Carson Spires suddenly taking on at it importance because of
the Hunter Green news where his rehab assignment at least
for a while, has been shelved. Jake Frayley, we will see.
He's gonna play through a torn labram an injury that
has to have surgery this offseason. He's going to try
to play through it. We'll see if that works. Florence

(23:23):
y'all's home tonight for Brockton, and I think that's pretty
much all I got for local sports headlines. Big Twelve
media Days are happening right now. There's no major headline
because the only headline from media days are the preseason poll,
and the Big Twelve doesn't have one, which I think
is kind of dumb, and we'll get to that coming
up here in just a bit. Right now, though, we're

(23:44):
gonna try to give away some Dirk Spentley tickets. He's
playing Riverbend a week from Friday, July eighteenth, tickets if
you don't win them at riverbend dot org. We have
Terry who's going to try to answer some stupid trivia questions.

Speaker 4 (23:56):
Terry, thank you for joining us. Are you excited to
do this?

Speaker 9 (24:01):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (24:02):
Yesterday I got four out of five, but I wasn't
on the call.

Speaker 4 (24:06):
Oh all right.

Speaker 3 (24:07):
I have I think these are reasonably reasonably easy questions
and they all have to do with trades the Reds
have made.

Speaker 4 (24:17):
I would assume you're a big Reds fan. Yes, sir,
all right, I like it.

Speaker 9 (24:23):
All right.

Speaker 3 (24:24):
I'm gonna ask you five questions each multiple choice. You
gotta get three correct. Are you ready? Are you excited?

Speaker 7 (24:30):
I'm excited.

Speaker 4 (24:32):
I could tell and Tarin, do you have these sound effects?

Speaker 9 (24:34):
Ready?

Speaker 10 (24:36):
Ooh?

Speaker 4 (24:37):
Very good?

Speaker 3 (24:37):
All right here we go, Terry. Question number one. On
December twenty one, twenty eighteen, the Reds traded Homer Bailey
in two prospects to the Dodgers for yes El Pueg
Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, and this player who would go
on to win the team's twenty twenty two MVP Award.
Was it a Kyle Farmer? B. Donovan Solano or C.
Brandon Drury?

Speaker 11 (25:00):
Kyle Farmer?

Speaker 3 (25:01):
Was it Kyle Farmer Tarren? Yes, Kyle Farmer? You think
about that trade. The headliners were Puigue who had obviously
been an All Star, Matt Kemp who had have been
an All Star, Alex Wood who had been an All Star.
And the guy who hung around the longest and frankly
made the biggest impact was Kyle Farmer.

Speaker 4 (25:18):
Very good, all right, you're one for one? Got to
get two more?

Speaker 3 (25:20):
On Terry, December eighth, nineteen eighty seven, the Reds traded
away Hall of Famer Dave Parker to the Oakland A's
and acquired this eventual World Series MVP A Rob Dibble, B.

Speaker 4 (25:34):
Hal Morris, C. Jose Rio.

Speaker 6 (25:38):
Jose Rio?

Speaker 4 (25:39):
Can I get a Jose Rio Tarren? Yes? All right?
See I told you I made these easier.

Speaker 3 (25:45):
I got criticized, criticized for asking trivia questions that are
too hard, Terry or two for two?

Speaker 4 (25:53):
You got to get one more? Are you ready?

Speaker 12 (25:55):
Yes? Sir?

Speaker 3 (25:57):
All right at the two thousand and three trade deadline,
the Reds sent Aaron Boone to the New York Yankees
in exchange for this pitcher who made fifty seven starts
for Cincinnati in two thousand and four, two thousand and five.
In two thousand and six, Was it a Gary Macjeski, B.
Aaron Harang or C.

Speaker 4 (26:14):
Brandon Clawson? Was it Aaron Harang, Tarren Brandon claus In?

Speaker 3 (26:23):
The direct answer Brandon Clausen did not quite work out,
and he now, like is a tire repairman in Lubbock, Texas.
That's a true story. That's okay, Terry, you just got
to get one more. We have two questions remaining. Here
we go, here's number four. In nineteen ninety five, Terry,
the Reds made a trade deadline deal that landed them
this free spirited left handed pitcher who would appear in

(26:46):
eleven games for the Reds that NL Central Championship season.
Was it a David Wells, B. John Smiley or C.
Denny Nagel.

Speaker 12 (26:57):
John Smiley?

Speaker 4 (26:59):
Was it John Smiley?

Speaker 3 (27:05):
David Wells got David Wells from the Tigers, and then
folks from don't remember this, but they actually traded him
to the Baltimore Orioles at the end of the year.
All right, so we're down to our last one, Terry,
you can't low this now here we go. On March twentieth,
two thousand and six, Wayne Krivsky made his first trade

(27:25):
as Red's general manager, acquiring this eventual Red's All Star.
Was it a Brandon Phillips, B Bronson Arroyo or C.
David Ross.

Speaker 13 (27:38):
Brandon Phillips?

Speaker 4 (27:40):
Was it Brandon Phillips?

Speaker 3 (27:41):
Arn Oh, Terry, it was a Bronson Arroyo acquired for
Willie mo Opana. That was Wayne Krivsky's first ever deal.
He actually did make a trade for Brandon Phillips eighteen
days later. Terry, my, my deepest apologies, but you're not
a winner. Thank you for playing.

Speaker 12 (28:03):
Thank you have a good day.

Speaker 4 (28:04):
I still you too.

Speaker 3 (28:05):
I still feel like we should we should get some
station stickers or something to give as consolation prizes, you know,
on game shows. And I don't watch a lot of
game shows anymore, but when I was a kid, if
you didn't win, you got like a consolation prize, You
got a copy of the home game, which in our business,
when you get a copy of the home game. They
fired you. We should come up with some sort of

(28:26):
consolation prize. So, taren, who do we have that won
the Dirk Spentley tickets? We have Rodney Rodney. All right, well,
congratulations to Rodney. Rodney, you did absolutely nothing. You really
don't deserve these tickets, but still enjoy the show anyway.

Speaker 4 (28:41):
Okay, thank you.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
No, you're very welcome, Rodney. Thank he's all choked up.
So Riverbend Music Center. A week from Friday, Dirk Spentley,
buy tickets at riverbendot org. We'll have more Dirk Spentley
tickets to give away tomorrow and later on in the
show in the five o'clock hour, we have tickets to
play Upper Deck Golf of GABP.

Speaker 4 (29:02):
If yes, you.

Speaker 3 (29:03):
Could answer successfully more Reds Trade trivia questions. I think
I think Terry is the first ever person in our
stupid trivia game that has gotten the first two correct
and didn't win. So he has made history on this
radio station, which goes back nearly one hundred years. Big
twelve Media Days are happening in Texas. Joe Royer is
going to be an NFL player next year, but first

(29:25):
he has set up for what we Hope is a
huge season that you see. He joins us next from
Texas on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 6 (29:31):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (29:36):
Traffic from the uce health Traffic Center. You see Health
has expert draumacair focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting
long term recovery and rehabilitation.

Speaker 4 (29:47):
Learn more.

Speaker 7 (29:47):
Ucehealth dot com. Miles and Burlington had been shut down
due to an earlier accident. We are looking at seventy
five southbound from Western Avenue to the Brent Spence Bridge
with about a five any delay southbound seventy five also
so it's Shepherd to Pattock in northbound and seventy five
Mitchell ne Paddock is heavy mine. Rick shremp with traffic

(30:09):
this report.

Speaker 3 (30:10):
Big twelve Media Days are happening in Frisco, Texas and
where Scott Ciderfield is and John Cunningham's there and a
quartet of UC players including Joe Royer, the pride of
Elder High School, a preseason All Big twelve selection. He
is there and he's kind of not to join us
from Big twelve media days. You've done a bunch of these.

(30:32):
How many interviews have you done?

Speaker 10 (30:33):
So far today, Man, with a couple like video interviews
and just normal former ones, I'd probably say about fifteen
to twenty so far.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
You've done fifteen to twenty interviews just today.

Speaker 9 (30:52):
Yep, and more about halfway through.

Speaker 3 (30:55):
Wow, what is the worst question, aside from the one
that I'm asking right now? What is the worst questionquestion
you have been asked? And can you tell me who
asked it?

Speaker 12 (31:05):
No, honestly, there hasn't been. Uh, there hasn't been a
question I've been like, really, but it's been a little repetitive,
so I guess. I mean a lot of people were
asking kind of the same things. But no, there hasn't
really been a question that stood out to me as
a bad question.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
All right, Well, I'll see if I can keep that
streak going. You guys were five and two through seven
games last year, and I think a lot of us thought,
you know, this, this season could be pretty special, right
and sort of unexpected, and then the wheels fell off
for a lot of different reasons. I know there's a
lot of folks who are kind of wondering this question, like,
how can you convince people that this year's Bearcats team

(31:45):
is going to be better than what we saw last year.

Speaker 12 (31:48):
Yeah, so just to start the mindset of the guys
in the locker room and just going through off season
workouts has been completely different than what it was last year.
And you know, you can just feel the sense of
urgency and this kind of the vibe that everyone's kind
of giving off in the locker room.

Speaker 9 (32:04):
It's it's strictly worked.

Speaker 12 (32:07):
We believe we can compete for a Big twelve championships
and you know we're all working towards that. And yeah,
like I said, we all believe it. So it's I
think we'll have a great year this year.

Speaker 3 (32:18):
You also have I think the number last year nine
hundred and twenty one snaps played by freshmen, and so
just naturally a lot of those guys in their their
next season, their second season, they're going to be better
equipped for what college football at this level throws.

Speaker 4 (32:32):
At them, having having gone through that.

Speaker 3 (32:34):
Before, where you gain a lot from that first season
of playing a bunch. What what do you expect from
those players who last year got their first real taste
of FBS and Big twelve football.

Speaker 12 (32:46):
Yeah, so I'm expecting and we're all expecting, and we
know they'll they'll take great shrits from a year one
to year two or whatever year it is that they
were playing. And then yeah, like you mentioned nine hundred,
you said, twenty one freshman snaps played. And you know
there's guys like simmyon Coleman linebacker Jakwan Sanks, who were
you know, carrying the loadle out there, and they'll be
great players for us as well. And uh, yeah, this

(33:08):
guy's entering their second and third season. We'll step up
for us as well. And it'll be interesting to see
if we'll have any more kind of freshmen like them
who just got here. See if see if they get
on the field, and I think we'll we'll have some guys.
Uh it's a good freshman class and I'm excited for it.

Speaker 4 (33:24):
At the tight end spot.

Speaker 3 (33:26):
Your former teammate from Ohio State joins the Bearcats, Patrick Gird.

Speaker 4 (33:29):
What does he bring to this offense?

Speaker 12 (33:33):
He brings tough. I mean, he's everything that we embody.
You know, as soon as I find out he was
gonna get in the transfer portal, you know, I made
the phone call or text to him whatever, saying I
think this would be a great spot to him and
brought him, brought his name up to the coaches and
after they got to watch his film and meet him
and see what he can do, you know, they believed

(33:53):
it as well. And uh, you know, he's a hard
working guy. He cares, So that's that's the main thing.
Man cares and he wants to he wants to win
championships here as well. And uh, this is his last
season two, so he's, uh, he's just trying to give
it everything he's got. But he's uh, he's more of
like a fullback type of type of tight end. You know,
when we do twelve personnel sets, he'll kind of be

(34:14):
the guy in the backfield or off the ball a
little bit, staying in blocking a little bit, or just
leaking out late to the flat. But he's uh, he
works hard, he plays hard, and uh, he's he's a
great addition for us, and I'm glad.

Speaker 9 (34:25):
I know a lot of people are glad that we
have him for sure.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
So so you talk about, you know, sort of swaying
Patrick gird to come to Cincinnati. I know Brendan Sorosby
has been instrumental really since he got here in trying
to convince players who would be the right fit to
come to You see, is that something beyond Patrick that
you've been involved in.

Speaker 12 (34:44):
Yeah, I was involved a lot with you know, we
had Joe Cotton, just talking with him, trying to get
him pick his brand, see what he was thinking, and
just trying to convince him, and we ultimately did that
this would be a great spot for him and he's
gonna be a great player for us. So just you know,
going out to dinner with recruits, different transfers that we're

(35:04):
bringing in on official visits and whatnot, just trying to
trying to preach of these guys what we believe in
and how special this place is. Get them to buy
in and want to be here. And you know, we
want guys who want to be here, and we don't
want guys who are half in or half out and
are not living up kind of to the standard that
we have here.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
Give me an idea of some of the things you
might be able to do offensively in twenty twenty five
that we didn't see last year.

Speaker 12 (35:30):
Offensively, I think it will be uh. I think you'll
see more kind of explosive place from from our whiteouts.
You know, we brought in some serious speeds, some length
and guys that can stretch the field vertically, so that
will that would be great and you know that will
open up well. Not to mention bringing in Todd wee
Walker running back from what Wisconsin, paired up with Evan Pryor.

(35:52):
That's a great one two punch, added some good alignment
as well with Gavin a you know, leading the charge.
So just we're gonna have a great make sure I
think of running and passing the ball, playing a little
bit more tempo probably, and it's trying to you know,
when we can, because we can do it aired out
a little bit. But also if guys want to respect
the past or whatever, you know, we'll run it down

(36:13):
all up and down the field. So I think it
will be a great mixture of both.

Speaker 3 (36:18):
So what are they making you do next? You've done
fifteen to twenty interviews. I'm not even close to your
last one. Do you have any idea how many more
you have?

Speaker 9 (36:27):
Uh No, I have no idea.

Speaker 12 (36:29):
We're just kind of sitting on the field right now
on down at the Ford Center, and you just kind
of go down this there's just like a long line
of reporters and they'll just come up to you, grab you,
bring you to your station. I know at the end,
we kind of have like a there's like a little
Cincinnati stage and US four will kind of be sitting
up here and reporters will just come up and ask

(36:50):
questions whenever they please.

Speaker 9 (36:52):
So, but I have no idea.

Speaker 12 (36:55):
Have a couple more hours left, so however many you
want to sit in there?

Speaker 3 (36:59):
Yeah, it sort of sounds fun, and it sort of
sounds like the exact opposite of fun.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
I'm not sure, but I do hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you enough for the time.

Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yeah, and fall camps here soon, man, so be ready,
and I can't wait to watch it this coming season.

Speaker 4 (37:14):
Joe, thanks so much.

Speaker 9 (37:14):
Yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you for your time.

Speaker 4 (37:17):
You got it.

Speaker 3 (37:18):
That's a Joe Royer who's going to play in the
NFL next year. Preseason All Big Twelve honoree and among
a slew of UC football players and bear Cat personnel
in Frisco, Texas for Big Twelve media days. The season
cannot get here soon enough. Cincinnati versus Nebraska in a
huge year, Joe Royer. You know, we said it often

(37:40):
last year that offensively they have an NFL caliber tight end,
and then there were times when the offense kind of
went into the show late in the season where it's like,
when are they going to take advantage of their NFL
caliber tight end? It is the thing I wonder most
about this football team offensively. Last year there was a
reluctance and perhaps an inability to cut it loose and

(38:01):
throw the ball down field. Does that change this year?
And do they take more advantage of matchups? Involving Joe Royer,
we will see five point three seven, four nine, fifteen
thirty is our phone number. We'll go back to Frisco,
Texas coming up at four twenty. I think we we
got to do the thing that we like doing least
in sports when it comes to the red. So we'll

(38:22):
do it next. On ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (38:25):
Act she adds to win one thousand dollars. Enter this nationwide,
Keward on our website, Cran, that's Cran.

Speaker 2 (38:32):
Enter it now you've found Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (38:36):
Sure have what's up?

Speaker 3 (38:37):
Good afternoon. I'mb Legger. This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Appreciate
you listening. Hopefully you're having like the most awesome Tuesday afternoon.

Speaker 4 (38:46):
Of all time.

Speaker 3 (38:46):
By the way, very quickly because I got an email
here wondering what Paul is So typically on Tuesdays, Paul
Danner gingers with us, except we always take like a
three week pre training camp hiatus because dude goes on vacation.
He's about to start the grind of covering an NFL season,
and let's be honest, it ain't like there's a whole
bunch of new ground to cover with the Bengals right now.

(39:08):
So we'll pick that up with Paul, I think next week,
certainly the week after. So if you're wondering, did Paul
and I have a falling out? No, did Paul lose
his job?

Speaker 4 (39:17):
Of course not.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
He's the best NFL writer on the planet, is we
just it's our typical like three week stretch where we
ignore each other.

Speaker 4 (39:25):
We need a break from each other.

Speaker 3 (39:26):
Because that poor man has to tolerate so many bad
questions from me, both on this show and his podcast.
We'll get back to that next week. Training can't be
here before you know it. There is not a lot
of Bengals news, which I guess you might say is
a good thing. Maybe not so much because the Trey
Hendrickson and Shamar Stuart things are still floating around out

(39:47):
there bid a minute Jones on Baseball coming up in
just about forty minutes, and we'll go back to a
big twelve Media Days coming up in about fifteen plus.
We will throw a poll question out there, maybe two
at Moegger on Twitter in sports. And I've noticed this
in my own life as a fan. I've noticed this
just with my friends, and I've noticed this in the

(40:10):
years that I've been doing this show. We love to
we love to assign blame. And I you know, sometimes
when you talk about a team's failures, it's not so
much assigning blame, it's you know, what can be fixed?
What can we learned from the failures? We love to
we love to throw the darts at the general manager
and the owner and the manager and the coach, and

(40:33):
we often leave the players alone. You know, we worship players.
We buy player jerseys, we buy player we buy their
their playing cards, their baseball cards. We stand in line
for their autographs. I don't do that with general managers.
God knows. We don't do that with owners, although I
did stand in line when I was eleven years old

(40:55):
to get a Marge Shot autograph. And I've never seen
smelled anybody who smelled like a greater combination of cigarette
smoking vodka in my life.

Speaker 4 (41:05):
But anyway, you know, we we don't.

Speaker 9 (41:07):
We don't.

Speaker 3 (41:08):
We don't get autographs from oh. We we revere the players,
We idolize the players, we emulate the players, We do
hero worship when it comes to the players. And I believe,
maybe not for you, certainly not for me, that that
has resulted in a reluctance to simply call players out.

Speaker 4 (41:28):
I noticed this.

Speaker 3 (41:29):
On social media, Like, if I say, God, Matt McLain
is struggling right now, you know there'll be an attempt
to go find Matt McClain on social media. Here's what
MO said about you. Yeah, I said you played poorly.
I didn't say you're a bad guy. I did didn't
say you're a you know, the team should get ready
and say you're a rotten dude with bad work ethic,
you're not performing. Well, that's not fun for a lot

(41:53):
of people to confront, and frankly, it doesn't make at
times for the best sports talk radio, So it doesn't
make at times for the best social media conjecture. But
with this team, not to single out Matt McClain individually,
but for this team how do you do?

Speaker 4 (42:11):
How do you do? Otherwise?

Speaker 3 (42:14):
We are knee deep and you can find any number
of articles that have been written sports talk radio segments, podcasts,
social media posts about the Reds and the deadline strategy.
Are they buyers? Are they sellers? What will they be

(42:38):
willing to give up? Who's untouchable? Who might they get?
What's their biggest need? Not irrelevant topics by any stretch,
topics we've spent time on. In fact, our buddy Jeff
car and I talked about some of those things yesterday
and if you missed that conversation, you should go listen
to it on the iHeartRadio app. But the hearing now

(43:01):
matters a heck of a lot more for this team.
Eighteen games before the trade deadline. And look, man, I'm
the first one to say you don't have to wait
to the trade deadline to make a deal.

Speaker 4 (43:10):
Chances are they are, And to a degree, you.

Speaker 3 (43:14):
Can't blame them, because you know, doing something bold and
jumping to the front of the line might involve them
parting with something of value and overpaying a little bit.
But we you know, I'd be willing to entertain the
possibility of the Reds making a deal right now, because
the player you acquire now could help you a lot

(43:36):
over the next eighteen games plus August and September and October.
But I'm watching last night and I'm going to nobody
on this team is hitting. Suddenly, nobody on this team
hitting Philadelphia on Saturday or Sunday. They've now lost five
out of seven. Pitching has obviously been a culprit that

(43:56):
goes without saying starting and relief pitching. Defense has obviously
been a culprit. What they were doing in the top
of the sixth inning yesterday looked like quintessential t ball.

Speaker 4 (44:08):
But you know, for a while now, we.

Speaker 3 (44:10):
Have been identifying key foundational members of the Cincinnati Reds,
Guys that you're building around, Guys who are going to
be a part of your team's core by the time
they're good again. Matt McClain is one of those players. Matt,
you know, unfortunately didn't play last season, and you know,

(44:32):
is just sort of now, you know, finishing off his
first full big league season if you take the eighty
nine games that he played in two years ago in
the games that he has played in this year. But
you know, the idea is to make the postseason the
Reds told you when the season started, Matt McClain's going
to be a big reason why they make the postseason.

Speaker 4 (44:48):
How do I know?

Speaker 3 (44:48):
That they hit him second, and they hit him second
until it made no sense for him to hit second anymore.
And then he hit eighth and sometimes ninth, and that
he started to hit better. And they've moved back up
to two, and he has been here recently. And it's
not to pick on him, but team with a small
margin for error that's going to have to win close games.
Matt McLain is batting second, and for years now he

(45:09):
has been viewed as one of the key pieces when
the Reds are finally good again. I'm more interested in
Matt McClain and his productivity in his output over the
next couple of weeks than I am a Euhanio Souarez
or whichever other player they get from outside. Tyler Stevenson,
Austin Hayes, Spencer Look. Austin Hayes has been a good

(45:33):
pick up. Spencer Steer recently has been red hot. It's
not to pick on any single one of them. The
team has currently constructed the players they have now have
to start performing in a high enough level that what
they do at the deadline if their buyers actually matters,
And look, man, we can pick apart all the different

(45:54):
possibilities of the deadline and discuss all the different options
that Nick we all may or may not have at
his disposal. We can wonder which players could be had
for a reasonable price. We can discuss the merits of
overpaying for certain players. We can dream about them entering
the Byron Buxton sweepstakes or the Ronald m'cunya sweepstakes. Or

(46:17):
we can talk about Euhanio Souarez and how many teams
might be interested in him and what it would cost
to gain him. And maybe they do get one of
those players, although I'm guessing Byron Buckston and Ronald mccunye
are not going to be Cincinnati Reads regardless of what
they do. If the foundational pieces that are in place
right now don't perform better over the next two and

(46:38):
a half months, it ain't gonna matter what they do
at the deadline, or it's not gonna matter nearly as
much I said on yesterday's show, there's room for multiple truths.
I think one truth is the Reds roster is incomplete.
They've got deficiencies. You can make a case for addressing
the corners, both in field and aufia. You can make

(47:01):
a case for addressing the bullpen, and I think you
can still make a case for addressing the starting pitching.
They need help, they could use help. I believe that
is a fair and accurate statement. It is also a
fair and accurate statement to look at the roster as
currently constructed and point out individual players that simply must

(47:22):
start performing better. For years, it's been all about building
around this core, building on top of the foundation, and
those core foundational pieces have been players who are on
the team right now, like Tyler Stevenson and like Matt McClain,
and there are others. Well, it's time for some of

(47:43):
those dudes to start performing like core foundational pieces who
are a big part of a really good team.

Speaker 4 (47:52):
They might be going well.

Speaker 3 (47:53):
Moo, you're picking out some players who just they're going
through some recent batting. The recent battings, Austin Hayes, it's
just a recent batting slumper. You know, Matt McClain was
swinging the bat pretty well, and it's just it's he's
a recent dip. It happens, and Tyler Stevenson kind of
the same thing.

Speaker 4 (48:11):
That's fine.

Speaker 3 (48:12):
How much longer are we and the Reds gonna have
to wait for those players to start to produce, Like
the Pennant race is now, the playoff push is now.
They're three and a half out of the Wildcard, Like
the push is now. This isn't April. This isn't try
to find out what your team is or this isn't
this isn't early in the year where you know they're

(48:33):
they're trying to get some guys back. All I heard
for a while was, well, they've got to get healthy.
And nothing against Jake Frayley and nothing against Hunter Green
who's always hurt. But like they're kind of healthy right now.
So I put the onus on the players. I put
the onus certainly this week against these bad teams that
are playing. By the way, the REGs now one and
three against Miami this season. Put the onus on the players.

(48:57):
That's something that his fans we don't love doing, to
put the onus on the people we don't worship, like coaches.
We love to put the onus on people that we
don't stand in line for autographs from, like the general manager.
We love to put the onus on people that I
think are easier at targets because we don't idolize them
like owners. If the Reds are going to be buyers

(49:17):
or sellers, it's not so much on Nickkrawl right now.
It's on the players that Nick Kral has identified and
acquired and built around. And then if those players fail, well,
then you could use that in his indictment against Nick
Krawl and talk about his future here, but that's not
going to be addressed until after the season. Want to
put Nick Kral in a position where he has no
choice but to buy, has absolutely no choice what to buy,

(49:41):
then you need this team as currently constructed and many
of its core foundational players to perform better. In the
absence of that, the trade deadline's not going to matter
at all. A quarter after four, Brediman and Jones on
baseball coming up, Plus we're going to celebrate twenty five
years of this is just me my favorite area charitable organization.

(50:04):
That comes up in just about twenty minutes, But first
we'll go back to Big twelve media days. John Cunningham
is going to join us for a few minutes. You
see ad next. ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati's esp nineteen and
a half for four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Moegger
Brandon minne Jones on baseball is just about thirty minutes away.

(50:26):
John Cunningham, the director of Athletics at the University of
Cincinni Big twelve Media Days are happening in Frisco, Texas. John,
kind enough to give us a few minutes. It's it's
good to have you. As always. What does the what
does the director of athletics do during a conferences media days?

Speaker 13 (50:44):
Well, number one, you take the team out to at
dinner the night before, and you know, we have four
of our student athletes here and head coach, and so
it's just just great to get to know them a
little bit more and spend some time with them away
from the football facility and away from football. And then
you know, and then Zach Snipe our media relations guys. Great,
He's got me set up talking to some opposing team

(51:07):
radio and in places that we're either going to go
play this year or people that are going to come playoffs,
and so they want to know about Cincinnati and Skyline,
Chile and and where to stay and what to do
when they're when they're in town, and so that's kind
of what we do.

Speaker 4 (51:22):
Good stuff. This is year three of the Big twelve.

Speaker 3 (51:25):
And look, we all know what happened last season with football,
right five and two, and we're feeling pretty good. Nobody
liked how the the end of last season unfolded. Give
us an idea of your level of confidence in a
different outcome in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 13 (51:42):
Yeah, very confident. I feel really good about where the
program is in terms of the leadership around the program.
You know, I said this to somebody just a minute
ago that our best players are also our leaders, and
you know, Gavin Gerhart is a great example of that,
you know, a center for us. It's been a three
year captain. I don't know how many three year captains

(52:04):
there are anymore around the country, but three year captain
obviously Dante Corleone and and Joe Royer, who I think
is the best tied end of the country. Brendans Horzby
coming back for you know, a second year at Cincinnati,
but he also was a starter at Indiana, says really
a three year starter in college. And so we've got
got a lot of experience and we have some depth

(52:25):
that we didn't have previously second year under Tysonvite on
the defense. So I think we build off the five
and two and we remember that we were we can
be competitive with anybody in any environment. We're you know,
right there with Texas Tech and beat Arizona State, the
winner of the conference at home. And then we learned
from the end of the year where we where we

(52:47):
trail off, Why did that happen? What what can we
do different? How do we stay more healthy? How do
we just stay more more ready to play those those
difficult games come down the stretch. So you know, I'm
ready for the season. I think I think they're really
excited about it, and I'm excited as well.

Speaker 3 (53:04):
I'm excited for the start of the season. I'm excited
for this time of year because I feel like this
is the half of the calendar where when we talk
about college football, we actually talk about football. And so,
you know, for for months leading up to this, it's
been about the structure of college football, the playoff, what's
happening with revenue sharing and all that sort of stuff,
and so you hear people say things like, well, college

(53:26):
football is being ruined. I think college football is different.
That's obvious. I think you would agree with that. I
don't believe it's being ruined. You what comes to mind
when you hear someone lament the current state of college
football and how it's it's on the verge of ruination.

Speaker 9 (53:44):
Go back to what you said.

Speaker 13 (53:44):
Once the ball is kicked off, it's you know, the
game is the same as it's always been. It's a
great game.

Speaker 9 (53:52):
We love it.

Speaker 13 (53:53):
The TV ratings are higher than they've ever been. People
love college football for for all the right reasons, for
all the reasons that we've always loved it. You know,
it's great competition. The Big Twelve is a league of
great parody. You never know who's going to win the game.
We had more fourth quarter league changes than anybody else
in the country in the Big Twelve. So the game

(54:14):
is great. And we're still dealing with eighteen to twenty
two year old kids that you know, do eighteen to
twenty two year old things on and off the field,
and so that hasn't changed at all. And we're still
trying to grow them as young men and make them great.
So all of that is the same, and there's a
new dynamic in place, and it's you know, revenue share
and the distribution of some of the revenues that have

(54:36):
been earned over years through television money and other things.
And we've got to deal with that and and handle it.
We've got something that's too great to lose. We've got
to protect it. We've got to educate our fan base
on it and make sure that we can continue to
operate college football going forward.

Speaker 4 (54:54):
College football.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
You know, I hear people complain about it Sunday through Friday,
and then those Saturdays are still awesome. I know a
lot of UC fans want more Saturday nights at Nippert Stadium.

Speaker 13 (55:06):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
Do you have conversations with people in the league or
the TV partners about maybe a way to have at
least one or two more night games all the time.

Speaker 9 (55:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 13 (55:17):
And I think it's interesting from an ad perspective, as
I talked to other ads in the conference. You want
to mix, you want to mix. You want some you know,
maybe you have one noon game, but then you have
two or three three thirty games and you have a
couple of night games. That's a great mix of games.
And you want to catch you know, your fan bases
at different times just because people have different.

Speaker 9 (55:36):
Things going on.

Speaker 13 (55:38):
But what you don't want is you know, kind of
what happened to us last year is we got a
lot of those noon games, and then we went out
to Colorado. I remember talking to their ad Rick Georgian
said they got all night games and they didn't like
that either. So you want, you want to mix, but
you certainly want some nippert at night games. That's important
to us. We've expressed that we just frankly, don't have
a lot of control over that.

Speaker 9 (55:59):
So it's just sort of.

Speaker 13 (56:00):
The way it breaks sometimes, and you know, that's that's
part of the deal. But we're going to put on
a great show and we're going to try to take
care of our fans in every way we can, whether
it's at Dude or through thirty or at night.

Speaker 3 (56:14):
Two years ago, at Big twelve Media Days, Cincinnati is
one of the new kids, and then last year there
were a whole bunch of new kids, the Arizona Schools, Utah,
and so it's a little bit different. I guess this
go around with the fact that there's you know, college
football conference realignment is always being talked about, but there's
there's been no drastic change in terms of membership. From

(56:35):
your perspective, does that make things at least a little
bit more calm, if not a little bit easier.

Speaker 9 (56:41):
It does.

Speaker 13 (56:42):
I think we settled in as a conference. I think
we sort of understand who.

Speaker 9 (56:46):
We are and what we're about.

Speaker 13 (56:48):
Within the sixteen different schools, and it has made it
easier to handle with everything else going on. We needed
something to settle, and it seems like at least conference
realignment for now it's settled. There's always everybody points to
twenty thirty twenty thirty one, when the contracts for television
come up again. That's usually when you have movement in conference,

(57:10):
at least at the Power four or five level, and
so you know that's something that we've got an eye on.
But for now, we settled in with the sixteen Big
Twelve teams.

Speaker 3 (57:20):
I know brett Or Mark was talking earlier today, the
commissioner of the Big Twelve, and he'll sort of outline
every year the conferences stands on things like the College
Football Playoff and its structure and how many teams should
be included and how many out large bids and all
that sort of stuff. So there's like the official conference
stance on things like that. How much input do the

(57:41):
individual institutions get on things of that nature.

Speaker 6 (57:46):
We certainly have an input.

Speaker 13 (57:47):
We've talked a lot about it amongst athletic structors and presidents,
and you know, I think we've all gotten to a place.
You know, as we go around the room, everybody really
agree that the way that we want to approach the
college football playoff going forward is you know, you have
to you have to win to get in. You have

(58:09):
to show yourself on the field. You don't get automatic
berths outside of winning the conference. So you know that
that five to eleven model where you have your five
your four Power four conference champions and then you have
your one G five champion as year five, and then
you go into your eleven at largest, that's the model.

Speaker 9 (58:28):
That we like.

Speaker 13 (58:29):
We like it because you have to prove yourself on
the on the field to play, rather than trying to
before the season even starts to sign the number of
slots that you get per conference.

Speaker 4 (58:39):
I know you have a lot going on. I can't
thank you enough for doing this.

Speaker 3 (58:42):
Hopefully we can get caught up before the season starts
and then frequently as the upcoming football season and fall
sports season unfolds.

Speaker 4 (58:52):
We appreciate the time as always, John, thanks so much.

Speaker 9 (58:55):
Always thank you, Mom, you got it.

Speaker 3 (58:57):
John Cunningham, director of Athletics at the University of Cincinnati.
Big twelve Media Days happening right now in Frisco, Texas,
twenty eight minutes after four o'clock. We'll go back there
in the five o'clock hour. Our buddy Scott Springer from
The Inquirer is covering Big twelve Media Days. We'll talk
about the season with him and Gavin Gerhardt, back for
a sixth college football season, his third as a team captain.

Speaker 4 (59:19):
He'll be with us coming up at five forty five.

Speaker 3 (59:22):
Sports headlines are next on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (59:25):

Speaker 7 (59:31):
Traffic Big Center You See Health has expert Draumacare focusing
on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting long term recovering and rehabilitation.
Learn more u sehealth dot com. Watching de Lanes Downtown
seventy one doors bound Litel Channel to Reading is what
we've got. The two right lanes block traffic is staff
and go from right around to Fort Washington Way and

(59:54):
also Springfield Pike at Town Commons Way. We picked up
an accident in traffic is heavy from Glendale, Milford two
seventy five e spot off after seventy five in Kentucky.
A crash here on mobam My brick Shrimp with traffic.

Speaker 4 (01:00:06):
This report is Pump.

Speaker 9 (01:00:08):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati's Sports Stations.

Speaker 4 (01:00:13):
Twenty seven from five.

Speaker 3 (01:00:15):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty on Oegger Reds and Marlins Tonight,
Game two of the four game series seven to ten,
first pitch. It's Nick Martinez and Jori Perez tonight tonight.
If you're watching the ballgame on the fan Dual Sports Network,
it's also going to air on Fox nineteen. They are
gonna have and they've done this for years now. Their
annual Reds Community Fund Telethon, which it obviously is the

(01:00:40):
name says, generates money for the Reds Community Fund, and
it's it's something that has done every year, and the
folks at FanDuel Sports Network do a very good job
of weaving in the the RCF telethon and you know,
telling the story of the Reds Community Fund, weaving it
into the game coverage, and it's a great fundraiser. You
could start to donate now at Reds dot com slash Telethon.

(01:01:02):
But it's a special night because the Reds Community Fund
is going to be celebrating twenty five years, twenty five
years of using baseball and softball to make a difference
in kids' lives and making baseball and softball more accessible
to a lot of kids who might not have access
to the sport otherwise. And so, you know, the affection

(01:01:23):
we have for the Reds Community Fund and the folks
who do the work, and they're led by the executive
director of the Reds Community Fund are Buddy, Charlie Frank.
It's a big night for you tonight. So I appreciate
the time. Twenty five years, twenty five years, that is remarkable.

Speaker 13 (01:01:38):
Yeah, it is.

Speaker 14 (01:01:39):
And I've been here for almost twenty two of them,
so I feel very privileged.

Speaker 11 (01:01:44):
Mo.

Speaker 14 (01:01:45):
It's been a remarkable evolution here, you know, with Reds
ownership and leadership and community partners, and you know, folks
out there that love the game and care about the games,
such as yourself and so many out there in our
community that that grew up with Reds Baseball, you know,
and and that want to keep it healthy. And you know,
it's hard. It's hard to keep our sport healthy if

(01:02:07):
we don't know where the next generation of fans and
people that care about the game like we do is
coming from. So you know, that's what we're invested in.
And and this is a night where Reds fans really
come to the forefront and and and help us do
our work. So it's it's really a very exciting, incredibly
worthwhile evening for.

Speaker 9 (01:02:26):
All of us.

Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
We'll talk about tonight and what's ahead, but let's go back.
And obviously you weren't here for the launch of the
Reds Community Fund, but I'm sure you're very familiar with
its backstory. How did the RCF begin?

Speaker 14 (01:02:39):
You know, we had a member of the front office
here who worked for the Braves before the Reds and
then worked in communications here. His name was Mike Ringering,
and he and another longtime Reds employee and a stalwart
in the in the local community, Lori Platt, were the
ones that convinced the chief operating officer of the Reds

(01:03:01):
back in you know, two thousand and two thousand and one,
and that was John Allen, that you know, this is
something that the team needed to do. You know, it
was the time that so many venues were either coming
online or being rebuilt, you know, like great American Ballpark.
I mean, how many major you know sports venues of
the four major North American sports or now five that

(01:03:22):
you know don't play in something that was heavily subsidized
by the community. So it went from being a nice
to have to really being an expectation that the teams
were going to do meaningful work. They were going to
get connected to the causes that mattered, they were going
to try to grow their game, and they were going
to try to lift the community somehow, some way, in

(01:03:42):
an authentic way. So, you know, Mike and Laurie working
for John Allen, were the ones that got it started.
You know, Owen Rassman is our board president, or was
up until last December for almost a quarter century. He's
still cranking away on our board. A lot of the
board members that we had at that time are still engaged.
So you know, they did an incredible effort because this

(01:04:04):
thing was brand new, and you know, so they got
this thing off the ground, and you know, and then
when the Castellinis and this ownership regime came in in
two thousand and six, they really cranked it up to
light speed. It's you know, they came from ten years
of ownership limited partnership in the Saint Louis Cardinals and

(01:04:25):
the Orioles and Rangers before that, but they really got
familiar with how the Cardinals participated in the community. So
when they arrived in January of o sixth, they had
a very clear plan of what they wanted to do,
and that was to focus almost exclusively on the game itself,
and that's where we were at the time. So it's
been a great.

Speaker 4 (01:04:41):
Marriage, I would imagine.

Speaker 3 (01:04:44):
And the work you do is so important and there's
so many moments of gratification that after a quarter of
a century of work done by the Reds Community Fund,
that among the most rewarding things is when you see
those success stories as adults.

Speaker 14 (01:05:00):
Question about it. And for anyone that's ever visited our
PNNG MLB Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy in the Roslawn neighborhood,
you know, we modeled our Hall of Fame while our
player progress while after what MLB built in their original
urban Youth Academy in Compton, California, and the MLB version

(01:05:20):
had about forty or fifty names of young men of
color that had signed pro contracts, and we thought that
was really cool. You know, but if you walk into
our lobby, you see a very diverse mix of young
men and women because you know, our mission isn't baseball centric.
Our mission is helping young men and women, you know,

(01:05:41):
use the game as a foothold, you know, to get
ahead and to become Major league citizens. So when I
see those faces and names on that board, mo, more
than half of them have either worked for US, interned
for US, worked for the Reds, volunteer at the Academy,
coach the RBI program, coach, and our Fun at Bat program.

(01:06:04):
If you and I were standing there right now, it
would be hard not to brag about how many of
our superstars stay engaged in our work every day.

Speaker 3 (01:06:12):
When when you think of the last quarter century, in
the twenty two years you've been involved with the Reds
Community Fund, give me, give me some players, coaches, managers
that have been more intimately involved than maybe others.

Speaker 14 (01:06:27):
Well, you know, you'd have to start with Joey Vado.
You know, Joey was our most dramatic, generous donor during
his tenure here. When he signed his contract extension back
in twenty twelve, he agreed, you know, to one percent
of that coming to the Community Fund. And that wasn't
just you know, a stroke of a pen and something

(01:06:48):
that his agent worked out. You know, everything with Joey
with something that he believed in and he would hold
us to account. And as that trust built over the
years and he became more familiar with our kids and
our coaches. I mean, we've had some memories with him
out at our facility that I still can't believe, you know,
him sending us a video before we played in and

(01:07:09):
won our first RBI World Series Championship in twenty twenty one,
he sent us a video at three in the morning
for the coaches in the student athletes that we played
on the bus before you know, we ended up beating
an undefeated team from Austin. Ryan Freil comes to mind.
This guy showed up every day at our REDG Rookie
Success League, whether he had signed up or not. He

(01:07:30):
was just a regular and he would recruit in the clubhouse.
And that's why he's one of the players that still
is featured, you know, with one of the banners at
the Youth Academy. You know today Brett Souter is so
active with the Community Fund, among many other things that
he does that we literally have a jersey of his
at the Academy because we don't want to have to

(01:07:50):
come and borrow one from the ballpark because he's there
so much, he and his family.

Speaker 13 (01:07:55):
You know.

Speaker 14 (01:07:55):
But from Dusty Baker to Brian Price, to Jim Wriggleman,
to David Bell and you know, and now to to
Terry Francona, they've all been generous and engaged. I remember
picking Wriggleman up when he managed the team to drive
out to the Academy on a Sunday morning to help
us with a coaches clinic on a on a you know,
we've head of a one forty game. There have just

(01:08:18):
been there, There have been tots. J Bruce was incredibly generous.
We you know, Brandon Phillips field was a huge moment
for us. Aaron Harangue got behind our first Miracle League
field over in Western Hills. You know, I mean the
connection to Joe Nuxall and Kim Nucksall and they're in
their miracle League and the unbelievable work that they do

(01:08:40):
in Butler County. Uh, you know, it's that this is
intersected with all of these iconic Reds and greater Cincinnati names.
It's it's really it's just hard to capture.

Speaker 4 (01:08:55):
Yeah, it's it's all inspiring.

Speaker 3 (01:08:57):
Charlie frank Is with US Reds Community Fund, Executive Director
to twenty five years of the Reds Community Fine and
the telethon tonight during the TV broadcast on the FanDuel
Sports Network, also being picked up by Fox nineteen. I'm
sure fans have seen this in action before because it
airs during a game, But let's talk about what's going
to happen during tonight's TV broadcast.

Speaker 14 (01:09:18):
Well, we're so excited to get that simulcast. It'll certainly
increase exposure for the game, and it's an expanded pregame,
so for a seven to ten start, instead of coming
on the air at six thirty, it will come on
the air at six and FanDuel's done an amazing job,
as Bally and Fox did previously, to help us tell
some story. So you know, there'll be four different vignettes

(01:09:41):
throughout that first hour. We're going to actually show them
in the ballpark two before the game. It's the first
time that we're really integrating the telethon at the ballpark
as well. To help celebrate this twenty five year celebration.
Of ours or anniversary of ours, but you know, on
the air, we'll be telling the stories of some of
our coaches and kids. We've got an amazing story about
a mom and son. The Sun was with us on

(01:10:04):
our first trip to the MLB All Star Game when
we took our Nike RBI program to Saint Louis for
the two thousand and nine All Star Game, and Net
and Rico were on that trip. And Rico is now
twenty seven and he still plays, and they both coach
in our Little Sluggers program and our and our fun
at that program, so we kind of bring that full circle.

(01:10:25):
But you know, our community makeover, our field renovation efforts,
our RBI program, and our our signing day event will
all be on that pregame show. I've got to thank
P and C. They for the you know, getting back
to twenty twenty, they have matched the first one hundred
thousand dollars raised by Reds fans, So that allows us
to take what you know, was a fifteen thousand dollars

(01:10:47):
fundraiser in two thousand and eight and now it makes it,
you know, one of the biggest ones that we do,
and it's all on the back of P and c
and and Reds fans that care and that give and
and and you know, and that purchase one of these
pack That's the other thing that we learn, Mo, That's
how we jump this up, is that we we make
it easy for people to donate. For one hundred and
twenty five dollars, you get a Terry Francona bobblehead that

(01:11:10):
we built just for this event, this really nice community
Fund water bottle, a brand new Community Fund hat with
our new logo on it, and a really cool Reds
windbreak or pull over. And if you crank that up
to two fifty, you also add to that Elie de
la Cruz player pin and an autograph baseball and a
display case from either Terry Francona or a current player.

(01:11:30):
So you know, for one hundred and twenty five or
two hundred and fifty dollars, you know, you get a
really nice return and it's a great way to get
engaged and be a part of what we do.

Speaker 3 (01:11:42):
Reds dot Com slash telethon and check that out. Make
sure you donate. And I'm looking forward to the night
at the ballpark tonight. I know it's a special night.
Twenty five years of the REDS Community Fund, and the
telethon airs as the game airs on the Fandelsports Network
in a simulcast on Fox nineteen as well. Always awesome
to have you. Congratulations on a quarter century. You've made

(01:12:05):
a difference in so many people's lives and we love
having you on.

Speaker 4 (01:12:07):
Charlie, Thanks so much, Hey both.

Speaker 14 (01:12:09):
Thanks for all the time that you've spent with us
at our events and promoting our work, and for how
much you care about this work. It means a lot
to us and we really appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (01:12:20):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (01:12:21):
My favorite tri state charitable organization, and that says something.

Speaker 4 (01:12:25):
We love having you man.

Speaker 14 (01:12:26):
Thank you all right, Thanks a lot, mo.

Speaker 3 (01:12:29):
It is fourteen minutes away from five o'clock Reds dot
Com slash telethon twenty five years of the REDS Community Fund.
Five one, three, seven, four nine, fifteen thirty is our
phone number. We have not had an opportunity to take
phone calls on this show today because of guests and
other things. We've got the Reds and Marlins Tonight sports
headlines or a service at Kelsey Chevard Lay home of

(01:12:51):
lifetime power train protection to guarantee credit approval from.

Speaker 4 (01:12:54):
Their family to yours for Life Kelsey chef dot Com.

Speaker 3 (01:12:58):
It is Nick Martinez as a Jurie Perez on the
Hill Tonight seven to ten First pitch Radio broadcast on
seven hundred WLW. Starting lineup for Cincinnati tonight, Fredols and center,
McLain at second, Elliott short Hayes dhs luxon left, Steers
at first base, Will Benson in right field bat seven
Travenia behind the plate in Juelve Martes at third base

(01:13:18):
and batting ninth. Reds have sent Jake Frayley on a
rehab assignment to Louisville, and they have transferred the rehab
assignment of Carson Spyers to Louisville as well. Florence Yawls
are home tonight for Brockton. There you go, Oh, by
the way, Alexis Diaz has been called up by the Dodgers.
Obviously was traded by the Reds to La earlier this year.

(01:13:43):
He had been pitching for the Dodgers Triple A team.
Hadn't pitched since July third, hasn't completed an inning in
any of his three most recent appearances, has three strikeouts
in six Triple A games in the Dodgers organization. Hunter
Green and full uniform warming up in the olfield and
according to our buddy Charlie Goldsmith, it looked like he

(01:14:04):
is about to throw a bullpen session.

Speaker 4 (01:14:06):
We will see uh.

Speaker 3 (01:14:09):
Brendamant of Jones on Baseball is next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 6 (01:14:13):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (01:14:18):
Traffic from the UCE Health Traffic Center. You See Health
has expert draumacare focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting
long term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more u seehealth dot com.
Traffic Con seventy one north bound between Fort Washington Way
and Writting is still shut down and blocked because of
an accident. Delays back to seventy five. You can use

(01:14:39):
North Pond seventy five to normal allowed old to seventy
one to get around this. The entrance ramp from northbound
four to seventy one is still open. Second Street off
ramp to North Poond seventy one and the fifth Street
off ramp, though are shutdown. I break shrimp with traffic.

Speaker 6 (01:14:54):
This report is sponsored by now.

Speaker 1 (01:14:56):
Your chance to win one thousand dollars entered this nationwide.

Speaker 4 (01:15:00):
Thank you on our website.

Speaker 1 (01:15:01):
Bonus that's bonus.

Speaker 2 (01:15:03):
Enter it now ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:15:07):
Nay, it's three minutes after five o'clock.

Speaker 3 (01:15:12):
It's the mikkelob Ultra five o'clock Happy Hour on ESPN
fifteen thirty.

Speaker 9 (01:15:18):
Thank you for.

Speaker 3 (01:15:18):
Listening, Mikelobultra. No matter what you're doing tonight, if you're
going to the ballpark, if you're gonna be watching the
game at home, listening to the game at home, if
you're gonna get in an evening round of golf, whatever
you're doing, enjoy and ice cold Mick Ultra Superior Taste,
Superior Light Beer. We're gonna go back to Big Twelve
Media Days coming up in just about fifteen minutes. Our

(01:15:39):
buddy Scott Springer is there by the way, poll questions
out on Twitter. We'll get to that coming up in
just a few minutes. It relates to the Big Twelve
and Media Days, plus Gavin Gerhart getting ready for his
sixth college football season and his third as a team captain.
And we're gonna give you another chance to win tickets
to Upper Deck Golf at GAB At five thirty five,

(01:16:04):
the Reds play the Marlins tonight. It's the second game
of this Big seven game homestand last night, the Reds
started the home stand by losing. How they lost may
or may not matter to you that they lost. Should
So now the Reds are forty six and forty five

(01:16:24):
a game over five hundred. Let's be let's be realistic
about this. They're not winning the National League Central. If
I'm wrong, I'll eat my words eight and a half
out two teams in front of them, then the Cubs.
They're not winning the National League Central. If they are
making the postseason, it's going to be as a wildcard team,

(01:16:46):
and there's a fair amount of distance between themselves and
the last wildcard spot. And by the way, there's two
teams between them and the last wildcard team, which right
now is the San Francisco Giants. So we've talked a
lot about this series, this homestand against a bad Miami
team and a wretched, almost historically bad Colorado team, and

(01:17:09):
we all agreed yesterday this homestand the Red's gonna make
some progress. The Reds have to help and start to
achieve clarity. Right, They're gonna make it clear for Nick
Krawl we're sellers or I'm sorry, where buyers. You gotta
go help us, Go buy something, Go get something the
homestand though started with a loss last night five to one,

(01:17:32):
the Reds had one hit going into the ninth inning.
They were playing little league defense on the top of
the sixth inning last night. So okay, we all agreed
seven to zero in the homestand wasn't necessarily mandatory. They're
playing big league teams. Even bad teams beat decent teams occasionally. Okay, fine,

(01:17:55):
so we'll give you last night. Does that make tonight
I must win? Because if you lose tonight suddenly it's
like you have to win the next two just to
split with Miami, and then there is almost no wiggle
room for that series against a wretch in Colorado team.

(01:18:15):
The Reds have given back a lot of the positive momentum.
They've given back a lot of the wins they picked
up that got them a little bit clear over five
hundred ano. They're in danger of falling back to five
hundred tonight. We have spent a ton of time on
the trade deadline. I mean, I remember back in March

(01:18:36):
doing a segment with Tony Pike and Austin Elmore on
their show. Since he three to sixty, we do quick hits,
which is kind of a handoff from their show to mind,
and so the question was asked, what are the Reds
gonna need at the deadline? And I'm like, huh, we're
doing that in March. The season hasn't started. Isn't that
an indictment against what you've done this offseason?

Speaker 4 (01:18:58):
Doesn't that say.

Speaker 3 (01:19:00):
You know, what they should have done more this offseason
if we're already wondering what they can and maybe need
to get at the deadline. So we've been talking about
it now for a while and understandably so, and the
big topic for weeks has been are they buyers or
are they sellers? I think it was Gordon Wittenmeyer who
had the first like big piece out there in late
May early June about how the Reds need to start

(01:19:21):
prepping for the trade deadline and being sellers. And by
the way, maybe that ends up being what they are.
They have eighteen games between now and four o'clock on
July thirty first, and so there's a lot that's gonna happen,
and a lot that happens over the next couple of
weeks is gonna dramatically influence at least what the Reds
should do, if not what they actually do do. But

(01:19:43):
the trade deadline ain't helping tonight. I mean, first pitch
tonight in GABPS two hours away Martinez versus Uri Perez.
They're not acquiring a player in time for it tonight's game.
So we can dream about you hate Soarez, which I
heard Joe Daniman talking about with Tony and Austin earlier. Today,

(01:20:04):
I would ask, are we sure that Diamondbacks are going
to be sellers given the fact that they're only a
game behind Cincinnati, and we can get crazy. ESPN does
this today. They get crazy with trade packages involving some
of the bigger names that could be out there, like
Ronald o'cunya Junior and Byron Buxton. We could do that.
That seems to be unrealistic, quite frankly. But the thing

(01:20:28):
that matters more than anything is does this team is
currently constructed start playing better. They've lost five of their
last seven. That might not torpedo a season on its own,
but it ain't good. It ain't good when you're trying
to make up a significant amount of ground in the
playoff push, and it's not good when you're trying to

(01:20:51):
achieve some degree of clarity that compels your front office
to go and buy compels your office to go and
get something. Look, man, it sounds like we're picking on
individual players. To a degree, we are, But like, whatever
the Reds do at the deadline, maybe it's nothing, maybe
they sell, But whatever they acquire at the deadline, if

(01:21:13):
they're in by mode, needs to help, needs to be impactful,
needs to be worth whatever they're giving up. But frankly,
what matters a lot more are A what the guys
on the team right now do between now and the deadline,
and b what the guys on the team right now
do after the deadline. Multiple things can be true the

(01:21:35):
Reds could use some help, and if they go and
get help, those players or player the Reds acquire from
outside needs to help. But also players on this team
need to play better. There's a handful of things I've
been hearing about now for a while. One has been, hey,
just wait till they're healthy. Well, reasonably speaking, they're pretty

(01:21:57):
damn healthy now. Unfortunately, the Hunter Green situation is a
little bit separate from this conversation, though not entirely, and
Jake Frayley isn't healthy right now, but he is starting
a rehab assignment. There is healthy as probably they're going
to be all season long. So I've heard for a
while from some hay, just wait till they're healthy, or

(01:22:20):
just wait till we get to the middle of the
season and some of those early batting slumps are going
to be a thing of the past. And for years
I've heard, hey, just wait, just wait till the future,
just wait till they have a core, just wait till
they have a foundation in place on top of which
they can build. Okay, let's see this season. They're as
healthy as they have been. We are now in July.

(01:22:41):
So it's time for some of those players who have
had bad seasons to this point to prove that they're
not having bad seasons, that they merely had bad starts.
And twenty twenty five is a good four years after
the Reds started a rebuild that was supposed to result
in competing for something meaningful like now it's the time, man.
I know it sounds painfully obvious, But for as much

(01:23:03):
fun as we can have with discussing possible trades, and
as much as we can debate how all in the
Reds should be, and as much as we can wonder
which players which prospects are untouchable. What kind of a
package would Nick Crawby willing to part with. Can the
Reds make multiple trades? Who are the best fits? Are
there guys out there who have, you know, time on

(01:23:27):
their contract beyond the twenty twenty five season that they
can maybe go get. Frankly, I'm a little bit more
interested in the players on the team right now and
what they do in the short term, because in the
absence of the players right now on the team doing
better in the short term, what they do at the
deadline isn't gonna matter at all, and what they do

(01:23:49):
with the deadline might be the opposite of what we want. Like,
nobody wants the Reds to be in cell mode. Nobody
you know, spends all season rooting for a team so
it can get to July thirty first and start selling
off parts effort to get a jump start on next year.
What we all have wanted since before the season began
was for the Reds to be in a position to buy. Okay,

(01:24:10):
if this team doesn't perform better, they're not going to
be in a position to buy. And if they are
in a position to buy, if this team doesn't perform better,
it's not gonna matter what they buy. You can make
that about one or two individual players I've pointed out
Matt McClain. Matt McClain went through a nice stretch in
June where he started to perform like we thought he
would when the season began. He is two for his

(01:24:33):
last twenty four and he's not making any solid contact.
Austin Hayes is batting one to eighty nine since he
came off the injury list. Tyler Stevenson is hitting one
fifty seven over his last nineteen games. Those maybe brief
batting slumps, those short term performances might not be completely
indicative of what their overall statistical profile is going to

(01:24:55):
look like by the end of this season, but these
are the sort of things that have to change. Then,
as it relates to the deadline, there's the situation involving
Hunter Green. Hunter Green had enough of a setback that
they pushed back his rehab start, and now we don't
know when he's gonna make it, which means we don't
know when he's gonna pitch, which means there's even more

(01:25:16):
uncertainty and more cause for concern injury wise, for a
guy who is seemingly always hurt. Look, man, I don't
say this as an indictment against Hunter Green's character. Hunter
Green's character seems to be impeccable. You will find no
bigger fan of Hunter Green than myself. I think that's
pretty well established. When he is healthy and when he

(01:25:37):
is good, he is one of the very best pitchers
in baseball. He is a very easy guy to root for.
He is a very tough guy to hit. But he's
like never healthy. He's not somebody you can count on.
And so this is worth talking about. If we do
focus on the deadline, we all know the Reds need
offensive help. You've watched him score one run in each

(01:25:58):
of the last three games. Every team in the sport
can use bullpen help. The Reds are certainly among the
list of teams that can use bullpen help. The starting
pitching thing has sort of been cast aside when we
talk about the deadline. Hey, their starting pitching is fine.
Hey Chase Burns is helping out right now. Hey they're

(01:26:18):
gonna get Hunter Green back. It's a very simple question.
I'm not sure the answer is that simple, though. Do
the Reds have enough starting pitching depth? I fear the
answer is no. And if what you're gonna count on
is Hunter Green's return solving their starting pitching depth issues.
As much as I love Hunter Green, that answer, frankly

(01:26:42):
is flawed because he's just a guy who physically, unfortunately,
cannot be counted on. I think Hunter Green would probably
be the first to admit that. A quarter after five
on ESPN fifteen thirty, l Oegger will go to a
Big twelve Media Days. By the way, pole question thanks
to United Heartland Insurance. When you are looking at your
insurance policies, whether they're for your car, your home, your business, whatever,

(01:27:07):
see what you're paying and then see what the folks
that United Heartland Insurance can do for you. Check out
uhis dot com. The Big twelve has gotten rid of
its preseason football poll. Vote whether this is good or
stupid at Moeger. We'll update the results between now and
six o'clock. Let's go to Big twelve Media Days are
Buddy Scott Springer from the Inquirers. There he joins us

(01:27:27):
next on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 2 (01:27:29):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from.

Speaker 7 (01:27:35):
The UCE Health Traffic Center. You see Health has expert
traumacare focusing on prevention treating injuries and supporting long term
recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more ucehealth dot com. Well seventy one.
He's still shut down between Fort Washington, Waite and writing
because of this earlier accident that you have cruise on
the scene here delays back to seventy five. The alternate

(01:27:56):
is northbound seventy five to nor Wild Lateral East. Who's
seventy one? Second street off ramp to northbound seventy one
and the fifth street off ramp to seventy one also
shut down. My break shrire up with traffic.

Speaker 4 (01:28:08):
This after five. This is ESPN fifteen to thirty.

Speaker 3 (01:28:11):
Big twelve Media days are happening in Frisco, Texas. We
are inching closer to the start of the college football season,
Cincinnati opening in Kansas City against Nebraska. Scott Springer is
in Frisco, Texas for The Inquirer and Cincinnati dot Com
covering the event and kind enough to give us a
few minutes during Sure, what a during what I'm sure

(01:28:31):
has been a busy day for him?

Speaker 4 (01:28:33):
What's going on?

Speaker 9 (01:28:36):
Very busy?

Speaker 8 (01:28:37):
I'm awaiting Scott Saderfield about to take the podium where
they do the kind of the local type scrum deal.
They have all the different players. I'm looking at a
wall of tables and different players come out, and then
the coaches will come out, and so the coaches do
a formal thing out front, which is what you see
if you're watching the cable TV coverage, and then they'll

(01:28:59):
come out and and talk again, and then you know
it's somewhat of a free for all too if you're
just walking around. I just talked to Kilanie Sataki, the
BYU coach, and I got Matt Campbell. So if you're
an old traveled man like me, you try to pick
him off before they get up in front of the
big crowd. So there is a strategy to it other

(01:29:21):
than that. Right now, I'm watching Joe Royer and Gavin
Gerhardt engaged in a tough game of cornhole right now,
and they're in suits, really and they look fairly sharp,
not like you or I would look.

Speaker 4 (01:29:34):
No, not at all.

Speaker 3 (01:29:36):
So there's no Big twelve preseason poll, and I like,
I get it. You know, there's more turnover than ever.
It's harder and harder to predict how teams are going
to be. Arizona State was picked to finish last last year.
And ended up winning the league. And so no preseason poll,
I guess that's fine. If there was one, where do
you guess you see would.

Speaker 4 (01:29:56):
Have finished.

Speaker 8 (01:29:58):
In the middle. I mean, if you go by what
I've read, you know, like Phil Steele puts out The
Great Magazine, It's required reading in any bathroom or whatever,
he's got them somewhere in the middle. I have him
in the middle. And it's not that I'm trying to
avoid controversy. It's just, you know, that's the best I
can tell you, because you know, you're looking at thirty

(01:30:20):
nine new players and twenty one transfers and I think
eighteen freshmen and everyone else is in the same boat.
You're flipping your roster every year. So I don't have
an issue with them not having the poll, because, let's
face it, the media did a crappy job last year
when you had Arizona dead last, and then the year
before they picked West Virginia dead last. They won nine
games in a bowl game, and so you know, it's

(01:30:43):
so tough to predict. And I think Cincinnati.

Speaker 9 (01:30:47):
Will be better. They look better, the.

Speaker 8 (01:30:50):
Transfers they have in look better, but you've not seen
them play against anyone yet. So you're gonna have to
wait to August twenty eighth for that Nebraska game in
Kansas City game. I think it's you know, whoever wins
that's gonna jump up and down and say, yeah, we're
on a roll now here we are, we're back, We're back.

Speaker 4 (01:31:07):
More to her.

Speaker 8 (01:31:07):
But I don't know that that game makes the season
for either team.

Speaker 9 (01:31:12):
Honestly.

Speaker 8 (01:31:13):
You know, Cincinnati will still have seven home games and
plenty of opportunities in the Big Twelve if they lose.
I think they have a decent shot at it. Obviously,
though you know, the corn Huskers are going to come
out of the woodwork, you know, from three hours away
in Omaha to get to Kansas City, and so that's
going to be a rough game.

Speaker 4 (01:31:31):
But I don't know that.

Speaker 8 (01:31:34):
It breaks the season. But I think the Bearcats are
decent enough to compete in it. So I know I'm
really stravvling the fence here, but I'm not going to say, oh, yeah,
you know, thirty one NHS Bearcats because it'd be ludicrous.

Speaker 4 (01:31:48):
Yeah, so you said middle of the pack.

Speaker 3 (01:31:51):
So middle of the pack last year in the Big
Twelve was Kansas State at five and four, and they
ended up going nine to four if you count their
bowl game. So do you think that's an above five
hundred record in the Big Twelve this year? And let's
just say eight wins is realistic for this team this season.

Speaker 8 (01:32:10):
That's probably a little high, to be honest with you,
just you know, trying to be conservative.

Speaker 9 (01:32:14):
And I'll be honest, the.

Speaker 8 (01:32:15):
Last two seasons I picked them at six wins, so
I wasn't trying to avoid controversy. But if you look
at the first season, they won three, they lost four
by single digits. Six was within reach by all means.
Last year, six was well within reach and should have
been there because they you know, let it run down
their leg there against Pitt in the second game.

Speaker 9 (01:32:37):
That was horrific.

Speaker 8 (01:32:38):
That loss came back to bite them twenty seven to
six late in the third.

Speaker 6 (01:32:42):
Quarter and you lose.

Speaker 8 (01:32:43):
And if you win that game, there's your six wins
and you were in a bowl and maybe people are
thinking a little different, but instead that you know, five
and two, you beat Arizona State, which was a great win,
and then you.

Speaker 9 (01:32:54):
Lost five straight.

Speaker 8 (01:32:55):
So they have to figure out a way to you know,
to keep it together for the whole season. And uh,
obviously some of that is health and stuff. But I
think Swersby looks healthy and he seems awfully confident, and
I think he might be a tad underrated when you're
looking at some of the big golf quarterbacks. Coiled last
year had a blood clot in his lung and wasn't
able to even practice and and they did get him back,

(01:33:18):
but you know, he wasn't going through practice reps. He
was just you know, he was behind. I think when
when he finally got back to play.

Speaker 9 (01:33:26):
And uh.

Speaker 8 (01:33:28):
I like the offensive line, even though that you lost
some of the guys. Some Joe Cotton, that was a
guy at left tackle that everybody wanted. Taran Tyo from
a ball state is a guard and it's just been
a complete bulldog in the uh in the weight room,
and he's a scary looking dude.

Speaker 9 (01:33:45):
So uh.

Speaker 8 (01:33:47):
And that's a guy that played in the MAC and
has a chip on his shoulders. So I think offensive
line they have a chance to be decent. And you know,
a lot rides on the defense, which you know it
does every year, and that that's been a problem. It's
just three three five ever gonna work. But I think
they made some good pickups in the off season. So

(01:34:08):
it's a matter can those guys do here what they
did at other places?

Speaker 3 (01:34:14):
Where is the the biggest area of uncertainty that has
to get sorted out during fall camp?

Speaker 8 (01:34:23):
Probably still defensive back. You know, I think they're improved,
but you know that was an issue last year. That's
why there's a coach that's no longer there. And then
special teams obviously, uh, you know love carry, but that's
those two areas we were pretty glaring and unfortunately they
had to make a move. And I think you now

(01:34:46):
you have Max the Fletcher punting, you have Russnick, Stephen Russnick,
the kicker that they got out of Charlotte who made
all of his kicks last year.

Speaker 4 (01:34:56):
Uh.

Speaker 8 (01:34:57):
Now I'll say that Neil Shank is first one, but uh,
you know he looks better that that part of it
looks better. The defensive backs look better. Uh, you got
to keep guys healthy. I think the defensive line last
year you lost a lot early on because you know,
Coleon wasn't healthy. Initially, jayaln Hunt was the guy that

(01:35:19):
they were going to rely on and he got hurt,
and Camra Rutherford got hurt, and Micah Coleman was a
transfer from Eastern Michigan who would have started, and he.

Speaker 9 (01:35:28):
Missed the whole season.

Speaker 8 (01:35:29):
So it's the same thing every other team deals with.
But you got to have the guys healthy and you
got to be lucky, and you know, see what happens.
I think the schedule's favorable to win in seven maybe eight.
I think they would be awfully, awfully disappointed to not
thak a Bowl game. I think the third year is
off the crucial and I don't think they're making a

(01:35:52):
big secret about that.

Speaker 4 (01:35:54):
Yeah, no question about that. Do you get a chance
to play any Cornwall.

Speaker 8 (01:35:59):
I'm not very good at it, and plus I'm from
the east Side and you have to have special papers
to play a Cornol no matter what state you're in,
and they find out you're an Eastsider, and you know,
they show you away like like you don't matter. But
now I'm not very good. But I'm looking at the
Godfather now trying to play some and I think when

(01:36:20):
he doesn't get his way, he just goes and smashes
the board. You know what he did last night they
had they had steak last night. He ate a thirty
two ounce steaks and then he ordered one to go
and had it cut up in pieces and took it
to his room because Gavin Gerhardt was with him and

(01:36:40):
gaminated the thirty two ounce steak, which that's like half
a cow.

Speaker 9 (01:36:45):
I think.

Speaker 8 (01:36:46):
But yeah, that man can put the groceries away. That's
that's a different human being, right there.

Speaker 3 (01:36:55):
No questions, all right, I know you're busy. I appreciate
the time, man, Thank you.

Speaker 8 (01:37:00):
I'm gonna go talk to coach Set and I'll send
him your regards and your demands of winning eight to
nine games.

Speaker 4 (01:37:07):
Please please tell them yes, I say.

Speaker 8 (01:37:11):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can't come on the Moegger Show if.

Speaker 9 (01:37:14):
You don't win eight or nine.

Speaker 3 (01:37:15):
That's the rules, all right, Please do all right? Scott
Springer from Big twelve Media Days covering that event for
The Inquirer and Cincinnati dot Com. Do you want to
play upper deck golf at gab P. This is happening
next week Thursday through Saturday. It's your chance to play
a round of golf inside the ballpark.

Speaker 4 (01:37:36):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:37:36):
This is pretty cool. You'll have a chance to play
a round of golf all throughout GAVP. Down to custom
greens on the field, plus great music, cold drains, food,
multiple golfing challenges and so much more. So we've got
room for you and it's like two tickets. So we're
gonna play more stupid trivia. We're gonna test your knowledge
of the Reds and their history with trades. Now, we

(01:37:58):
did this with another content two hours ago, and the
guy who called in a gentleman by the name of Terry.
He answered the first two correctly and then got the
next three wrong. I think these are on the easier scale.
So we'll see how we do we need a contestant.
We actually need to five point three seven, four nine,
fifteen thirty. Your chance to play Upper Deck Golf at

(01:38:18):
GABP is next on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 6 (01:38:23):

Speaker 7 (01:38:31):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. You See Health
has expert traumacare focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting
long term recovery and rehabilitation. Learn more ucehealth dot com.
Well seventy one north bound Stone shutdown between the Fort
Washington Way and Writing due to an earlier accident. Second
Street and Fifth Street off ramps are shut down to

(01:38:52):
northbound seventy one, and we are looking at seventy five
heavy southbound from Western Avenue to the Brent Spence Bridge.
I'm rich Shrapworth traffic.

Speaker 6 (01:39:00):
This report is sponsored.

Speaker 3 (01:39:01):
The set lines are a service of Kelsey chev Light
Home of Lifetime, how much train protection and guarantee credit
approval from their family the Yours for Life, Kelsey chev
dot Com. I don't know why I'm talking so fast.
Red's and Marlins again. Tonight's seven to ten first pitch
seven hundred WLW, Nick Martinez and a Hury Perez on
the hill. Reds are trying to snap a three game

(01:39:22):
losing skid. A Your starting lineup tonight, Friedol's and center,
McLean's and second Ellie's at short, Hayes Is dhing Lox's
and left field, Steers at first base, Benson and Wright,
Travinia behind the dish, and Noel A. Marte Is playing
third base and batting ninth. Jake Freeley starts his rehab
assignment at Triple A Louisville, and they have transferred the

(01:39:43):
rehab assignment of Carson Spires to Louisville.

Speaker 4 (01:39:47):
So there you go.

Speaker 3 (01:39:48):
Alexis Diaz was called up by the Dodgers even though
he was terrible at Triplelite Reds play the Dodgers at
GABP later on this month. Florence y'all's hosting Broxton tonight.
Good luck to them, not Broxton, the Florence Yalls. And
I think that's all we got for local sports headlines.
All right, you have a chance to go play Upper
Deck Golf at GABP. This event is gonna sell out.

(01:40:12):
The Upper Deck Golf Experience at GABP takes place next Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday. Get tickets at Reds dot com or you
can win them here. If your name is Randy, Randy,
you are our contestant. Good afternoon.

Speaker 4 (01:40:25):
Are you excited to play stupid trivia?

Speaker 6 (01:40:29):
I am so excited.

Speaker 7 (01:40:30):
No, thanks for having me.

Speaker 4 (01:40:31):
You're very welcome. Thank you for calling in. All right,
here we go.

Speaker 3 (01:40:34):
We're gonna ask you five questions each multiple choice. These
questions are about Reds trade history, basically Reds trades they
have made in their history.

Speaker 4 (01:40:43):
And you got to get three of the five correct.
Are you ready?

Speaker 9 (01:40:47):
I'm ready?

Speaker 4 (01:40:48):
All right, So here we go. All right.

Speaker 3 (01:40:50):
On November twenty ninth, nineteen seventy one, the Reds made
what many consider to be their greatest ever trade. They
acquire Joe Morgan from the huge Astros in a deal
that included eight players changing teams. Cincinnati in that trade
also got from Houston this member of the Great eight

(01:41:11):
of the Big Red Machine. Was it A Davey Concepcion
and B George Foster or c saysar.

Speaker 4 (01:41:17):
Geronimo, says our Geronimo.

Speaker 3 (01:41:22):
Can I get a saysar Geronimo. Yes, you are one
for one? Oh, very good?

Speaker 13 (01:41:28):
All right?

Speaker 4 (01:41:28):
Was that a total guess?

Speaker 8 (01:41:31):
Uh?

Speaker 14 (01:41:31):
Yeah, that's appredates me by about twenty years.

Speaker 4 (01:41:33):
So that all good. Very good.

Speaker 3 (01:41:36):
Hey, you know some of these will be a little
bit more current, but yes, saysar Geronimo. Came to Cincinnati
from the Astros in the same trade, then went on
to play nine seasons and anchored center field for the
teams that won the World Series in seventy five and
seventy six. Here we go, question number two. On April seventh,
two thousand and six, the Reds made another one of

(01:41:57):
their best trades ever. They sent to Cleveland. I'm sorry,
I can barely read my handwriting. Let's start this again.
On April seven, two thousand and six, one of the
best trades in Red's history saw Cincinnati said right handed
pitcher Jeff Stevens to Cleveland in exchange for this player A.

(01:42:19):
Brandon Phillips, B. Felipe Lopez, C Johnny Quado.

Speaker 11 (01:42:24):
Is it Philip Brandon Phillip?

Speaker 4 (01:42:26):
Is it BP? Can I get? Yes? Brandon Phillips acquired
by the Reds.

Speaker 3 (01:42:30):
He would go on to win four Gold Gloves, appear
in three All Star Games, and is a surefire Reds
Hall of Famer. Jeff Stevens did not have similar success
with Cleveland.

Speaker 4 (01:42:41):
All right, here you go.

Speaker 3 (01:42:42):
You got two correct, gotta get one more. Now it's
worth mentioning. Our guy at three point thirty five was
on the same spot, got the first two correct and
then he choked. So here we go question number three.
In twenty eighteen, the Reds traded former All Star Devin
Mezerako to the Mets in exchange for the former All
Star pitcher.

Speaker 4 (01:43:01):
Was it A.

Speaker 3 (01:43:02):
Scott Feldman, B. Michael Lorenzen or C. Matt Harvey?

Speaker 4 (01:43:08):
Matt Harvey? Can I get Matt Harvey?

Speaker 7 (01:43:13):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (01:43:14):
Randy, congratulations, you are going to go play upper deck
golf American that he.

Speaker 11 (01:43:23):
Ain't gotten nothing on Old Randy from the Ridge.

Speaker 3 (01:43:26):
I'll let him know in fact, you may have already. Randy,
hang tight, Terren's gonna get your info. You are gonna
go play upper deck golf at a great American ballpark,
an event that's going to take place July seventeenth, eighteenth,
and nineteenth. Your chance to play golf inside the ballpark. No,
the Reds will not be playing for on the road
next week. You can't do this while they're playing a game.

(01:43:47):
We have more tickets to that and to Dirks Bentley
to give away tomorrow. Congratulations to Randy who a clean sweep.
All three questions he got them right. I won't bother
with the last two. H Gavin Gerhardt's going to join
the third year captain sixth year UC bearcad anchoring the
offensive line joins US from Texas.

Speaker 6 (01:44:06):
Next ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 7 (01:44:11):
Traffic from the UCE Health Traffic Center. You See Health
has expert draumacare focusing on prevention, treating injuries, and supporting
long term recovery and rehabilitation.

Speaker 4 (01:44:21):
Learn more.

Speaker 7 (01:44:22):
U seehealth dot com Plus seventy one is still shut
down because of the accident here at North Boundary closed
between Fort Washington Way and reading cleanup and the way
you can use an alternate like northbound seventy five to
eastbound Norwood Laboral to seventy one Second and Fifth Street
off ramps to seventy one North are also shut down
by'm rick shramp with traffic.

Speaker 4 (01:44:43):
Miss thirteen away from six o'clock.

Speaker 3 (01:44:47):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Zer, you're not being pulled
over or pursued by law enforcement. Let's go to Fristco,
Texas one more time. Big twelve Media days happening right now.
Gavin Gerhardt is getting set for his sixth colum age
football season at the University of Cincinnati, anchoring the offensive
line as the team center, and his third year as
a team captain. Gavin kind enough to join us. I'm

(01:45:10):
gonna ask you the same question I asked Joe Royer.
How many interviews have you done today?

Speaker 11 (01:45:16):
I'd say probably ten or so, maybe upwards of fifteen,
but we're only only about halfway done.

Speaker 9 (01:45:22):
So it'll be a long bit, that's for sure. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:45:25):
I told him it kind of sounds fun, and it
kind of doesn't. What's the dumbest question you've been asked
so far today?

Speaker 11 (01:45:33):
I don't know if I've been asked. It's pretty much
all the same stuff. You know, how's the team looking
and whatnot. I don't know if there's really been a
dumb one, to be honest with you. A lot of
it's been you know, how the team's going to look
this year, what our goals and ex aspirations.

Speaker 9 (01:45:47):
Are, and then you know, you know my journey as well.
But other than that, I wouldn'tay it's any dumb ones.

Speaker 4 (01:45:54):
What is it like getting ready?

Speaker 3 (01:45:55):
I mean, your college football career started in twenty twenty,
which is forever ago. It's forever ago in relation to
the UC program. It's forever ago in relation to college football,
it's forever ago in relation to the world.

Speaker 4 (01:46:08):
I mean, what is it?

Speaker 3 (01:46:10):
What is it like when you know you're getting ready
for the final season of what's been a really long
but at least so far, really successful journey.

Speaker 11 (01:46:19):
I'd say it gets it gets a little emotional at
this point in time. You know, I have goals and
aspirations of playing on Sundays, but this, this university and
this team means so much to me, that has done
so much for me in the past five seasons. And
now you know I'm going into buy my six and
final one. I get get a little bit emotional, but
I'm just I'm just ready to get the things started.

(01:46:41):
You know, once something happens like this media day, you know,
the seasons right around the corner. So we got three
more weeks of training and then we'll get a couple
of maybe.

Speaker 9 (01:46:49):
Two or three days off and then we're.

Speaker 11 (01:46:50):
All football camp and then the season will be here
before you know it.

Speaker 9 (01:46:53):
So really looking forward to it. Excited for this year
for sure.

Speaker 3 (01:46:57):
There's obviously college football players on this day age who
they'll wind up their college career. They'll play for two, three,
I guess in some cases four programs it is, and
that's fine, But is it a Is it a source
of pride that you've stayed in one place and done
as well as you have done for such a long
period of time?

Speaker 9 (01:47:15):
Hundred percent, hundred percent?

Speaker 11 (01:47:17):
You know, I knew this was where I wanted to
be when I committed in high school, and no matter
the changes, everlasting changes in college football, there there was
nothing that brought you know, came to my attention or
or made me think otherwise that this is where I
needed to be. So I take a lot of pride
and playing for the same program, and in regardless of
the coaching changes and changing the conferences and everything. I

(01:47:38):
take a lot of pride and staying here for my
entire college.

Speaker 9 (01:47:42):
So we'll see career.

Speaker 3 (01:47:44):
The offensive line, and we talked about this a year ago,
right it was it was the area of continuity where
you brought back so many guys and and and very
good players. There's been some more turnover this year. It's
natural to compare a position group to what what we
saw for the year before. Give us an idea of
where the offensive line is maybe similar, maybe just as good,

(01:48:06):
and perhaps a little bit different than last year.

Speaker 9 (01:48:09):
Yeah, it's different one hundred percent. I'm used to, you know,
based off last season.

Speaker 11 (01:48:15):
I was used to, you know, having four guys that
I had already played a season with, and now it's
just the one guy beside you know that'll be at
right tackle with Dion.

Speaker 9 (01:48:24):
But it's gonna be different.

Speaker 11 (01:48:26):
But I'm taking it on and I'm ready for the
challenge to make sure all five of us are on
the same page. I take a lot of pride and
being a leader and making sure guys are going in
the right direction. So that definite number one goal is
make sure everybody knows what they're doing. Make sure we're
all going in the right direction and hopefully open up
some big holes and protect long enough to make some
explosive plays help us win a lot of football games.

Speaker 3 (01:48:47):
I think back to two years ago, and for the
most part, especially running the football, your group was up
to the task, but it was it was gonna be
a jump in just physicality from the American Athletic Conference
to the Big Twelve. And I felt like last year,
just as a team, you guys were a little bit
more ready to meet that level of physicality. I would imagine,

(01:49:09):
and you can tell me if I'm wrong that you
feel like for this season, you guys are even more
prepared just for the that level that you get in
the Big Twelve that you guys took a couple of
years to kind of get ready for.

Speaker 11 (01:49:21):
Is is that a fair assessment, even though there's gonna
be three new guys out there with me, I think
that having two years under our belts as a program
in this conference and at this level of play, we'll
give us a great advantage and put us at, you know,
honestly level with everybody else in the playing field. I think,
you know, the guys that we that that are going

(01:49:43):
to be playing out there. You know, a couple of.

Speaker 9 (01:49:44):
Them have been on the team for a couple of years,
so they know what it takes, even if they haven't
played as much. And then you know a guy like
Arren who's coming up from the MAC, you know, a
smaller guy, smaller conference.

Speaker 11 (01:49:54):
It'll be a great challenge for him. But I know
he's ready to play at this level. And I think
we all are going to have very specifl season this year.

Speaker 3 (01:50:02):
What's the buy in been like from the new guys,
especially on the offensive line? Understanding that everybody who was
a part of the team last year has an understandably.

Speaker 4 (01:50:09):
So a chip on their shoulder.

Speaker 9 (01:50:12):
I would say they were all came in eager to
ready to learn.

Speaker 11 (01:50:15):
You know, guys that knew what are you know the
past two seasons have been like for Cincinnati and knew
that we we owe this to the city and we
owe this to to the university to have a great
season and honestly play with be a connected and disciplined
football team. That's what really it dials down to. If
we can be connected, we can be disciplined, we can

(01:50:36):
play for one another, We'll have a great season. So
you know, they all came in with open arms, and
you know, they all understood what the task at hand
and knew that we you know, if we played for
one another, we believe in one another.

Speaker 9 (01:50:46):
Well, very successful year.

Speaker 3 (01:50:49):
I think I've asked you this before, but I'm going
to ask it again. You're down there in Texas, Dante
Corleone is down there in Texas. You guys have been
practicing one on one against each other for years. By
the end of this season, will you guys basically be
an old, married couple one.

Speaker 11 (01:51:04):
Hundred I understand, And that's I've been asked that a
couple of times already here just tonight, to out the
day so far here in Texas, it's a great, great
challenge every day to go against somebody like that. You know,
if you go against great talent like that on a
daily basis, just in practice, you know, it makes the
games a lot easier, slows them down a little bit,

(01:51:24):
and makes you know, not not as worrisome that I
need to worry about who I'm going against. I've already
gone against great talent on a weekly basis and daily
basis and practice, I can really just hone in on
making sure everybody's going in the right direction. Make sure
I make the right call to help us, you know,
be as successful as we can be. Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:51:43):
Well, I I appreciate the time. I know you're doing
a lot of these. I hope you get to enjoy
the experience. This is it for you, man, so uh
savor every second, not just today, but through the course
of fall camp in the upcoming season. And uh, I
appreciate you doing this. Man, thanks so much.

Speaker 9 (01:52:00):
I appreciate you have me on. You got it.

Speaker 3 (01:52:03):
Gavin Gearhart is getting set for year number six in
his third season as a team team captain, anchoring the
offensive line, playing center at you see the Bearcats one
of the teams today. It's a two day event, Media Days,
which is why there's an s at the end of it.
Half the League today, Half the League tomorrow. Good stuff
from Gavin Gearhart, good stuff from earlier today. Joe Royer

(01:52:25):
as well. Will have both podcasts on the iHeartRadio app.
Make sure you check that out. And when you go
to the iHeartRadio app, which by the way, you could
use to listen to this show anytime anywhere, do that
and set ESPN fifteen thirty is one of your presets
and you could set this show as one of your
presets as well. Podcasts of this show are a service
of Long Neck Sports Grill. If you're looking for a

(01:52:47):
place to post up tonight, hang out, sit outside, have
a cold one long Neck Sports Grill, Wilder, Hebrin and
rich Wood.

Speaker 4 (01:52:56):
You will love it.

Speaker 3 (01:52:56):
By the way, Paul, questions come your way. Thanks to
United Heartland Insurance, Big twelve has done away with its
pre season poll, So I'm asking you to vote whether
or not this is good or stupid. Seventy point eight
percent of you say good, it's kind of stupid. I
think those poles are harmless. I think they make for

(01:53:20):
fun conjecture. And we're all wondering where would our respective
schools be in the polls had they exist at last
they do not, So you can vote now at mowiger.
Good luck and check out uhis dot com. We're done
Red's Marlins recap tomorrow. We're looking forward to that. We

(01:53:43):
get toward the end of the week we'll talk hell
Is Real FC Cincinnati versus Columbus, So look forward to
that and make sure you check out anything you might
have missed on the iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 4 (01:53:55):
We're done. Show's over. Gotta go. Thanks to A.

Speaker 3 (01:53:57):
Tarran Bland for producing, and of course thanks to you
for listening. Remember it's been the michelob Ultra five o'clock
Happy Hour. Have an awesome night. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station

All Episodes

7/8/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show

Episode Transcript

Mo Egger News

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}7/8/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show

Episode Transcript

Mo Egger News .css-1q01m3q{margin:0 0 -2px 0;}

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

All Episodes