Hour 1: Kyle Fisher on the MLB All-Star Game, Kyle Schwarber MVP, and More - 07/16/25

Kyle Fisher joins Sean Brace from the jump on this edition of the Daily Ticket talking:

• MLB All-Star Game - NL defeats AL thanks to All-Star Game MVP Kyle Schwarber
• Phillies-Mets rivalry with another silly chapter
• Why the game should be all about fun
• And more! 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Number one on your car radio preset hand the new
and improved iheard radio A w D y S and
w D two seven three D Philadelphia is Fox Sports
Radio The Gambler.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
I gotta lift Mike.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
I gotta lift Mike to start the show. What's going
on here? Of come on, that's what happens when you
share studio space.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Oh well, good.

Speaker 4 (01:04):
Afternoon, everybody, it's the Daily Ticket coming to you. Lie
a beautiful Wednesday in the Delaware Valley. I am Sean
Brace joining me right from the jump. Kyle Fisher. Always
great to have him. Kyle, a lot to discuss, sir,
how we're doing.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
I'm doing great, man. Had a nice night staying in
watching that MLB All Star Game. First time we got
to see extra innings, and of course our boys, Schwarber
gets it done for the National League Team, so you know,
feel pretty good on Wednesday.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
Feeling pretty good on a Wednesday, that is correct, and
our first ever All Star Game swing off. It was
essentially a tie breaking home run derby, and as Kyle
Fisher just pointed out.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yes, Schwarber led the.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Charge for the NL and then took home the the
All Star Game MVP Award. That has Mets fans all
hot and bothered. First of all, this is how it
sounded last night.

Speaker 5 (02:04):
Short in the air to center field, heading towards the wall, and.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
That's center.

Speaker 5 (02:11):
It's huge for the Pactional League. They're within one. So
there you go. He said, if he could get it
on his first swing, and he did.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Shre bums in the All Star.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Game, tied it free.

Speaker 5 (02:29):
That's MVP material if he gets the third one right here, Hey,
I rallied in the game and has rallied in the
swing track. Look out chop House National League text and
I eat for to free.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
Of course, Fox Television there for the call last night's
All Star Game.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Look out for the chop House. I like that, Joe Davis.

Speaker 4 (02:55):
Nice work by him there. I thought the broadcast was good.
I was fully transparent. I was a little lockedccupied last night,
went to a concert, but it was able to catch
a lot of the replay and stuff like that. And
I did catch a little bit this morning. Because there's
nothing really worthwhile watching in the am these days, with
the with all the sports on the hiatus, a lot

(03:17):
of B squad players in there, you know, there's nothing
wrong with that. Anyways, I was able to catch the
broadcast clips and I thought they did a pretty good job.
I thought Fox did a pretty good job and it
was entertaining, that's for sure. I know a lot of
people were on my timeline loving it. The swing Off
was pretty cool. But bottom line is it starts and

(03:38):
ends with the fact that Kyle Schwerber was able to
do what he did and led the charge for the
National League.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Your thoughts and the Swing Off?

Speaker 4 (03:45):
Everybody seems to be enamored by it, and I think
some people are going a little too far into the
oh yeah, we should end games like this instead of
the ghost Runners, Like, come on, relax, everybody.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
I thought it was cool. You know, it's an exhibition game.
It's unique. Clearly the players were very into it. Like
why it was fun? People? People need to stop hating
fun Sean, Yeah, well, fun things be fun. It's a
fun game. It's meaningless game. It doesn't even decide the
home field advantage in the in the World Series anymore
like I did for a short period of time, so
there's really no stakes to it. Why not have fun

(04:19):
with it. It's it's a mid season break for most
of the league. The guys who were there got honored
and they want to have a little bit of fun
while are there. Yeah, people just people hate fun. Yeah,
it's it's it's ridiculous.

Speaker 4 (04:31):
It's how it always works. And like I said, the
game was entertaining. It probably should never went to the
swing off with the six nothing lead by the NL,
but credit to the American League for scoring six runs
in the final three innings and after years of the
AL dominating this game, something that we were talking a

(04:52):
little bit about Monday, twenty one of the last twenty
five games from ninety seven to twenty two, the NASH
or the American League one on the National League now
won the past three All Star Games, ultimately the trail
the all time series forty eight to forty five and two.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Again, not too much to break down.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
As far as the All Star Game, it's just a
good spot for us to all look back at the
first half and try, from a sports gambling standpoint, look
at some teams that we believe are going to make
a move, teams that we believe that could fade. We're
gonna hit on a load of that in this hour
and try and break out the crystal ball. As far
as second half, Major League baseball. We'll definitely shine the

(05:35):
light on the Phillies and get you ready for what
they have cooking with the Angels coming in on Friday.
But other thing that I did want to bring up
really intriguing from the sports gambling standpoint, and it's always
important for you to read the fine print.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
I get it.

Speaker 4 (05:49):
If you have twenty five bucks, twenty bucks, say you
know what, twenty bucks is a lot of money to
some people. Sure, but you know, if you are putting
a significant wager on the money line from an American
or a nationally standpoint, God bless you. But there are
plenty of people out there that feel like they need
to swing at it, and a number of sports books
see the game was tied after nine innings and the

(06:15):
NL obviously one four to three thanks to Kyle Schwarber's
perfectly for three. Schwerber was plus four thousand. He was
named the MVP, but did certain certain sports books did
not pay out and they ruled the money line bet
a push. Circus Sports and Caesars ruled it as a push.
DraftKings and FanDuel grated it as a win for the

(06:36):
National League, and again the house rules are at a
premium you must read the fine print, especially if you're
gonna put something of significance as far as the total
amount on the line. But hopefully for the people out
there that were wagering, we're using DraftKings and we're able
to cash in. But something intriguing, and these are the
things that pop up from time to time that, like

(06:56):
I said, for the third time, read the fine print, Kyle.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
You have to house always wins. We talked about it
a couple of weeks ago. Even if you don't think
they're gonna win, they figure it away.

Speaker 4 (07:05):
So three batters per team, three swings per batter, most
total home runs, and the lineups were predetermined by the managers.

Speaker 2 (07:15):
And you said the players were into it, which is cool.
You're right. I'm not gonna argue that.

Speaker 4 (07:20):
But there were limited players to pick reserves from because
many starters had left the ballpark early, according to Yahoo Sports.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
Now I know, I know how it works. They're out there.
It's All Stars.

Speaker 4 (07:36):
You only get four days total off if you don't
make the game. If you do make the All Star team,
you're probably what. You're back in action on Thursday. I
think the first games are Friday. But you're back at
the ballpark Thursday, you know, getting ready to go, so
you want to get out of there, but you can't
wait till the games over. Really, you gotta leave in

(07:56):
the middle of the damn game. It went to a
swing off, something that's never happened in It is three
of the All Star Game and we got players leaving Atlanta.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
You gotta love it.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, I didn't even see the report that people were
leaving early, but I assumed, like when Aaron Judge wasn't included,
I just assumed because they showed a shot of Scooble,
like wearing a dress a button down already.

Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
I was like, God, Judge probably got changed and now
it doesn't want to make him go back in the UNI.
But you may have left the building already. Yeah, a
little premature. At least Schooble hung around to see what
was going on.

Speaker 4 (08:27):
That's something we talked about last week with the situation
forgive me, what was the umpire that screwed up?

Speaker 5 (08:35):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
And then last night we saw the abs challenged used
a number of times, including Schooble. He just brought up
and it was used four times throughout the game. That
one specific that was the only one I saw. But
that's that's the perfect scenario. What you saw. How fast
I think it took eighteen seconds. The big thing for

(08:58):
me is Therama was there. So now I'll imagine it's
three two count and you know runners on first and second,
two outs, you're gonna either load the base or load
the bases or it's a strikeout. Guy starts to walk
the first to challenge it. Like the drama is there
with that call. I think it's really cool and something
that Major League Baseball needs to implement.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
Now get it in there really fast.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, really well done.

Speaker 4 (09:24):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
The guys who had done it in the miners liked
it a lot. I didn't see many complaints coming out
of spring training about it. It was why and you
now we've done it on a national stage and everybody
got to witness how quick it was. It's coming sooner
rather than later. I don't see why it's not here
next season.

Speaker 4 (09:40):
Yeah, it really needs to be, and especially as you
saw it on that scale, and everything was fine as
I pointed it out. Though Schwerber did win the MVP
and Mets fans, including reporters, like.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
It's so odd to me.

Speaker 4 (09:53):
I don't know it should it be odd to me
because it should just be expected at this point in
time that everyone's gonna playing about something. Like you said
with the fun part, but at the end, this is
like a weird thing because it's it's an All Star
Game MVP. It means nothing, and you legit have Mets
fans out there griping. I want to be fair, though,

(10:14):
there would be Phillies fans in the timeline off Shoreber
to get robbed and it went to a lon like
people would be people complain about the weirdest things, so
that that would happen no matter the fan base. So
let's be fair about it. But for a reporter out there,
someone that's like, you know, in the world of baseball,
and to be upset with the fact that you know,

(10:36):
and an All Star Game MVP was rewarded to a
guy who had a pretty good, legit reason of winning it.
I think you could have given it to Lonzo, sure,
but Schwarber even heard it in the call. You know,
the announcers were saying, like, hey, look, if he hits
this third one, it's MVP awards.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
Is he won it? He won the damn game?

Speaker 1 (10:58):
I understand, Like, Okay, if you want to say the
swing off shouldn't matter as much as the game itself, fine,
I mean the swing off is what decided the game.
But if you want to say that the game itself
and he only he went over to with a walk,
Alonzo hit a three run shot, Well it wasn't enough, right,
whether it's his fault or not. The pitching staff didn't
get it done, forced them into a position where you

(11:19):
need a win. It's like in the Super Bowl when
the quarterback plays great but not enough to win, and
then a key defensive play happens, or a key catch
happens and that guy gets the award instead. Or Igadala
plays great defense and has one flashy game so he
wins the MVP over Steph despite Steph being the better
player off series long. It's like, yeah, should Steph have

(11:39):
won it? Sure? But is it gonna make or break
anybody's legacy? No, it adds a fun it's a fun
thing to talk about. Hey, remember when Iggy won finals
MVP like that? That's a fun barroom talk forever. Yeah,
but it's it doesn't make a difference, Like we all
know what if you can look at the box score
at any point and see that Alonzo hit that three
run shot and you can be happy about it. If

(12:00):
you wanted him to have his shining moment over the weekend,
then he should have partook in the home Run Derby
once again. Yeah, as a two time champion, but he
decided not to. Oh well, I.

Speaker 4 (12:11):
Didn't have an opportunity to talk about the home run Derby,
but that was pretty entertaining too. The Big Dumper delivered
in a big way. Cal Rawley, the favorite, goes off
and wins it. It was tough because as the as
the bracket broke out and I'm looking and you had
O'Neil Cruz, who was my player, my wager, and then

(12:32):
of course you know the big Dumper himself, cal Rawly,
and it's just like, yep, whoever wins that is going
to win it. And unfortunately only Cruise did not get
past cal Raley, and cal Raley credit where it was
doing it. And the story is really cool from his
perspective with the video on the timeline that you know
him in the backyard said I'm gonna be the Home
Run Derby champion and then doing it.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
You gotta love that stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
And his dad's pitching to him his brother's catching for him, Like,
what a cool moment. He seems to be a really
likable guy from everything that I've seen. I mean I
didn't dislike him before, but as his name has gotten
bigger this season with how much success he's had. You know,
sometimes guys can can be painted in a different light
once they start to explode. And I've heard nothing of

(13:18):
good things about him. I like that he's had a
little bit of shippiness in the in the MVP discussions
between him and Judge. That's been fun, ye, But yeah,
it's it was exciting for him. But Cruiz, I mean
the way he started his first round, I was like this,
this is unreal. He was hitting them. Didn he hit
one over five hundred feet?

Speaker 2 (13:34):
Correct?

Speaker 1 (13:35):
Guys were hitting him out of the stadium like that.
It was it was pretty fun. I know that the
format's a little different. It's it's way more fast paced
than it used to be, but it's exciting nonetheless. And
when you have guys who can still despite kind of
getting worn out and needing a time out halfway through,
who can still crush the ball five hundred feet, it's
it adds to the excitement. It's still an exciting product,

(13:55):
whether it's what you're used to from your younger days
or not. I thought he was really good. I thought
Jeames would really solidified himself. He was. He had a
great showing Raley to hit four to seventy plus from
both sides of the play. That was pretty cool. Yeah,
I don't know if you saw. Vinnie pass Patino tweeted
about him, kind of like in a sarcastic way. I'm

(14:16):
not going to say everything because it's not good for radio,
but clearly just like such such a fun everybody enjoyed it.
Everybody enjoyed the whole weekend. That's what these All Star
festivities are about. To see players get involved, whether at
the game or not, is always fun and it's always
worth paying attention to. For me, the Home Run Derby
still to this day for me is more appointment television

(14:38):
than the All Star Game itself. I happened to get
to watch both. But yeah, Homern Derby was great on Monday.

Speaker 4 (14:43):
Yeah, A big fan of Home Run Derby over the years,
and I thought they did a great job there too.
And you knew that, like O'Neil, Cruiser was gonna hit
some bombs, Like you pointed out. Thought it was some
good names in there. Of course, it'd be great to
see show Hey back in there. I believe he competed.
If I'm not mistaken before. You know, Judge, you would
have been great to see some of the bigger names.
But at the end of the day, let some new
blood get in there.

Speaker 2 (15:04):
O'Neil Cruz hit some of cruise missiles. I thought that
was a really good job.

Speaker 4 (15:07):
I do want to bring up also, that was a
big talking point and a lot of people are opinionated
when it comes to Pat McAfee, but he is clearly
one of the best in the business when it comes
to introductions and of course just being the hype man
the MC.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
And now't his co host whatever.

Speaker 4 (15:28):
But I thought it was a good you know, look,
that's not easy one two. It's rolling the dice and
trying something new at which I appreciate across the board,
and I thought it was pretty damn good. And I'll
tell you what, if he gave him another opportunity, I
know that they would do even better. I would have
liked a little bit more of interaction with said player
that he's announcing, almost like Bruce Buffer. I needed like

(15:50):
a Bruce buffer style where mcafew would be introducing to
him and he's pointing to him as he's walking up.
But I thought he did a great job. And I
know that there's some people out there that just want
to hate anything everything all Pat McAfee, Is it raining
where you're at? No, I'm picking up some wild sounds
over there. Anything you got the ac blowing on the mic?

(16:11):
That's what it is? Okay, yeah, yeah, I'll turn it
off in the first break. I'm like, dude, are we
in a wind tunnel right now? That was like the
ten roof raining where you're at.

Speaker 1 (16:21):
I was on a show this weekend. It didn't pick up,
so I thought I'd be okay.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
Oh no, you're right.

Speaker 4 (16:25):
Well we're picking that bad boy up. It's cool in
my room now right now. No, But I thought McAfee
did a great job, and I know, like I said that,
he is a lightning rod and people always have something
to say about. My favorite was the people on the
timeline going I'm just trying to enjoy the home run
Derby in peace, and it's like, shut up, dude, it's
the home run.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, It's like, come on, man.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
Yeah, I don't I don't get the hate on him.
I think that there's there's something to be said about
somebody who can just be a jack of all trades.
You know, he has his show, which he built his
following through. He can do college football, he can do NFL,
he can do wrestling, he can do intros, he can
do a little bit of all of it. And ESPN
is big on these personalities. You know that they've they've

(17:10):
really focused on a few people to promote over having
a lot of journalists or a lot of media personalities.
There's like five people that they focus on over there
now and he's one of them. And it's I didn't
get a text from one of my friends yesterday which
just I don't get the appeal for Pat McAfee. But like, okay, then,
but do you hate it? Like would you have cared

(17:32):
if it was Carl Ravich instead? Like who? What's the
difference to you? Why does it matter? Like if you're
if you're not into that stuff, then it didn't matter
who it was. And if you're hating on it, then
you're probably just a Pat McAfee hater. Like I said,
it's people hate success, and whether you love the guy
or not, you don't have to be as big as
fan to appreciate that he what he does is difficult
and he does it really well.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah, I think the criticism is fair.

Speaker 4 (17:54):
If you were one of the people that would say
it's just too much, He's he's a way to you know,
all over ESPN, and I think that is a fair criticism.
And even for steven A and the one article we
referenced a couple of weeks ago where we were talking
about how oh what was it?

Speaker 2 (18:11):
Something was? What was it? The NBA Finals was watered down.

Speaker 4 (18:14):
It was just a if I remember correctly, it was
the fact that steven A is anywhere and everywhere in ESPN.
So therefore, when you do get a big opportunity like
the NBA Finals and steven A is featured on it,
it just doesn't make it big, right, Like, if steven
A is your and your number one dude, which barn
On he is for ESPN like it or not, it's

(18:35):
just the reality of the situation, then you need to
make him that. And I get it, you're paying all
this money, so you need him to use in all
these spots. But give him the draft off. You know,
he has his first take show. If the NBA finals
are going off that week, then take him off of sports,
you know, whatever you got to do. But I do
think that that was fair criticism and something that they

(18:57):
should probably take inventory on it. I don't know if
they will. Nobody really cares you're spending all that money.
But bottom line is.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Back to McAfee. I just think he does a great job.

Speaker 4 (19:08):
And I thought that was really cool and fun and
it was an intro on and then off, so keep
it moving, that's all.

Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, he didn't commentate the whole thing. He didn't do
play by play. He did a fun intro beforehand. If
that's not your thing, then wait for the event to
start and then tune in that hard.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
That's it. One last thing on the All Star Game
real quick, you know.

Speaker 4 (19:29):
Like I said, I didn't really catch everything all details,
but I looked up who was pitching to Schwarber and
it was the Dodgers third base coach dono Ebel. I
believe it is how you say his name, he said,
with this from MLB dot Com, Ebel would be throwing
to Schwarber, who had only three cuts to try helping
the Nation League the victory.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
Quote. He asked me right before, where do you want it,
Schwerber said, I'm like Jess Middle, He's like, I got you.

Speaker 4 (19:56):
That's great, dude. Seaball hit ball, smash ball. And apparently
he was a brand new bat too for Schwerber. So
nice work on that. When first Phillies player in history
to be named All Star MVP, joining Johnny Callson who
won the award back in nineteen sixty four, He's also
the first DH to win the All Star Game honor.

Speaker 2 (20:16):
You know, I got.

Speaker 4 (20:17):
This this newsletter sent to my inbox from DraftKings yesterday
as a matter of fact, and it was like almost
the first half MLB recap, you know how like at
the end of a year, like iTunes or Spotify will
send you all the songs that you played and everything
like that. And everyone posted, well, that's what DraftKings is
going for. And I think it's a great job by them.
But the number one player that I wagered in Major

(20:38):
League Baseball first half was Kyle Schwerber, And I'm like, yeah,
that sounds about right. Of course, I did not even
look at him for MVP. We didn't even talk MVPs.
To be honest with you, maybe a bad job, but
at the end of the day, you know, like there's
so many changing of the players where it's like they're in,
they're out. It's a tough it's a tough market, right,

(21:00):
Like I'm not gonna sit here. It's it's a it's
borderline guessing. That's what it is for sure.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
Yeah, I mean you could have picked the last guy
on the bench. You could have picked the closer for
either team, and there's nine closers to pick from, like
that's it could have been anybody. You could have picked
Kershaw because they wanted to say he got a big
out late and they wanted to there you go, and
they and they wanted to give him the honor on
his way out. It's unpredictable, especially when you have players
like that in there, so probably smart move to stay away.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
Yeah, all Star game over.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
Now we hit the second half and and the question
that I would have here Kyle, and it's a great
one for you. And let's start with our backyard first,
like the expectation for the Phillies and the nl E
slash Mets, and that's where like I think, you know,
everybody's mind needs to go to, but winning this division first.
But I guess the big question that I'd ask you

(21:52):
is like, how real do you think the Mets are?
I think that this is now the tenth time that
the Mets and Phillies have exchanged first place in the
NL East throughout sixty percent of the games played right now,
which is telling you everything you need to know that
It's probably how this is going to play out in
the second half. This is going to be a battle
and those future matchups are going to be bringing a

(22:12):
lot of juice in this rivalry. So I'm wondering where
you're at with as far as a team to fade.
Is it possible you could be having the Mets in
that category?

Speaker 1 (22:24):
Yeah? I think so. I mean their strength of schedule
in the second half is a little bit tougher than
the Phillies. They have some starting pitching questions, They have
some guys who have overachieved to this point in the season.
We've seen a lot of guys who overachieve in the
first half start to fall off in the second half,
whether it be due to fatigue, Like Clay Holmes was
a reliever last year. Is he going to be able
to keep this up all season? What are they going

(22:45):
to get from Sean Minaya, does Kodak Senga come back healthy.
There's a lot of questions in that rotation. And while
there's everybody's going to be in the pitching market, and yes,
the Mets can compete with anybody when it comes to
price tags, but how many starting pitchers are really going
to be available? I think there's usually a few more
bullpen pieces available than starting pitchers. So while the Phillies

(23:05):
are going to attack the back end of the bullpen,
even if they don't get a top tier guy, there's
going to be more options available for them, Whereas I
think starting pitching at the thinner market, yes, I think
they'll have to attack a card. Let's say both of
them come out, even Mets and Phillies. As far as acquiring,
they're filling a hole in their pitching needs. I think
it's going to come down to who adds a bat.

(23:27):
Both lineups are pretty top heavy all things consider. Top
of the Mets order, I think their top four hitters
all have eighteen plus homers. They have a lot of
firepower at the top, but it really falls off some
of the guys, like their third baseman, Viento's Alvarez, a
few guys who you expected to take a step up
have taken a step back. Same with the Phillies. Bryce

(23:48):
and Stott did not take the step forward that people thought.
Brandon Marsh has been red hot, but can he can
he sustain that next Kepler and Johan Rojash You're essentially
getting nothing from the in the outfield. So if they
can find any consistency and add a bat, whether it's
a major impact that or not, just somebody who's more
consistent at the end of those lineups, I think will
be the big difference maker between those two clubs the

(24:10):
rest of the way.

Speaker 4 (24:10):
They open up with the Reds on Friday once again,
the Angels coming to Citizens Bank Park. Now on the
flip side of that, remove the bias? Where are you at?
And I know you kind of answered it there with Hey, look,
whoever is aggressive it gets the right piece at the
trade deadline, you're probably gonna give them a little bit
more of the edge. But realistically speaking, do you see

(24:32):
the Phillies fading? Is this a team that maybe people
should be And again, I know it's not easy for
Phillies fans to swallow their pride and place the wagerer
and I'm not asking to do that, but for the
person that is not a Phillies backer. Is it possible
that this team could be a team to watch out
for as far as Fading is concerned in the second half?

(24:52):
Like what could possibly go wrong? In my opinion, If
I could answer my own question first, I would just say,
like the pitching staff, it starts and ends there. The
starters are the starters, and even if they do lose
two or three games, eventually Wheelers are gonna get the ball,
or eventually you know Sanche is gonna get the ball,
or eventually Rangers are gonna get fired up and get

(25:14):
it going.

Speaker 2 (25:15):
You got Nola returning.

Speaker 4 (25:16):
Which I do expect him to be something significant when
he does get the opportunity to get.

Speaker 2 (25:21):
Back on the mound.

Speaker 4 (25:23):
Who knows with Painter, I just look at the starting pitching,
and I know, statistically speaking, the era, the Mets have
a better era, and they have wowed me all season
long in that category because I did not think that
they were going to be good this year, just based
off at the starting pitching, but they approved me wrong.
I think the Fills will be fine with the starting pitching.

(25:44):
So Fading, No, what do you say.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
To that, Kyle?

Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, I think the starting pitching can carry you. It's
they may not be as explosive offensively, especially if they
if they don't add a batter, if Harper doesn't stay healthy,
if they need to rest him a lot. I think
you're going to see a lot of these up and
down stretches that the offense has experienced over the last
couple of years. But that starting pitching will put you
in a position to win every single night. It's a
matter of how many times do you waste one of

(26:10):
those great starts from your starting for if Aaron Nolan
can come back and add even more stability, that gives
you more flexibility. We'll have to see how that turns out.
We won't know until after the deadline. It's of course,
I think they could take a step back, right. I mean,
they were so hot the first two months and June,
which is typically their best month of the year under

(26:31):
Rob Thompson. They struggled so far in July and through
June they're playing five hundred ball on the nose. So
that's a sign to me that they've already begun to fade.
The question is do they come out of it even
stronger or is that fate going to continue up and down.
We'll have to see what Lozardo looks like. Is he
gonna kind of get past these struggles that he's had

(26:52):
a little bit over the last month. Is Sanchez going
to continue to be this dominant force? I think Wheeler
you know the answer. Sanchez, Yeah, he did it last year.
But is he going to do that? Does Suarez fade again?
It's going to come down to the health and the
consistency of the starting pitching, just like it always has.
They have big names in the lineup, but this team
is built on the back of that starting rotation. So

(27:13):
if they can stay healthy, fade a little bit. Sure,
Still in contention for one of the best records in
the National League also, sure.

Speaker 4 (27:20):
Yeah, fifty five forty one at this point in time.
Fifty five forty one, Cubs fifty seven thirty nine A
Dodgers fifty eight and thirty nine.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
So that puts things into perspective there.

Speaker 4 (27:31):
And again with a half game lead here on the
New York Mets fifty five and forty two, well, a
half game right behind the Phillies there. What about keep
player for you? We just talked about the pitching staff.
If you were to single out one player of significance
for the Phillies. Maybe to maintain this lead, albeit it's

(27:53):
only half game, but you know, just to keep the
foot down, a pedal to the metal, keep things going,
winning a bunch of games here and ninety end up
with ninety plus wins lock in the division, which is
always a goal at the.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
Beginning of the season. So a great deal, a great
box to check.

Speaker 4 (28:11):
Get that nice pennant out there in the outfield as
well in a flag pole. It's not the big one,
we understand it, but it is a stepping stone. So
is there a key player this second half that you
have your eye on. I know you brought up Scott earlier.
Would you go him? Would you look a little bit
more power where you have from a key player perspective
for the Phillies of the second half.

Speaker 1 (28:28):
I mean, I hate to state the obvious, Sean, but
the success of this team starts and ends with Bryce
Harper got it's you saw what the offense looked like
when he was out. They sputtered at times, they were
missing someone who lives for the moment, who delivers the dagger.
They've done a great job of adjusting their game plan
and getting a lot of pitches out of starting pitchers,

(28:51):
a lot of guys taking walks, taking singles, taking what
the pitch and the defense gives you. That's been a
big challenge for them. But as a result, they've almost
become too passive and they need somebody who lives for
that moment. He has the nickname the Showman for a reason.
And the big thing is is this risk bothered him
last year. It crept hup again and it resulted in

(29:11):
an injury stint this season already they've talked about he
said he felt healthy, but when he first returned from
the injured list, he talked about how this is going
to be something that they have to manage, and he
didn't feel fully healthy at that time. Who's to say
that it doesn't bother him again shortly if he gets
hit in the elbow again that sent shock waves up
the arm, just regular season, just hitting the ball a lot,

(29:34):
hitting a lot of pitches off the end, or if
he starts to go opposite way like he did in
San fran with that big game, does that start to
bother him again and then they need to either put
him on the injured list again manage it more often
where he's sitting out. There's a lot of questions still
to be answered, and I think that the offense goes
as he goes. He is the guy who delivers when

(29:55):
they need it most, and it was obvious that they
were missing that in the month of June with him
on the.

Speaker 4 (29:59):
Shelf for sixteen in his last four games, including that
four for six performance against the San Francisco Giants when
they won thirteen to nothing. One week could go two days.
So that's pretty cool stuff there from Harper. Hopefully he's
able to keep it going in this second half. I
you know, yeah, like you said, it is pretty much

(30:20):
the easy answer.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
You're right, it's Bryce Harper.

Speaker 4 (30:23):
We talked about it when he came immediately back after
the DL and he had the game against Toronto, and
it just the vibes are so much different with just
him in the lineup, putting you know, the stats to
the side and what he's capable of. If I was
to go off the beaten path just a little bit,
and it's not even that because you're talking about day
to day players.

Speaker 2 (30:43):
Trey Turner would be a guy that I think.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
Could you know, Schwerber's definitely somebody in my mind with
the power of the bombs, no doubt about it. But
Trey Turner and now that he's back into the top
of the lineup and what he's been able to do
defensively somewhat in I still don't think he's all that
could have a shortstop. That's an argument that Luke Arcaney
and myself like to have.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
But at the end of the day, dude can.

Speaker 4 (31:08):
Get up to the plate and rake, and he's very
capable of doing some big things, both power and you know,
just finding gaps and tearing it up on the base
pat So Trey Turner, if I could not use Bryce Harper,
I would say, Trey Turner your thoughts on that?

Speaker 1 (31:23):
Yeah, I think he's he's the table center. He's done
everything that the club asked him to do. They asked
him to focus on his defense. He's done just that.
He's become an average shortstop instead of a below average one.
That's that's huge for a team that struggles on defense traditionally.
The Thompson challenged him to change the plate so you
could get on basemore. He's done just that. But like

(31:44):
you said, we know what he can do. When he
gets on a hot streak. He can deliver at the plate.
He can deliver the big dagger when they need it.
He's a guy who definitely could carry them for a
stretch if they need it. If Harper goes down again.
Kyle carried them at the beginning of the season.

Speaker 2 (31:59):
In the middle.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
It was kind of a group effort to get to
this point. I think Harp is going to have to
carry them for at least a month and then we'll
see if Trey is the guy come maybe late August September,
but not. You're not wrong. Trey Turner is who he is.
He got paid all that money for a reason, and
he's definitely a guy who can carry the offense if
they need him to.

Speaker 4 (32:18):
Great article over at MLB dot com. Todd Zeleki's been
covering the Phillies for a long time. Great breakdown for
the second half games remaining sixty six total, thirty five home,
thirty one away, remaining strength to schedule, seventeenth in Major
League Baseball Key Series.

Speaker 2 (32:36):
He has written down here really interesting stuff.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
As we look into August twenty fifth, or to thirty first,
Phillies play seven consecutive games against the Mets and Braves,
starting with three games on the road in New York
four game series against the Mets Citizens Bank Park from
September eighth through to eleventh, the last time the Phillies
and Mets will play each other in the regular season,
and in the fifteenth to the twenty first, Phillies have
a six game road trip against the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks.

(33:01):
So a little breakdown of the second half schedule for
the Phillies.

Speaker 2 (33:05):
It's exciting.

Speaker 4 (33:05):
It will be here before we know it on Friday,
and looking forward to it. Man, it's been a great
first half. Talking to you all first half. Obviously getting
your coverage down at the Ballyard, So keep that up, Kyle,
and great job across the board on a very good
first half, sir, finished strong.

Speaker 2 (33:20):
As they say, let's keep it going. Oh yeah, all right.

Speaker 4 (33:23):
Staying as far as Major League Baseball and trades, will
just squeeze this in real quick. I do want to
hit some NFL with Kyle on the other side, we're
going to talk about some offseason editions.

Speaker 2 (33:34):
We actually got a little bit of a ranking. We're
gonna go head to head here top three.

Speaker 4 (33:38):
But as far as trade deadline is concerned, and it's
right around the corner, yeah, September July thirty first is
the date. I said this to Luke on Monday, and
I'm curious to know your thoughts because when you look
around the standings, there are a lot of teams that
have a lot to play for. I just don't know
how long that list is going to be as far

(33:59):
as potential trade prospects, right for players of significance that
could come in and fill a hole for this Phillies team,
whether it's a bullpen, whether it's a bat.

Speaker 2 (34:10):
But you look.

Speaker 4 (34:11):
Around the league, you look around the just to go
to the divisions, the AL East, it's there's four teams
that are all neck and neck. The Tampa bay Rays
are in fourth place, they're five and a half out
of first place. There Detroit and es Central now they
got a lock on that. That's the Central is the
ugly one. As far as the America is concerned, NET
or AL West, you got the Ashros, the Mariners, the Rangers,

(34:33):
which there are a ton of players that are being
rumored to be possibly on the move. There their potential
for the wild card. You're not gonna do anything in
the division. The Central is stocked up a little bit.
The Reds are in fourth place, they're seven and a
half games out the West. Obviously you got the Dodgers
that are the top dogs, but in fourth place there
Diamondbacks for forty seven to fifty. They're eleven games out,

(34:56):
but still don't know how inclined they would be to
to make a move with the Phillies. But who knows anyways,
Is that concern to you? Does that concern you at all?
That there are a lot of teams still with plenty
of potential to play for in this second half here.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
It's definitely gonna limit the options. I think this deadline
is going to come down to the wire. A lot
of teams are going to see how they look in
the next couple of weeks before determining whether they're going
to sell off pieces and whether it's going to be
a full sell or whether they're only going to trade
guys who with expiring contracts. The earlier the Phillies can
get some of these targets, the better, because it's going
to be extremely competitive. If the Red Sox, for example,

(35:34):
look great the next two weeks, they're definitely not trading anybody.
There's already rumors out there that they are more than
likely going to hang on to a rold As Chapman
and see how they look the rest of the season.
He was one of my top trade targets for the Phillies.
So that's somebody off the board the Twins. Even the
Twins are under five hundred, there's been all this talk
about their bullpen pieces. But if they start to look good,

(35:56):
that division behind the Tigers, it's it's anybody's race. Buckston
already said he wants to be a Twin for life.
Maybe that encourages the front office to add instead of subtract,
or not, at the very least not trade a controllable
arm like Johan Duran. So it does potentially impact the availability.
I still think the Phillies are going to swing big

(36:17):
regardless based on everything that we've heard in reporting the
last couple of weeks.

Speaker 4 (36:21):
All right, a little bit of a conversation on all
things Major League Baseball, and it was a great first half.
Let's keep it going and maybe we can make a
couple of dollars. Find those teams to fade, find those
teams that we think are going to be the major
players when it comes to the playoffs. A lot to
discuss over these next few weeks and hopefully we'll result

(36:43):
in a Phillies Division title and then.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
A little bit of some magic in the playoff run.
We'll see what happens there, all right.

Speaker 4 (36:49):
Other side, though, let's get it on over to the NFL,
because we are inching closer. Man, we are so close.
We're gonna have a game at the end of the
month of July. We have a preseason game at the
end of the month, so we got live action Tracy
coming our way. Eagles kick things off against the Mangles
on the seventh of August, so we get our first
preseason game. So I actually want to talk a little
Eagles with you. On the other side, I got two

(37:11):
big questions as far as the Birds are concerned. But
also we're gonna hit on the biggest movers as far
as the offseason acquisitions for an FL top three. That's right,
We're going head to head rank the top three new
players and new locations and the impact that they will have.

(37:32):
Kyle's got his list, I got mine.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
Also.

Speaker 4 (37:34):
On the other side, we do have some breaking news
when it comes to the world of Fox Sports, who
has went through some scheduling shuffling of the schedule. Let's
just say that much, but an interesting name or two
could potentially be heard on these airwaves. And I'll give
you a little bit of that on the other side,
really intriguing stuff here, and I'll tell you what.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
I gotta get them a thumbs up Fox. They're rolling
the dice big time. Man, They're rolling the dice big time.
And I like it.

Speaker 4 (38:01):
I think it's uh, it's it's it's about time. Let's
just put it that way. We'll hit on all that
and more. Kyle Fisher with me for our number one
right here to daily take a more to this. Tell
you what summertime I gotta limp Mike. I still gotta

(38:23):
limp Mike.

Speaker 2 (38:24):
Gotta get a screwdriver. That's what I need.

Speaker 5 (38:27):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
You know what else I need right now, Kyle Fisher?
I need some ritas, man. I scooped up some ritas
over the weekend, and uh, nothing better than those frozen lemonades.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
A nice sweet treat.

Speaker 4 (38:38):
You know.

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Like the best thing is for the kids too, like
the small little cups the kids size.

Speaker 4 (38:43):
It's perfect, it's perfect, so satisfying, it quiets the the
car ride. And like I said, small, so it's not
the worst thing. But ritas check them out online for
a location near you. Rita's Ice dot com. It make
sure you sign up for the rewards to as well. Man.
They always given you some great coupons to work with,
and the more you buy, obviously, the more you earn.

(39:07):
So Rita's Ice at dot com download the app and
go try their new flavor.

Speaker 2 (39:12):
That they have going on right now.

Speaker 4 (39:14):
It's the you know, the red, white and blue pop,
the Rocket Pop ice blasted cherry lemon and blue raspberry.

Speaker 2 (39:23):
There, Kyle Fish you Rida his guys, sir.

Speaker 1 (39:26):
Yeah, man, give me the Jelatti blender every day.

Speaker 2 (39:29):
Oh give me that.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
If you haven't been to Reada's in a little bit.
It used to be called the Misto shake, now the
Jalati blender. Do yourself a favor and get yourself one
of those bad boys. Man. I used to get myself sick.
I would drink some of I love it, not because
anything they're doing it was absolutely fantastic. I would get too,
like an idiot, exactly so great great product there, and
who doesn't love a little bit of real fruit in

(39:53):
the water.

Speaker 2 (39:53):
Yeah, that's mid Man. Good people too. Always behind the
counters over there at Das.

Speaker 4 (39:58):
We are fifty days away, Kyle Fisher from a kickoff
between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Five zero
football season is here, folks. You know the link will
be rocking, So check out Tickpick, the official fan experience
partner all the Philadelphia Eagles, no hidden fees and the
lowest price guaranteed, don't get benched. Get your tickets now

(40:20):
at tickpick dot com before the best games sell out.
That's concerts, that's events, that's games, tickpick dot com. With
that being said, let's get into some NFL conversation Kyle,
because you know, now is the time that you start
to look around. You're gonna make your futures bets. Some
people already have. I'm not one of those guys. And

(40:41):
you start to really take inventory of the changes too.
And oh, by the way, off season stuff always happens.
Look at Najie Harris. He just ended up taking a
firecracker firework off the head apparently, and one blew off. Yeah,
and a bunch of people got injured and it blew
up somewhat in his face if I'm not mistaken. So
they don't expect him to miss much time. But I

(41:03):
did like the move of Nause to the Chargers, and
of course they got Hampton over there, so you know
the style that Harbaugh wants to play. So you look
around at some of the new pieces that are in
new locations, and it got me thinking, I wanted to
have a little fun game with you and find out
where your brain is at when it comes to the
top three new players in a new spots and whether

(41:25):
or not you think they're going to have a productive
season this year. So let's get into that. If you
would not mind you start, Let's go number three. Go
lead us off here.

Speaker 1 (41:33):
Sir, So number three for me. As far as top
off season additions, I went a little bit outside the box.
Not somebody I saw on every single list, but Joey
Bosa to the Buffalo Bills. They needed to revamp that defense.
They went defense heavy in the draft and adding a

(41:54):
veteran like Bosa to an already strong structure out there
in Buffalo. They traditionally have had good defensive teams. Maybe
it's waned a little bit these last couple of seasons.
We all know how good Josh Allen and the offense
can be regardless of who his weapons are. But they
needed to do a little bit of a recent on
the defensive end, and I think Bosa is going to
help lead that charge. And also having a veteran presence

(42:17):
like that on the defense for their young guys coming
in is going to be huge for them going forward.
So I think whether it be just this season or
the next couple of seasons, Bosa's impact is going to
be felt up there in Buffalo for a couple of years.

Speaker 4 (42:29):
I like that, You're right, that's not a name we're
seeing on the list all that much. And you know,
look with that team and that style of play, with
everything that they have built and continued to build in house,
they signed a bunch of players that were already on
the team, rewarding them with the contract. So, you know, Buffalo,

(42:50):
it just stinks. But you gotta be realistic about it
because it's a new year. I know, it's really easy
for us to sit here and just get trapped. Oh,
the Chiefs are going to do it. They're going to
do it. It doesn't matter if they play in Buffalo
or can't see. They're going to do it. And you're
probably going to be right. But there's there has to
be that one year where Buffalo is able to make
it because they are building it up and they're doing

(43:10):
it the right way. So and Josh Allen is a
hell of a talent, but both so you get him
in there if he can remain healthy.

Speaker 2 (43:17):
I do like the impact they'll have on the defensive
side of the ball for the Bills. I like that,
all right.

Speaker 1 (43:20):
Number two for you, Number two for me is I'm
actually so. We shared list beforehand, and I didn't want
to repeat anybody that you put. I like that, So
I think somebody who it's again somebody who hadn't seen
a lot of lists. I'm trying to pick guys that
aren't maybe the the go to guys in these conversations,

(43:42):
but definitely will have a major impact. I went John U.
Smith for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Obviously they did a little
bit of rework on that offense. We know that they're
bringing an Aaron Rodgers. They trade away pickens, but they
bring in DK Metcalf And if they had all these
weapons and Justin Fields was there still okay, might not
be as exciting. That's why I think that people might

(44:04):
default to Rogers. But Smith had the best season of
his career. He's been under the offensive coordinator there twice
before and had career years. Each time. He was under
the offensive coordinator who's now currently with the Steelers, so
he has familiarity with him. Rogers loves attacking the tight
end position, he loves going there, and DK is going

(44:24):
to get more of the coverage and action just because
he is who he is. Smith is coming off of
a career season, and they've also said that they want
to move him around a lot to different positions. Sometimes
he's going to be the tight end, which he's a
decent blocking tight end. They want to move him into
the slot sometimes to kind of be that second weapon
alongside DK. So I think you're going to see a
lot of versatility from him, especially early in the season,

(44:46):
and I think it's going to be huge for Rogers
to have coming into a new situation, a guy who's
familiar with the offensive scheme that the coordinator wants to run.

Speaker 2 (44:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (44:55):
No, that dechoes hand in hand. You're right, and it's
a big reason why I ended up with this, no
doubt about it. He did play really well last year.
So the one thing I did see is Rogers doesn't
really use tight ends all that much. If I'm not mistaken,
If I did read that correctly, but you never know.
I guess we'll we'll talk a little bit about Aaron

(45:16):
Rodgers because you know, full disclosure, he's on my list.
But you know, at the end, I just think that
things have to change with him, right, and he knows it.
It's his final stop here. Tomlin's his guy, So let's
go ahead and see what's gonna work. I know they're
gonna try and some new things, don't get me wrong,
but I think Smith is a talent, so you want

(45:36):
to get him involved. So maybe it's not like your
normal tight end, you know, a receiver, and those guys
don't really you know, play that way anymore. With these
Titans that are coming up like Laporta, and these guys
are just freaks and the numbers that they throw up,
and Smith is capable of putting up some decent numbers,
especially with Rodgers' quarterbacks. So we'll see how that one
plays out, all right, Number one on your list, Kyle Fischer,

(45:59):
take it away.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
So you are not gonna like this, because every time
I've brought this guy up in our previous conversations about
most improved teams, you weren't a fan of it. I
know that Eagles fans are gonna hate me for this pick,
but I have to go with the Commanders bringing in
Laramie Tunzel. Wow, he is one of the best tackles
in the entire NFL.

Speaker 2 (46:18):
Except for last year.

Speaker 1 (46:19):
They was it. Except for last year.

Speaker 2 (46:22):
He was terrible last year. That's why he got.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
And had had more games that where they didn't allow
a single pressure.

Speaker 4 (46:31):
Tunsil did not play well. If I'm not mistaken for
the Houston Texas, I don't. I don't stick my toe
into the statistics for offensive alignment, all right, that's where
I draw the line. The PFF grades all the pressure
rate allowed, well, the more only Lane Johnson, who we
talk about how good he is all the time, had

(46:51):
more perfect games than he did.

Speaker 2 (46:53):
Then why did the Houston Texans let him go?

Speaker 1 (46:56):
I don't know, because the Houston Texans are a mess.

Speaker 4 (46:58):
Well, they were a mess last year as far as
stop in the pass rush and they needed to improve
on that without getting Stroud killed. And you're telling me
they're letting go one of their best offensive linemen. Look,
I'm you're right.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
You're right.

Speaker 4 (47:09):
He has the ability to be one of the better
offensive linemen, no doubt about it. And something that the
commanders needed was help on the offensive line. So I
wouldn't push back on that. I do agree with you
on that.

Speaker 1 (47:21):
One way that you help your young quarterback develop. Yeah,
a lot of guys come in hot and take a
step back. One way you help those guys develop is
by adding protections for them. And if you can bring
in this guy. One of the big issues that people
had with him was he had seventeen penalties last season. Okay,
but fifteen of them were pre snapped. Obviously that still
has to come down. But once the ball is snapped,
he's just as impactful as he's ever been. And I

(47:44):
couldn't tell you the ex's and o's, But there's this guy,
Josh Cohen, who works with us on the CBS crew,
who broke down because we had this same question, with
all the names that they have on that Houston Texans
offensive line, why is it that they cannot seem to
protect their quarterback? And he said that the scheme and
a approach was more the issue than the players on
the line themselves. Again, you'd have to go to him.

(48:06):
You could probably find him on Twitter somewhere. He's not
always on social media, but you can find him on
there for sure, if you want to ask him yourself,
or I'll try and ask him again early in the
season and tell everybody why it didn't work in Houston
last season and get that messaging from him. But he
was bigger on the coaching and the scheme approach with
their line than he was the name's failing. And that's

(48:27):
another reason. Yes, it's a little bit of insider infotion.
I love it. I love it, But that's another reason
why I think he's going to be very impactful going
into watch.

Speaker 4 (48:34):
If this was around the horn, I give you some
points there no nice work, you know, and and Tunsil
like you're and even if let's just say I'm right
and he wasn't as good as what we remembered him
to be last year, whatever, it's still a new spot
in a new system where you know what we know,
the type of a player he could be, the potential

(48:58):
and now you put a little chip on a sh right,
he's out of Houston. They didn't want me. Now I'm
in the Commanders. Of course you get a little bit
of a different quarterback. Stroud can make some plays with
his legs, but Daniels is definitely a little bit more
fleeted foot, let's just put it that way, comparing the
two quarterbacks. But yeah, tunsl is a big name, so
we'll see if that's gonna pay off for the commanders.

(49:19):
But you have to give him the credit for going
out there and seeing that they needed to upgrade at
the offensive line and doing so by getting Tunsel. All right,
great stuff there from Kyle Fisher. You can find him
on socials at Kyle Fisher forty five. My list is
this number three. I'm going Rogers and you know, like
I'm not a big Aaron Rodgers fan off the field.

Speaker 2 (49:39):
On the field, he throws one of the prettiest balls.

Speaker 4 (49:41):
Still at forty what is he forty four, forty I
don't even how old he's he's forty plus, he's up there.
How old Aaron Rodgers forty one?

Speaker 1 (49:49):
I think he's forty two, forty one, forty.

Speaker 2 (49:52):
One years old.

Speaker 4 (49:54):
And that's the that's got to concern you, right, Like
you're banking on a forty two year old quarter remaining
healthy like you know, but.

Speaker 2 (50:02):
A year he did, That's my point, Kyle.

Speaker 4 (50:05):
I always come at people when they say negative stuff
about the way he played the position last year.

Speaker 2 (50:11):
He wasn't good. I get it, you watched the games.

Speaker 4 (50:13):
I watched a few too mini Jets games to be
honest with you, but he was the guy that I
tuned in for. They have good weapons with Wilson's, you know,
really good weapons on that offense, and I just thought like, Okay,
they're going to figure it out eventually. Never did I
think that they were going to be a Super Bowl
contender or anything worthwhile, but I thought that they would
start to put up some numbers on the offense.

Speaker 2 (50:32):
And it just never happened.

Speaker 4 (50:35):
Partly because the Rodgers, no doubt about it, but again,
offensive line was atrocious, and anything and everything that could
go wrong with that team did. Firing the head coach,
general manager, you name it. It was just a complete
mess with the Jets. Back to Rogers though, when you
pull up his numbers last year twenty eight and eleven
threw for over thirty eight hundred yards sixty three percent

(50:55):
and percentage, and what we were talking a little bit
earlier with John neu Smith, I just feel like the direction.
Tomlin is a good coach. He's a damn good coach.
He knows what needs to be done with Aaron Rodgers,
like this isn't Aaron Rodgers MVP. You know, this isn't
Aaron Rodgers when they won the Super Bowl nine with
the Green Bad Packers, whatever it was, and whatever, bottom

(51:15):
line is, he is a good quarterback that I don't
think Tomlin is going to put him in a troublesome area.
So I do expect him to get out there and
perform well. And oh, by the way, like just being
simple about it, is it an upgrade versus Justin Field's
upgrade over Russell Wilson, I believe it is.

Speaker 2 (51:33):
So give me Aaron Rodgers number three on my list.
Anything you want to add on that.

Speaker 1 (51:37):
No, I was just gonna you kind of hit it
right there, but it's he has more left even at
almost forty two years old, than Russell Wilson showed you
last season. So I think that it's at least an improvement.
And like you said, Tomlin's a good coach. You know,
it's how to work with veterans. He's a guy who's
going to put him in the right positions. Weeke in
and week Out.

Speaker 4 (51:53):
Two and one on my list are similar, and the
reason why they're similar, it's because of the situations now
that they're in and number two on my list is
George Pickens, And I just feel like when you have
a guy like Ceedee Lamb, who is potentially the best
receiver in the game, he's up there with Justin Jefferson,
you know, flip a coin, I'll take either one. And

(52:14):
has no disrespect to JJ because he is tremendous, But
Ceedee Lamb is a guy that I loved coming out
of college and I just was gutted when he ended
up with the Cowboys, and I do expect him to
have an unbelievable season this year. Look at what he
was able to do without Dak in there, and now
you're adding Pickens into the mix, who is very capable
of going over a thousand yards, has great reach, can

(52:36):
go up there and make the plays. I just feel like, Okay,
you're gonna take your eye off of CD for a
second and guard Pickens.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
Well, he's gonna make you pay.

Speaker 4 (52:45):
And then the same thing is gonna happen as well,
where it's like, okay, if you're gonna still double up CED,
I think Pickens is gonna eat.

Speaker 2 (52:51):
I really did think that they hit a home run
by getting him.

Speaker 4 (52:54):
I know, the head is the most important with him,
But it seems like he's in a happy space. Everybody
loves to play for Dallas with the attention at the
beginning of the season.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
We'll see what song they're singing at the end of
the year.

Speaker 4 (53:05):
But bottom line, as far as an offseason move, I
thought it was a a plus get by the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 1 (53:10):
Your thoughts, I agree. Putting a high end talent next
to Ceedee Lamb works well for both guys. It should
in theory at least, and with a healthy Dak look.
Eagles fans can hate Dak all they want. Yeah, but
he's a consistent player. He does the right thing yep,
when he needs to do the right thing. Maybe you

(53:31):
could talk playoffs another day. Right, he's in a division
where he's just been beat out quite a few times,
hasn't gotten it done the big moments, but we're talking
regular season success. He's shown that he can be a
really strong NFL quarterback year in a year out. That's
why he got paid. That's why he's still there. You know,
Cowboys aren't patient. There's a reason that that guy is
still leading the way. So if he can stay healthy

(53:51):
to have another weapon like that, I mean look at
what last season it with see Lamb and Brandon Cooks.
You don't think this is a much better combination than that.
No offense to Brandon Cooks, he's better an as far
as an a wide receiver, but it's it's a noticeable
jump in a second in talent at that second wide
receiver position.

Speaker 2 (54:11):
No doubt about that. Yep, no doubt about that. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (54:13):
So we'll see how that one plays out down in Dallas. Again,
I still think the Eagles are a better team, but
I do expect the Dallas Cowboys to improve this year.
It's still struggling at the running back position, which was
a huge deal for them last year.

Speaker 2 (54:25):
But we'll see what happens this year.

Speaker 4 (54:27):
Again, as far as throwing the football with Dak, I
do have confidence in the now Adam Pickins toon the
mix is gonna be a nasty all right. Number one,
Like I said, similar situation because to me, this is
an easy one. And I'm not saying your list is
wrong or anybody, but like the number one offseason acquisition
that is going to have an impact is a guy
that we looked at for a few seasons as the

(54:49):
best wide receiver in the game and that's DeVante Adams
and you're putting him in LA with Stafford and McVeigh
and oh, by the way, a talent and poke to Kuwa,
who if he can stay healthy, that's a big if
because I had him last year on a fantasy squad
and he has the you know, the I forget exactly
what it is. It's not the turfed oh, but it

(55:11):
was always something ridiculing the knee and it's just like man,
not all that durable, but a hell of a talent. Again,
you're putting DeVante Adams in there with a chip on
his shoulder. It was a disaster to end up with
the New York Jets. You know, I have no idea
why he wanted to do that other than the fact
that he wanted out of the Vegas that bad. But

(55:31):
his name doesn't really carry the same weight as it
once did, And I think shame on those people that
do feel that way, because he is going to have
an unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
Season with the La Rams and I would be.

Speaker 4 (55:45):
Fully expected of him to go over one hundred grabs
one thousand plus yards and just be the number one
guy for that for that Rams team.

Speaker 2 (55:53):
You think about great offensive mines right, Stafford.

Speaker 4 (55:57):
Absolutely, we know these ability and that he can sling
it with the best of them, but his brain is
top notch.

Speaker 2 (56:04):
McVeigh, same thing. DeVante Adams is one of those dudes.

Speaker 4 (56:07):
So now you got some awesome offensive brains all together
in the same offensive a system. I think Sky's the
limmit for the Rams. I like them to win that division.
I still think the forty nine ers is going to
slip up there in an atrocious season last year. Tell
me who else is going to compete with the Rams
in that division. I'm not seeing anybody. I love the
Rams this year, but Devonte Adams easily number one on

(56:28):
my list.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
Yeah. I mean, like you said, maybe his name isn't
carrying the weight that it used to across the league.
But look at what he did the last time he
had a strong quarterback thrown to him. You know, he
over fifteen hundred yards with Derek Carr in a rough
Vegas team.

Speaker 2 (56:43):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
Yeah, last year was what it was. But he's going
back to having an elite coach and an elite quarterback.
He's basically taken the spot that Cooper Cuff had. Cooper
Cuff rather vacated when he moved on to Seattle. So
it's Koka Nakua is another weapon. His growth should continue,
which takes some of the eyes off of Adams. And
like you said, if he plays with a chip on
his shoulder, we could be looking at a Randy Moss

(57:07):
type of return when he went to New England under
a great head coach and good quarterback. So definitely a
very impactful Maybe I think for name and impact, we
should have had your list go first, because mine seems
mine seems so pitiful compared. But well, you know, I
took my based off of yours.

Speaker 4 (57:24):
In fairness exactly, I sent you my three and I said,
you can't pick these three.

Speaker 2 (57:29):
So you played the role well.

Speaker 4 (57:32):
Quickly on this on the Seahawks because you brought a
Cooper Cup there. Am I down playing them? Of course,
Sam Donald is going to be the starting quarterback. I'm
not a Donald guy, never was. I just think Minnesota
has a great system, great coach and you know, nice
work by Donald for making it happen and ending up
in Seattle in a new contract, new spot. Everything but
your thoughts on the Seahawks this year as far as

(57:52):
the outlook is concerned, Where are you at right now? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (57:55):
I mean, they have some good names. We'll see what
it looks like. I don't know how much. I don't
know who their offensive coordinator is. I know that McDonald's
more of a defensive guy at the head coaching position,
So we'll have to see what they look like. If
Donald learned a lot and retained a lot and wasn't
just doing whatever the system told him, then maybe he's
going to look close to what he did in Minnesota.
And when you have a guy like Cup, if Cup

(58:16):
can stay healthy, maybe they look strong. But if you're
down playing them, so am I because I'm not super
excited by what they did this offseason improvements at certain spots. Sure,
you know, I don't know if if you'd rather have
Sam Donald or Gino Smith. But for me, it's show
me before I really buy stock.

Speaker 4 (58:37):
Clint Kubiak He was hired in January twenty twenty five,
replacing Ryan Grubb. He was served as the offensive coordinator
for the Saints. Kubiak he life believes in balance. Blah
blah blah blah blah. I'm reading a quote now, a
bunch of coach speak, But bottom line is, we do
know the last name. No doubt about it, but that
is the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. It all

(58:59):
starts and ends with Sam Darnold. We shall see how
that one plays out, all right, Uh, finally I'll get
you out of here on this one. Did you read
that Joel Embiid long piece today on.

Speaker 1 (59:08):
The spit yet? I saw somebody mentioned it this morning
and I was pretty busy with the day job. So yeah,
it's on my It's I haven't saved. I just haven't
read it yet, but.

Speaker 4 (59:15):
I was thinking about reading. I was thinking about reading
the full thing in the next hour. I heard it's
really long. I was like, you know what, but burn
a segment just reading the full thing. I will tell
you as much. I clicked through and skimmed through, read
a few peep A posts on the timeline as well.

Speaker 2 (59:32):
You know it's Jowell Embiid, It's our guy.

Speaker 4 (59:34):
I love him. I always will. But at the end
of the day, man, like you know, it's what have
you done for me lately? And I get it. He's
a warrior, he's he's a badass, and I for crying
out loud, I got to due the mural in my
in my basement, like starts and ends there for me,
But what have you done for me lately and next year?

Speaker 2 (59:55):
I just don't have a good feeling about it at all.

Speaker 4 (59:58):
And I know this article is making people, you know,
look back and maybe their criticisms were a little off.
And I never criticized Joelle embiid until you know, the conditioning.

Speaker 2 (01:00:09):
Is the big thing that I would always have an
issue with.

Speaker 4 (01:00:11):
But you know, dude always picked up these dumb injuries
to no fault and it wasn't his fault.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
You know, the Marco folds, the wrist like things happen.
He's a big dude.

Speaker 4 (01:00:20):
The knee bells, Paulsy out of nowhere in the next series,
like you.

Speaker 2 (01:00:24):
Know, he's a warrior.

Speaker 4 (01:00:25):
But you know, like I just these these long think
pieces that they want to tug at your heartstrings, Like
I don't have time for it, man, I really don't.

Speaker 2 (01:00:34):
And that's just where I.

Speaker 4 (01:00:36):
Am at, like my initial vibe before I dig into this,
But you know, I know it opened up talking about
his eleven bathrooms where he has towels with his initials
on it, and I'm like, all right, here we go.

Speaker 1 (01:00:48):
Well I personally, like I said, I haven't read it yet. Yeah,
but it's I like to learn more about the men
that that I'm seeing on TV every single week, and
I like to see honest looks at them. The more
we get athletes telling the stories themselves, I think the
less honest look we get at them, and that's through
no faults of their own. But you never want to
paint yourself in a bad light, especially when you know

(01:01:10):
that it's going out to the masses and when a
third party in this case who is at ESPN, right
when when they get a chance to tell the part
of the story for you, it's a more honest look.
So I'm excited to look at it. I think what
he does to himself emotionally off the court matters a lot,
and you know, it's the question is doesn't impact him.

(01:01:30):
But I'm not here to judge him based on that.
It stinks that those things have happened to him. I
feel for him as a man, I feel for him
as a person for the things that he's gone through
with his brother and the fact that he puts a
lot of that on himself. But when I look at
the Sixers outlook this season, I'm not going, well, you know,
he had a dustup with Marcus Hayes. So let's give

(01:01:52):
the guy a break. It's like, no, look, you still
need to go on the court and deliver. Yeah, that's
how we judge you in this league. As a man,
I'm going to judge you differently, and I hope that
this piece gives me some additional insight in how I
should hold you, not on a pedestal, but how the
positive light I should hold you in as a man,
because I already hold him in a strong light for
what he's done on the court, so to be able

(01:02:14):
to do so with more information about his personal life
off the court is a positive thing for me. At
the end of the day, if I'm going to analyze
the Sixers, I still feel comfortable criticizing the Ghost with
that article.

Speaker 4 (01:02:26):
Set hey man cousin Nikki checking in. Kyle Fisher knows ball.
You're damn right he does. Be sure to find him.
Kyle Fisher forty five does a tremendous job covering all
things Philadelphia sports for the Philly Sports Networking. Make sure
you follow those guys and girls over at Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
S and as well. Yeah, one quick one.

Speaker 4 (01:02:43):
As far as the Sixers are concerned, that it's another
thing too with the Paul George news that came down
on Monday, Like, I can't talk about Maury in the
same manner as I was, Like, I get it, he's
drafted well, but he gave these contracts. He gave these
contracts to Paul George, a four year deal, which is

(01:03:03):
going to be a disaster of a deal. And then
Joelle Embiie he gave him a new contract. And I know,
you know, at the end of the day, I'm probably
giving him that new contract as well.

Speaker 2 (01:03:12):
But did you have to, like, you are.

Speaker 4 (01:03:15):
In that position to make these difficult decisions and to
get this team to the Promised Land, and you did
not do that with either of those decisions. So Darryl Moury,
if he's like, his seat better be hot, that's all
I know.

Speaker 2 (01:03:28):
I have people telling me both ways.

Speaker 1 (01:03:30):
I agree.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
I just I can't do it anymore.

Speaker 4 (01:03:32):
Man, Darryl Moury, like, if this is how it's gonna
play out this year, and it has that vibe already,
and I'm excited about the new blood I do. I
like McCain, I love Maxie edge Comb. I'm ready to
see the the young athletes out there, no doubt about it.
But man, these contracts were disasters, and Moury was the
man in charge. So sorry, I'm not looking at him

(01:03:53):
in the same manner anymore.

Speaker 1 (01:03:55):
I know that you can't assume that everything else would
play out the same, but assuming that everything did, let's
just for fun. Would you rather have given James Harden
what he asked for or moved on from Harden and
brought in Paul George?

Speaker 2 (01:04:09):
I think yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:04:10):
I didn't love moving on from in the first place,
even if he is at times a headache. I thought
that it was a good fit for them. They didn't
get enough time together on the court, and maybe it
wouldn't have gone well right. Maybe you draft different players
because you have a guard instead of a forward. But
it's starting to look a little more painful, which is
unfortunately a common theme with this Sixers.

Speaker 4 (01:04:30):
Yeah, they were pretty successful with Harden and Joel and
I know it was talked about in this article where
they were talking about the pick and roll and Jojoe
and you know, uh again, Yeah, Maury he was the
he was the main lightning rod with that one.

Speaker 1 (01:04:44):
So he was the guy who brought him in, and
he was the guy who sent him.

Speaker 4 (01:04:46):
Out and shipped him out. Yeah, exactly picked him up
at the airport. Hasn't talked to him since. Copish you
the best. What do you got cooking over there? Man?
What's the next piece you got going on? Over at
the Philly Sports Network.

Speaker 1 (01:04:57):
We're doing a few trade deadline pieces across the board
for the Philly Sports Network crew. My guy Corey Nito
just dropped one this morning about how two of the
potential targets in I touched on it earlier, but Buxton
and Chapman are likely off the trade market now, so
kind of pivoting where can the Phillies look to fill
some of those needs. I'm going to revisit the piece

(01:05:18):
that I put on the back burner, the two for ones,
now that we have a little bit more clear picture
of where people are. I'll be working on that, and
then we're gonna have some a piece one of us
is going to do by tomorrow who from the All
Star Game that we just watched could be a potential
target for the Phillies. So we'll have a couple of
nice pieces on the trade deadline coming up, and then
I'll be on my live stream on Ali Talk on

(01:05:40):
Friday talking all things Phillies ball for the second half.

Speaker 4 (01:05:43):
You to man, Kyle Fisher forty five on socials. Always
a pleasure, sir. Enjoy the rest of your day and
we'll catch up later this week. Man, thanks sir, my man.
There he is once again, Kyle Fisher on the Gambler
stream Coyle Fisher, forty five. We keep it moving. Four
o'clock hour. I'm a little late for a break on
the side. Let's talk about the seventy six ers for
just a second. With the regards to the article of

(01:06:04):
Joelle Embiid. I'll give you my thoughts on a few
of these lines, and I want to know your thoughts
out there. Get involved in a conversation at Fox PHL Gambler.
At Fox PHL Gambler, we also have our final major
in the golf season. My goodness that we have to hit.
We'll fire up the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook a lot
new limited time or dearly ticket after this.

Speaker 1 (01:06:24):
The Gambler