December 17, 2025 • 36 mins
Doug weighs in on the news that Tua Tagovailoa has been benched by the Dolphins. Doug gives his take on the NBA Cup. Doug welcomes FSR NBA Insider Ric Bucher onto the show to talk about the NBA Cup, the Spurs and all of the headlines around the NBA. Plus, Isaac Lowenkrong takes Doug through a game of "For Better or Worse?".
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Thanks for listening to The Doug Gottlieb Show podcast. Be
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hope you're having a great day. It is a Wednesday.
That is a hump day. It also means it's a
day for the Midway. Oh, fans of the Midway are
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(00:46):
strength and join the ice. Learns k USA offers programs
and of all ages, for all ages and abilities. Find
a program near you at learnskusa dot com. So you
heard from Dan Byer. I think that's the story of
the day. It's pretty easily that that. Oh, I'm sorry
from Isaac Longcron that is no longer the starting quarterback
(01:14):
of your Miami Dolphins. And you know what the hardest
thing to admit is when you're I don't know if
it's just guys. I do feel like it's guys. It's
admitting you were wrong, right, kind of a guy thing.
And the most powerful words that you can say sometimes
is like, hey, I was wrong. And when you're saying
(01:37):
you're wrong again, I kind of think that's what Mike
McDaniel's doing here on Tuesday. Remember McDaniel said its quarterback
was not good enough, and now they'll see if he's
gonna get if they're going to get any better. The
issue with Tua is like what really improves?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
You know?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
They built this offense with unbelievable speed where he could
get it and throw it to a spot. He's just
not mobile, and while he's accurate, it doesn't have the
needed zip on it. And he just struggles in cold weather.
He struggles to move in the pocket. And I think,
obviously if he struggled postgame with some of his press conference,
(02:19):
struggled in his leadership. And McDaniel and the Dolphins are
saying they're wrong. But ninety million dollars in who ninety
million dollars in dead cap money, and sure I'll take
a little bit of a victory lap. Right when I
get them wrong, people go crazy. How about when I
get it right. I told you I didn't buy into
(02:40):
the two hype versus Justin Herbert years ago, and I
know I'm right now, and again it's gonna be up
to other people to say I was wrong. The issue
with the Dolphins is now some of it is. Yet
you're going to have a new GM. So the new
GM's gonna draft a new quarterback and maybe he gets
new coach because they kind of had recovered. The defense
had been good, the running game had been good. The
(03:00):
only thing that hadn't been great the quarterback play. Can
you pin it all on the quarterback? You can't if
you think McDaniel is that guy. If you think McDaniel
is capable of finding another quarterback, developing another quarterback, and
rebuilding the culture of this team. But man, that thing
that happened quick, That one happened quick. You know, he
(03:25):
had a couple of bad postgame press conferences. The team
had started to play better, then they play very poorly
in cold weather yet again, and Mike McDaniel had had it.
He had had it. And you know this is all
of the Dolphins saying we were wrong, and look, we
(03:48):
could go back and go you know, it might not
have been the wrong pick had to a not gotten
hurt before the draft. It might not been the wrong
pick to a not gotten hurt early in his NFL career,
or the multiple concussions that he suffered where all of
(04:08):
us were concerned for his post football health and how
much you could actually play him. But all of these
things cause you to have to get rid of the
football earlier. If you don't move well, so you're a
stationary target there, if you have to guess and get
rid of it and throw it to a spot because
you don't have the arm strength of others, nor do
you have this capability needed that can do it. And
(04:31):
then are you a gun shy because you've had multiple
concussions and everybody's concerned, so you're kind of you get
rid of the ball more quickly that can do it
as well. Whatever the reason is, Tua just has not
looked like a high level quarterback for a good part
of the last I don't know, a year and a half,
(04:52):
two years, and never has looked a part when they
played in cold weather. I don't hate to say I
told you so. I did tell you so. The only
hard part is Tua, by all accounts, really good dude,
really good dude, just like I'm talking about, not if
he's a good teammate whatever, just a good seems like
a good human being, doesn't seem like a mean spirited person.
(05:14):
So there is some sympathy that I have towards the
position day and you could sit there and go, how
can you be synthetic? He's gonna get if they cut him,
he's gonna get fifty five million dollars guaranteed. He already
got ninety four million dollars for next year, like all
of these checks have already been cut. Yeah, I understand.
But again, like he was at one point in time,
(05:34):
they it was tanked for Tua. Was that the alliteration
Jay su tank for Tua?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Oh yeah, love literation. That was a good one.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I know you're a big You're a big alliteration guy.
And now it is no more. And again, the the
mistake here to me is not in drafting him. Yeah,
you drafted him, and I I remember having discussions with
Tom Tellusco who joins us about him versus Herbert, and
he didn't have the choice. I think they would have
(06:02):
drafted to it. I do they would have. They Herbert
checked every box physically, and remember he was a Rose
Bowl MVP. He was an amazing player, but he did
have a reputation that's throwing a lot of things kind
of laterally, which is sort of what Tua does now.
And for whatever reason, people weren't all in on Justin Herbert,
despite the fact he literally checks every box, every box.
(06:27):
But the mistake wasn't in drafting Tua if you evaluate
him as the best prospect. The mistake was the doubling
down and the contract extension. This is no different than
running backs. It's no different than anything. It's no different
than in life. You know, you get pressured to make
that call do you get married? Right? You've been together
for like a year and a half, you've been dating,
(06:48):
and everybody's like, hey, ain't getting married? Hey, when are
you gonna have kids? Hey? And there's lots of guys
who have decided to go all in because well that's
what people do. And I understand the philosophy of Chris
Greer again, if we walk ourselves back through it. They
(07:09):
decided they tanked for Tua, they decided to go get him.
Their first coach didn't think he was good enough. They
jettisoned the first coach. They wanted to prove that it was.
He had some really good moments under McDaniel, especially early
in his first year with McDaniels and early in several
different seasons. But the injuries, the concussions piled up, and
(07:29):
instead of admitting, hey, this might not work out long term,
they doubled down and gave him the contract attention, and
that killed the franchise. It just did. Here's Mike McDaniel,
head coach of the Dolphins. Remember he got the job
in no small part as a play color in San Francisco, though,
(07:49):
because I'm sure he convinced Chris Greer. Hey, man, I
can fix Tua. Take a listen.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
I think Quinn gives this team the best chance to win.
You know, our focuses obviously to win the next three games,
but in particular, like I tell the players, we are
focused on beating the Bengals. So that was the motivation.
Zach will be backing them up and two will be
the emergency emergency.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Third.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so this means that they're moving on from Tua.
They don't want him to get hurt, and they got
to figure out a way to make sure he doesn't
get hurt. So they don't owe him any additional money,
he doesn't have any injury claim, and they can if
they can't move him, they can trade him before the
league year ends. Here's McDaniel on how Tua took the news.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
It was, you know, a tough conversation. But also I
think he exhibited what makes him a captain and a
leader on this team as he he understood what that
you know, means for his his contribution to the team
and how he's gonna help Quinn prepare for for his
(08:57):
first start. So you know, I think he displayed leadership
skills by understanding. But as a competitor, you know, it's tough.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
No, no, it's it is tough. And I think the
issue for Tua now becomes if he gets cut and
he has all that money and he suffered multiple concussions,
does somebody go all in and make him the starter.
Does somebody bring him in as a backup? Does he
want to be a backup? I think he does. I
actually don't think he has the makeup of a guy
who could be a great backup. You know, somebody who
(09:30):
everybody likes, somebody who has played, has played well, has
a bunch of money, so he doesn't need the money, right,
he'll be a very handsomely compensated backup. But if you
look at these deals where people have moved on from quarterbacks,
it's almost always in that the worst ones are the
Danny Dimes the second contract, right, the Tua the second contract.
(09:54):
If you don't know that he's absolutely the guy, then
he's not the guy. That's the lesson. It's the same
lesson when you know you're thinking about Gary getting married,
if you're not absolutely positively sure, then you are absolutely
positively sure it's not her. And I know it does
sound trite, it does sound cliche to say she'll be
(10:21):
fine or he'll be fine, But that's the reality, you know,
just the reality if you're not absolutly this is the
and I as has nothing to do with me because
like my marriage was twenty years, like well, I was
absolutely sure and I was right and she was great.
It's just I don't need to get into my own
(10:42):
personal problems. But I can tell you there are plenty
of other guys. And we've all been at weddings where
you're like six months right. We've all had jobs where
somebody gets hired, and like we've all seen players and
for Tua, like the right ighting was all there. Like
the Dolphins kept trying to convince us, especially their social
(11:06):
media team, No, he really does have a good arm.
No he really is healthy. No, the concussions really aren't
an issue. I mean, look, this is a really minor one.
But being left handed is hard. Being left handed is hard.
Go track it. So, first, he was the first left
handed quarterback since to throw a touchdown, right, was it?
(11:29):
Des Bryant was the last left handed throw for a
touchdown in the NFL, And it was like ten to
fifteen years previously. Mike Vick was the last left handed quarterback.
And he didn't lose his job because he's left handed.
He didn't lose his job just because of concussions. He
didn't lose his job just because he doesn't have a
great arm. He didn't just lose job just because he's immobile.
(11:51):
And he didn't lose his job because, man, he really
handled some postgame press conferences, some acceptance of blame someone.
It wasn't anyone that it's death by a thousand cuts.
All of these things don't help, and all of those
things probably should have been seen before he's drafted and
definitely should have been seen before they re up to
his contract. So the Dolphins are in quarterback purgatory. Now
(12:15):
they're gonna take a massive cap hit and Mike McDaniel's
future very much hangs in the balance as they wait
for a new GM to get a job. This is
the Doug out Leaves Show. You listen to Fox Sports Radio.
Have you heard about the Trainer Games? Add this to
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(12:37):
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starting January eighth. Look, look, they could get tyreek hillback,
They could get to a back. My guess is light
a match start over? Light a match start out? How
many years do you have to be sitting there below
(12:58):
five hundred with a wider receiver who is constantly constantly
a problem plus now coming off an injury, or a
quarterback who you're worried about the next hit and even
when he plays, there's something missing there. The Dolphins new GM,
probably new coach. Light a match start over.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Doug
Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio in the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
App s Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio. I'm gonna
prove something to you, improve something to him. I've been
doing this for twenty two years nationally, two thousand and three.
It's actually twenty three if you do the math, twenty
three years nationally. And I believe I'm the only guy
(13:52):
who has ever said that Roger Goodell is not a
good commissioner. He's a great one. And you're like, wait,
what anyway, Yeah, because he has found ways to every
year expand their TV their TV partnerships, which grows the
(14:21):
honeypot for everybody involved, owners and players. Everybody is making
more money. Include the TV partners do quite well. It
takes a lot. It's being a TV partner with the
NFL is a lot like living in California. The hardest
(14:41):
part is getting in. Buying in. The buy in is
a lot. But once you get in, we make a
lot of money doing it. But I can prove to
you beyond a reasonable doubt that he's the best commissioner.
Now doesn't hurt that it's the easiest and most bet
(15:07):
on sport, right, That's really what it's about fantasy football
is huge. Betting on football is huge, and with the
proliferation of legal sports, gambling, sports wagering, whatever, it makes
it way easier because Thursday this you know coming up
yet Saturdays, but Thursday, Sunday, Monday, that's it gives you
(15:27):
time space, chance to collect your thoughts, all those things.
But I watched the NBA Cup last night. Now keep
in mind, okay, we have a game today. We play
you see Santa Barbara coming up in three and a
half hours. So my day is always jam packed. Coffee
(15:49):
with the donor in the morning, sweet little old lady,
then practice, film meeting, then prep for this show show,
then meeting with the staff. We have two recruits on
campus watching films. So I walk into a restaurant with
my staff and with two players were recruiting, and I
(16:13):
look up and there's an NBA game on. I didn't
think anything of a set down, and they're like, this
is the Cup final on a Tuesday, okay, And I
just it was that moment when I started to think,
(16:35):
what are we doing here? It's in Las Vegas in December.
Jason Stewart can attest to this. The only people that
think Las Vegas in December is a great landing spot
for an event. Are people who are not West Coasters.
There's just no chance. There's no chance. Las Vegas, Nevada
(16:58):
is a great destination. It is a major league city.
It is it continues to continues to grow, it continues
to expand. It's getting a baseball team, they got a
hockey team, they got a football team. But you know,
it's literally like there's two months out of the year
when you don't go there, and this is one of them.
(17:19):
Nobody goes because it's cold, there's nothing special about it.
It's just smoke filled casinos and sad, sad nightclubs that
high rollers aren't going to. This is the reality to it.
There's a lot of ways in which they can win.
(17:42):
And by the way, the NBA Cup wants to make
it big, they should probably think about having their finals
on New Year's Day, right because right now they just
compete with college football, but be a great TV viewership day.
There's a way in which you could do it. But
it feels like to me, somebody from New York was like, Hey,
what about Vegas. Awesome Vegas does basketball. Vegas has got
new arenas. Vegas has got hotel rooms, it's got everything.
(18:04):
What are we doing December? Okay, yeah, it'll be nice there.
It's cold everywhere else. No, it's not on a Tuesday
in December. That's what they came up with. That's what
we're gonna have it in Las Vegas. At least the
Knicks get it. They celebrated, they had fun, Josh Hart
a little too much fun. But they're not raising a banner.
(18:28):
They're not doing a ticker tape raid. They're just taking us. Hey,
we want to tournament. That's pretty good. Let's welcome in.
A dear friend of mine, a dude who I have
on some former fashion worked in the same company as
for Buke, was there all ten years when I was.
We were at ESPN together, and I think he's been
(18:50):
at Fox most of the time I've been here as well.
Rick Buker. He co hosts Finding the Scenes, the podcast
of Brendan Haywood. You can find it whoever you find
your podcast cover the NBA forever, Plus he's our Fox
Sports Radio NBA insider, Buke, how big a marketing debacle
is the Cup? When you have it on a Tuesday
(19:10):
night in Vegas in December?
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Well, considering who you had in it, the fact that
you had the Knicks and you had Victor wimbin Yama
and that was your platform. It's a pretty big debacles.
It's certainly a swing in a miss in terms of
what you could have done. But and I do believe
this is why the NBA has already talked about it
(19:34):
won't be in Vegas next year. They're I think they're
trying to determine exactly where they're going.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
To have it.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
But I think they realized going in and this is
always This has been funny for me listening to the
broadcast and listening to the players being asked, Hey, what
do you think about going to Vegas? And it's like,
you know what, for an NBA player going to Vegas,
particularly in the middle of the season, it ain't no deal.
And going to Vegas is not a big deal for
(20:02):
NBA players in general. They can they can run a
yacht in the South of France. It's not It's not
the same as maybe what we think of, you know,
the average American going to uh going to Vegas and
having a good time. And as you pointed out, this
really isn't the time of year to be in in
(20:23):
Las Vegas. So, uh, the is it is there? Is
it a market potentially for an NBA team, Absolutely, But
for this event and for if you really want to
make this NBA Cup thing, uh, a real thing and
real valuable, I think you have to add some some
added value to it beyond the money and uh, and
(20:45):
and you have to have it in a location that
makes sense at this time of year.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Wenby unbelievable the first half. Yeah, just an unbelievable talent,
but a complete no show in the four quarter. How much?
How much is that a warning sign of maybe who
he is or where he is right now in his development?
Speaker 6 (21:11):
Well, it's certainly where he is in his development. I
don't think it's a reflection of who he is. I
do think he has to figure out when the game
gets tough and the pace slows down, where is he
going to operate from? And Kenny gets strong enough in
his base and in his positioning to be able to
(21:34):
operate from a certain place on the floor. And some
of this is just a byproduct of the fact that
he's missed a stretch. And so you saw the difference.
I think to me, the big difference was one Jordan
Clarkson and Mitchell Robinson came in off the bench and
just gave the Knicks an energy boost at the beginning
of the fourth quarter that flipped the game. And then
(21:56):
you have a team that knows who their go to
guy is and how to operate off of that. The
go to guy bing Jalen Brunson, and so there was
just a familiarity and an understanding of how we're going
to play and what we need to do in the
fourth quarter for the nixt that the Spurs don't have
right now. With Victor Wembanyama, I would assume, you know,
(22:18):
at some point that's the guy that they are going
to play through in crunch time. But the fact that
they haven't had the ability to develop that synchronicity and
understanding at this point is not a surprise to me.
There is a question, like, I don't think it's a
foreground conclusion. I do believe that with his work, ethic
(22:39):
and his intelligence that he will find a way to
be that go to guy, and I have no question
that he has the temperament for it, but he still
needs to figure out how do I utilize what my
strengths are when the game is on the line and
not allow people to get into my lag and knock
(23:00):
me off balance and make me feel so uncomfortable.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
That that I that I can't get a shot or make.
Speaker 6 (23:07):
A play when the game is on the line. That's
That's what I'm seeing right now is is a guy
who's still trying to figure that out.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Uh as a basketball coach and a former basketball analyst
nailed it. He just he ain't strong enough. He just
he's so so long pause that he just the Hey,
low man wins. You know, it's ill wrestling and life analogy.
Low man wins, and and he's struggling when it becomes
a man's game, which is what happens in the playoffs
(23:35):
as well. Rick Buker joining US Fox Sports Radio NBA Insider,
I'm watching I've watched the Lakers a bunch, and Lebron
does look older. I mean, it's it's hit him this year.
He has moments, but then I see, uh, it was
the national anthem or or introductions, and he's he's doing
the golf club grip and he's like clearly thinking about golf.
(23:58):
Then he's got a day off and he's post it
looks like he was at riv playing golf, like, is
he actively retired?
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Well, I got to tell you, from the beginning of
the year, just watching him as stoic as he was
at the end of the bench when he wasn't playing,
and how disengaged he was, it has felt like a
he's either disengaged or it's a silent protest that this
is not me any You know, this this team isn't
(24:31):
about me anymore. And you know, if you're a Lebron fan,
you're saying, hey, he's just he's trying not to steal
the spotlight, or he's he's acknowledging that he's moved over.
I think there are ways to do that. If you're still.
Speaker 7 (24:44):
Committed to trying to win as much as.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
Possible and support the new sheriff in town, sure there's
ways to do that. And I don't I don't see that.
What I'm really curious about is, and it was just
we saw that that Luca bought all everybody on the team,
that he bought him electric bikes, and I don't know
if he saw the clip online and I was like, okay,
(25:07):
I'm going to see, like, wait a minute, there's nothing
of Lebron. There's no Lebron in the picture when whenever
you're advertising anything involving the Lakers, you always try to
put Lebron in there somewhere for visibility. And I don't
know what, you know, I wasn't there, But I'm just
(25:28):
curious how far the disengagement goes. And I think it's problematic.
And I think we saw a little bit of that
conflict or that wrestling that Lebron has with the fact
and the Lakers, with the fact that he's no longer
the guy there, and it came down with the technical
(25:49):
free throw. He's not supposed to take that. And what
was most interesting was his response afterwards, why wouldn't I
take it? Well, because you're not the guy anymore?
Speaker 7 (25:59):
And hey, Thros all.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
That particularly well, outside of the fact you're not a
great free throw shooter. Lucas shot like fifteen and he's
the better player now outside of that, like honestly, probably
be the third guy to take it, probably the third
game like's taken before him.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
But you know, the the other part was like, I
think it was a game, maybe it was Phoenix. I
think it was. I think it was Phoenix, But there
was a game recently where he was energized and defensively,
he was getting after it and it wasn't the whole game,
it was it was the second half. But I was
really impressed. And this is what I don't think we're
going to see, but what I would I would love
(26:40):
to see from Lebron, which is recognizing we got all
the offense we need. Luka, Doncic and Austin Reeves proved
that coming out of the gate. Uh and DeAndre Ayton
is playing much better than I think anybody expected him to.
Certainly me, you know where I can. I can I
can bring defense of energy because that's just what we need,
(27:03):
and I can still be a factor there and it
might be shorter minutes and it might not be the
same box score, but that's how I can positively affect
this game, affect this team.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
If he were, if he were.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
Approaching this this that way, I would be the first
to stand up and giving him give him a standing
ovation for having the humility to accept that role and understand,
you know what, I'm just here to win, and I'm
here to do whatever is necessary to support us winning.
And I unfortunately I don't. I have not seen that
(27:37):
for the for the most part, and I'm not counting
on seeing it, and and that's where it feels like
he's just he's having.
Speaker 7 (27:43):
Somewhat of a tantrum or you.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
Know, a silent protest that he's not the guy anymore.
So okay, guys, go ahead, Lukashow, let's let's see what
you got. I'm gonna work on my golf swing.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
That is only topped by the ouster of Chris Paul
with the Clippers. I mean, we're talking about a first
ballot Hall of Fame point guard who comes back to
the Clippers where he was mister lob City and not
only does he not make it to Christmas, they cut
(28:22):
him in the middle of the night on the road.
And now more and more details are coming out. All right,
so what happened? What really happened?
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Well, I don't know that we've got all of the
details quite yet, because clearly Lawrence Frank got to a
point where it was like, okay, that's enough, we're done.
And I don't know what that last straw was. I
haven't I haven't found that out yet. But there was
the last straw, and it was you know, while while
(28:56):
no one was paying attention to it, it was.
Speaker 7 (28:58):
Building for a while and I know from Chris Paul's history.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
I mean, if you just look at all the teams
he's been with over the last couple of years. Once
you're not the same player, then how you treat people,
how you carry yourself, how you think of yourself within
the organization, you gotta be careful because if you're rubbing
(29:25):
people the wrong way, and your contract ain't that big,
the financial commitment ain't that big, and your role or
your contribution to the team is not that big, at
some point it becomes, you know what, we would love
for this to be a fairy tale ending, but we're
just sick of you. So we're going to make a move.
And so the biggest, the only the question for me
(29:47):
is not that they made this move, or even that
they made this move when they did. It's that it
feels like it was an emotional decision in the moment,
And I don't know what in fired that emotional moment yet,
but I will continue to work at it and see
if I can find out.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Buke, thanks for joining us. We gotta we got to
keep this thing going. This is awesome finding the Seams,
by the way, just you know, I love talk of
the Seams. People understand that that's the the rubber part
of leather basketball is the seams, all right. Brendan Haywood
obviously can tell you that. Just so you know, I
was like one of I feel like five view on
Earth that could make any pass and deliver it on
(30:30):
the seams. So I I have, I have all ball,
but I wanted to call it on the seams. That's
what I wanted to call it.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
So that is quietly one of the gifts or the
skills that goes completely unappreciated except.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
For shooters to know that they're going to get that
ball in.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
The pocket and it's going to be lined up, and
it gives them that that extra point whatever seconds to
knock down a.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
Shot and has great effect on the percentage.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So I'm with you. Tell Tell Brandon, and I said, Hi,
thanks for joining us.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
You gotta be sure to catch the live edition of
The Doug Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
It's the Doug Gottlieb Show here on Fox Sports Radio.
Have you heard about trainer games? This is add this
to your binge list. Ten athletes you go ahead to
head for a chance to win an I Fit trainer contract.
We're two hundred fifty grand streaming on Prime Video starting
January eighth. Let's get ties at Glowing Crown and play
a game.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
This is Game Tide on the Doug Gottlieb Show.
Speaker 8 (31:40):
I love what you got, but thank you, Doug, and
you know, friend Sesame Street helped raise all of us.
Now it's our turn donate this holiday season at sesame
dot org. Because the world needs Sesame and Sesame needs you.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
We need a game, lady, Game for better or Worse?
Speaker 8 (32:00):
All right, Big NFC West and NFC showdown tomorrow night, Doug,
who do you got for better or worse? The Rams
or the Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
A lot of emotion in this game for me because
I have been I'm like the I feel like I'm
the last of the Sam Donald Champions. And yeah, I'll
give cal Hurt a little bit of credit. Seahawks, they're
at home. This is the game Donald announces his presence
with authority. Mostly they're at home. Seahawks better than the
(32:35):
Rams tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
All right?
Speaker 8 (32:36):
So that was better or worse. I'm gonna call this
for worse or a little worse to a tongue of
Iloa or Deshaun Watson.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
To a tongue of Blaamber just a better person. And
the way in which he handled his benching yea was
with class. Hey look something, it just comes down to performance.
I'm performed.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Wasn't there There was a report that Deshaun Watson was
almost gonna be on the Dolphins right right. He was
in the mix with the Falcons, the Dolphins and the Browns.
So looking back, should the Dolphins have just gone full
to Shawn Mote?
Speaker 2 (33:18):
No, no, no.
Speaker 8 (33:21):
Actually I'll throw another wrinkle into this for better or
worse to a tongue of Iloa or Kyler Murray, good one.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Yeah, guys who both sit on the curb in their legs, dangle.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Man, we represent a short You know the problem the NFL,
They just don't measure up to the other quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Literally diego.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Pobby is like, hey, hey, down here, pick out some
of your own size. Anyway, again, I'm gonna go. I'm
to go to a I just again, I don't think too.
I think Calimbur is better as more talent, he runs better,
whatever throws that he's smaller. But pause, But I just
think to it seems like a really decent human.
Speaker 8 (34:12):
Being on too, Uh, to his former team and the
college football Playoffs for better or worse, Alabama.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Or Alabama hold on chase to oh No.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
I still think the coolest thing of the most interesting
thing I've learned about college football this year is that
John Mellencamp has his own box above everything else at
IU so he can smoke SIGs and watch his watch.
Speaker 8 (34:42):
His Yeah, I thought it was like a booth in
the press box, but it's literally like a separate shack.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
It's like you can smoke a camera shit, right, It's
like for the guys, you get the birds.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
It's like you know what it basically is, It's like
that the smoking lounge at the airport, like the sat
place on Earth now only at an Indiana football game,
which used to be the saddest place on Earth.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
I learned yesterday in some report that the pouch, the
pouch has overtaken vaping, that overtook cigarettes. I wonder if
anyone's introduced Mellencamp to pouches and they can let them
inside the building.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Zinsway, then there's there's all those other ones. The guys
that are zinners are zinners, and they just go through them,
They just go through they're.
Speaker 8 (35:30):
Constantly assembly line kind of deal.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
All right, final grandfather for I have zend.
Speaker 8 (35:35):
Oh that was actually very clever. I must ad been.
All right, this is the most controversial of all, controversial
of all For better or worse, gingerbread or pumpkin flavored cookies.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Not controversial, I don't. I think pumpkin flavor beats gingerbread.
The only thing cool about gingerbread is decorating them my
gingerbread house gingerbread cookies.
Speaker 8 (35:59):
I really don't see how either of those would be
better than chocolate chip cookies.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Well, ah, yeah, this is a duality here, it's one
of two.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Now.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
I wanted to talk about this just because I wanted
to give a plug for Trader Joe's and their gingerbread cookies.
Speaker 8 (36:16):
Ah, I see, is this part of your Is this
part of an ni l deal over there and your
love that.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
We don't have Trader Joe's in Wisconsin? We need to change.
Speaker 8 (36:29):
I means you take your annual questionnaire online.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
My man, All right, there.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Is in the valley right by right by your studio,
there's a new Trader Joe's right across the street from
an old Trader Joe's.
Speaker 8 (36:39):
The parking lots though you know what I mean. There
a nightmare, it's worth It's get real and the Trader
Joe's parking lot, and it got real. On this edition
of For Better or Worse.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
We'll get to the midway. Plus we'll find out who
showers less Whole Foods workers or Trader Joe's workers. This
is Doug Gottlieb Show.
Thanks for listening to The Doug Gottlieb Show podcast. Be
sure to catch us live every weekday three to five,
twelve two Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local
station for The Doug Gottlieb Show at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching app spr Boom, What Up America,
Doug Gottlieb Show, Fuck Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Hope you're having a great day. It is a Wednesday.
That is a hump day. It also means it's a
day for the Midway. Oh, fans of the Midway are
coming out of the woodworks. Every Olympic dream starts for
the first glide Through Learn to Skate USA, kids build confidence,
(00:46):
strength and join the ice. Learns k USA offers programs
and of all ages, for all ages and abilities. Find
a program near you at learnskusa dot com. So you
heard from Dan Byer. I think that's the story of
the day. It's pretty easily that that. Oh, I'm sorry
from Isaac Longcron that is no longer the starting quarterback
(01:14):
of your Miami Dolphins. And you know what the hardest
thing to admit is when you're I don't know if
it's just guys. I do feel like it's guys. It's
admitting you were wrong, right, kind of a guy thing.
And the most powerful words that you can say sometimes
is like, hey, I was wrong. And when you're saying
(01:37):
you're wrong again, I kind of think that's what Mike
McDaniel's doing here on Tuesday. Remember McDaniel said its quarterback
was not good enough, and now they'll see if he's
gonna get if they're going to get any better. The
issue with Tua is like what really improves?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
You know?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
They built this offense with unbelievable speed where he could
get it and throw it to a spot. He's just
not mobile, and while he's accurate, it doesn't have the
needed zip on it. And he just struggles in cold weather.
He struggles to move in the pocket. And I think,
obviously if he struggled postgame with some of his press conference,
(02:19):
struggled in his leadership. And McDaniel and the Dolphins are
saying they're wrong. But ninety million dollars in who ninety
million dollars in dead cap money, and sure I'll take
a little bit of a victory lap. Right when I
get them wrong, people go crazy. How about when I
get it right. I told you I didn't buy into
(02:40):
the two hype versus Justin Herbert years ago, and I
know I'm right now, and again it's gonna be up
to other people to say I was wrong. The issue
with the Dolphins is now some of it is. Yet
you're going to have a new GM. So the new
GM's gonna draft a new quarterback and maybe he gets
new coach because they kind of had recovered. The defense
had been good, the running game had been good. The
(03:00):
only thing that hadn't been great the quarterback play. Can
you pin it all on the quarterback? You can't if
you think McDaniel is that guy. If you think McDaniel
is capable of finding another quarterback, developing another quarterback, and
rebuilding the culture of this team. But man, that thing
that happened quick, That one happened quick. You know, he
(03:25):
had a couple of bad postgame press conferences. The team
had started to play better, then they play very poorly
in cold weather yet again, and Mike McDaniel had had it.
He had had it. And you know this is all
of the Dolphins saying we were wrong, and look, we
(03:48):
could go back and go you know, it might not
have been the wrong pick had to a not gotten
hurt before the draft. It might not been the wrong
pick to a not gotten hurt early in his NFL career,
or the multiple concussions that he suffered where all of
(04:08):
us were concerned for his post football health and how
much you could actually play him. But all of these
things cause you to have to get rid of the
football earlier. If you don't move well, so you're a
stationary target there, if you have to guess and get
rid of it and throw it to a spot because
you don't have the arm strength of others, nor do
you have this capability needed that can do it. And
(04:31):
then are you a gun shy because you've had multiple
concussions and everybody's concerned, so you're kind of you get
rid of the ball more quickly that can do it
as well. Whatever the reason is, Tua just has not
looked like a high level quarterback for a good part
of the last I don't know, a year and a half,
(04:52):
two years, and never has looked a part when they
played in cold weather. I don't hate to say I
told you so. I did tell you so. The only
hard part is Tua, by all accounts, really good dude,
really good dude, just like I'm talking about, not if
he's a good teammate whatever, just a good seems like
a good human being, doesn't seem like a mean spirited person.
(05:14):
So there is some sympathy that I have towards the
position day and you could sit there and go, how
can you be synthetic? He's gonna get if they cut him,
he's gonna get fifty five million dollars guaranteed. He already
got ninety four million dollars for next year, like all
of these checks have already been cut. Yeah, I understand.
But again, like he was at one point in time,
(05:34):
they it was tanked for Tua. Was that the alliteration
Jay su tank for Tua?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Oh yeah, love literation. That was a good one.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I know you're a big You're a big alliteration guy.
And now it is no more. And again, the the
mistake here to me is not in drafting him. Yeah,
you drafted him, and I I remember having discussions with
Tom Tellusco who joins us about him versus Herbert, and
he didn't have the choice. I think they would have
(06:02):
drafted to it. I do they would have. They Herbert
checked every box physically, and remember he was a Rose
Bowl MVP. He was an amazing player, but he did
have a reputation that's throwing a lot of things kind
of laterally, which is sort of what Tua does now.
And for whatever reason, people weren't all in on Justin Herbert,
despite the fact he literally checks every box, every box.
(06:27):
But the mistake wasn't in drafting Tua if you evaluate
him as the best prospect. The mistake was the doubling
down and the contract extension. This is no different than
running backs. It's no different than anything. It's no different
than in life. You know, you get pressured to make
that call do you get married? Right? You've been together
for like a year and a half, you've been dating,
(06:48):
and everybody's like, hey, ain't getting married? Hey, when are
you gonna have kids? Hey? And there's lots of guys
who have decided to go all in because well that's
what people do. And I understand the philosophy of Chris
Greer again, if we walk ourselves back through it. They
(07:09):
decided they tanked for Tua, they decided to go get him.
Their first coach didn't think he was good enough. They
jettisoned the first coach. They wanted to prove that it was.
He had some really good moments under McDaniel, especially early
in his first year with McDaniels and early in several
different seasons. But the injuries, the concussions piled up, and
(07:29):
instead of admitting, hey, this might not work out long term,
they doubled down and gave him the contract attention, and
that killed the franchise. It just did. Here's Mike McDaniel,
head coach of the Dolphins. Remember he got the job
in no small part as a play color in San Francisco, though,
(07:49):
because I'm sure he convinced Chris Greer. Hey, man, I
can fix Tua. Take a listen.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
I think Quinn gives this team the best chance to win.
You know, our focuses obviously to win the next three games,
but in particular, like I tell the players, we are
focused on beating the Bengals. So that was the motivation.
Zach will be backing them up and two will be
the emergency emergency.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Third.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so this means that they're moving on from Tua.
They don't want him to get hurt, and they got
to figure out a way to make sure he doesn't
get hurt. So they don't owe him any additional money,
he doesn't have any injury claim, and they can if
they can't move him, they can trade him before the
league year ends. Here's McDaniel on how Tua took the news.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
It was, you know, a tough conversation. But also I
think he exhibited what makes him a captain and a
leader on this team as he he understood what that
you know, means for his his contribution to the team
and how he's gonna help Quinn prepare for for his
(08:57):
first start. So you know, I think he displayed leadership
skills by understanding. But as a competitor, you know, it's tough.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
No, no, it's it is tough. And I think the
issue for Tua now becomes if he gets cut and
he has all that money and he suffered multiple concussions,
does somebody go all in and make him the starter.
Does somebody bring him in as a backup? Does he
want to be a backup? I think he does. I
actually don't think he has the makeup of a guy
who could be a great backup. You know, somebody who
(09:30):
everybody likes, somebody who has played, has played well, has
a bunch of money, so he doesn't need the money, right,
he'll be a very handsomely compensated backup. But if you
look at these deals where people have moved on from quarterbacks,
it's almost always in that the worst ones are the
Danny Dimes the second contract, right, the Tua the second contract.
(09:54):
If you don't know that he's absolutely the guy, then
he's not the guy. That's the lesson. It's the same
lesson when you know you're thinking about Gary getting married,
if you're not absolutely positively sure, then you are absolutely
positively sure it's not her. And I know it does
sound trite, it does sound cliche to say she'll be
(10:21):
fine or he'll be fine, But that's the reality, you know,
just the reality if you're not absolutly this is the
and I as has nothing to do with me because
like my marriage was twenty years, like well, I was
absolutely sure and I was right and she was great.
It's just I don't need to get into my own
(10:42):
personal problems. But I can tell you there are plenty
of other guys. And we've all been at weddings where
you're like six months right. We've all had jobs where
somebody gets hired, and like we've all seen players and
for Tua, like the right ighting was all there. Like
the Dolphins kept trying to convince us, especially their social
(11:06):
media team, No, he really does have a good arm.
No he really is healthy. No, the concussions really aren't
an issue. I mean, look, this is a really minor one.
But being left handed is hard. Being left handed is hard.
Go track it. So, first, he was the first left
handed quarterback since to throw a touchdown, right, was it?
(11:29):
Des Bryant was the last left handed throw for a
touchdown in the NFL, And it was like ten to
fifteen years previously. Mike Vick was the last left handed quarterback.
And he didn't lose his job because he's left handed.
He didn't lose his job just because of concussions. He
didn't lose his job just because he doesn't have a
great arm. He didn't just lose job just because he's immobile.
(11:51):
And he didn't lose his job because, man, he really
handled some postgame press conferences, some acceptance of blame someone.
It wasn't anyone that it's death by a thousand cuts.
All of these things don't help, and all of those
things probably should have been seen before he's drafted and
definitely should have been seen before they re up to
his contract. So the Dolphins are in quarterback purgatory. Now
(12:15):
they're gonna take a massive cap hit and Mike McDaniel's
future very much hangs in the balance as they wait
for a new GM to get a job. This is
the Doug out Leaves Show. You listen to Fox Sports Radio.
Have you heard about the Trainer Games? Add this to
your binge list. Ten athletes who go head to head
(12:37):
for a chance to win an I Fit trainer contract
worth two hundred and fifty grand, streaming on Prime Video
starting January eighth. Look, look, they could get tyreek hillback,
They could get to a back. My guess is light
a match start over? Light a match start out? How
many years do you have to be sitting there below
(12:58):
five hundred with a wider receiver who is constantly constantly
a problem plus now coming off an injury, or a
quarterback who you're worried about the next hit and even
when he plays, there's something missing there. The Dolphins new GM,
probably new coach. Light a match start over.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Doug
Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio in the iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
App s Doug Gottlieb Show, Fox Sports Radio. I'm gonna
prove something to you, improve something to him. I've been
doing this for twenty two years nationally, two thousand and three.
It's actually twenty three if you do the math, twenty
three years nationally. And I believe I'm the only guy
(13:52):
who has ever said that Roger Goodell is not a
good commissioner. He's a great one. And you're like, wait,
what anyway, Yeah, because he has found ways to every
year expand their TV their TV partnerships, which grows the
(14:21):
honeypot for everybody involved, owners and players. Everybody is making
more money. Include the TV partners do quite well. It
takes a lot. It's being a TV partner with the
NFL is a lot like living in California. The hardest
(14:41):
part is getting in. Buying in. The buy in is
a lot. But once you get in, we make a
lot of money doing it. But I can prove to
you beyond a reasonable doubt that he's the best commissioner.
Now doesn't hurt that it's the easiest and most bet
(15:07):
on sport, right, That's really what it's about fantasy football
is huge. Betting on football is huge, and with the
proliferation of legal sports, gambling, sports wagering, whatever, it makes
it way easier because Thursday this you know coming up
yet Saturdays, but Thursday, Sunday, Monday, that's it gives you
(15:27):
time space, chance to collect your thoughts, all those things.
But I watched the NBA Cup last night. Now keep
in mind, okay, we have a game today. We play
you see Santa Barbara coming up in three and a
half hours. So my day is always jam packed. Coffee
(15:49):
with the donor in the morning, sweet little old lady,
then practice, film meeting, then prep for this show show,
then meeting with the staff. We have two recruits on
campus watching films. So I walk into a restaurant with
my staff and with two players were recruiting, and I
(16:13):
look up and there's an NBA game on. I didn't
think anything of a set down, and they're like, this
is the Cup final on a Tuesday, okay, And I
just it was that moment when I started to think,
(16:35):
what are we doing here? It's in Las Vegas in December.
Jason Stewart can attest to this. The only people that
think Las Vegas in December is a great landing spot
for an event. Are people who are not West Coasters.
There's just no chance. There's no chance. Las Vegas, Nevada
(16:58):
is a great destination. It is a major league city.
It is it continues to continues to grow, it continues
to expand. It's getting a baseball team, they got a
hockey team, they got a football team. But you know,
it's literally like there's two months out of the year
when you don't go there, and this is one of them.
(17:19):
Nobody goes because it's cold, there's nothing special about it.
It's just smoke filled casinos and sad, sad nightclubs that
high rollers aren't going to. This is the reality to it.
There's a lot of ways in which they can win.
(17:42):
And by the way, the NBA Cup wants to make
it big, they should probably think about having their finals
on New Year's Day, right because right now they just
compete with college football, but be a great TV viewership day.
There's a way in which you could do it. But
it feels like to me, somebody from New York was like, Hey,
what about Vegas. Awesome Vegas does basketball. Vegas has got
new arenas. Vegas has got hotel rooms, it's got everything.
(18:04):
What are we doing December? Okay, yeah, it'll be nice there.
It's cold everywhere else. No, it's not on a Tuesday
in December. That's what they came up with. That's what
we're gonna have it in Las Vegas. At least the
Knicks get it. They celebrated, they had fun, Josh Hart
a little too much fun. But they're not raising a banner.
(18:28):
They're not doing a ticker tape raid. They're just taking us. Hey,
we want to tournament. That's pretty good. Let's welcome in.
A dear friend of mine, a dude who I have
on some former fashion worked in the same company as
for Buke, was there all ten years when I was.
We were at ESPN together, and I think he's been
(18:50):
at Fox most of the time I've been here as well.
Rick Buker. He co hosts Finding the Scenes, the podcast
of Brendan Haywood. You can find it whoever you find
your podcast cover the NBA forever, Plus he's our Fox
Sports Radio NBA insider, Buke, how big a marketing debacle
is the Cup? When you have it on a Tuesday
(19:10):
night in Vegas in December?
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Well, considering who you had in it, the fact that
you had the Knicks and you had Victor wimbin Yama
and that was your platform. It's a pretty big debacles.
It's certainly a swing in a miss in terms of
what you could have done. But and I do believe
this is why the NBA has already talked about it
(19:34):
won't be in Vegas next year. They're I think they're
trying to determine exactly where they're going.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
To have it.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
But I think they realized going in and this is
always This has been funny for me listening to the
broadcast and listening to the players being asked, Hey, what
do you think about going to Vegas? And it's like,
you know what, for an NBA player going to Vegas,
particularly in the middle of the season, it ain't no deal.
And going to Vegas is not a big deal for
(20:02):
NBA players in general. They can they can run a
yacht in the South of France. It's not It's not
the same as maybe what we think of, you know,
the average American going to uh going to Vegas and
having a good time. And as you pointed out, this
really isn't the time of year to be in in
(20:23):
Las Vegas. So, uh, the is it is there? Is
it a market potentially for an NBA team, Absolutely, But
for this event and for if you really want to
make this NBA Cup thing, uh, a real thing and
real valuable, I think you have to add some some
added value to it beyond the money and uh, and
(20:45):
and you have to have it in a location that
makes sense at this time of year.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Wenby unbelievable the first half. Yeah, just an unbelievable talent,
but a complete no show in the four quarter. How much?
How much is that a warning sign of maybe who
he is or where he is right now in his development?
Speaker 6 (21:11):
Well, it's certainly where he is in his development. I
don't think it's a reflection of who he is. I
do think he has to figure out when the game
gets tough and the pace slows down, where is he
going to operate from? And Kenny gets strong enough in
his base and in his positioning to be able to
(21:34):
operate from a certain place on the floor. And some
of this is just a byproduct of the fact that
he's missed a stretch. And so you saw the difference.
I think to me, the big difference was one Jordan
Clarkson and Mitchell Robinson came in off the bench and
just gave the Knicks an energy boost at the beginning
of the fourth quarter that flipped the game. And then
(21:56):
you have a team that knows who their go to
guy is and how to operate off of that. The
go to guy bing Jalen Brunson, and so there was
just a familiarity and an understanding of how we're going
to play and what we need to do in the
fourth quarter for the nixt that the Spurs don't have
right now. With Victor Wembanyama, I would assume, you know,
(22:18):
at some point that's the guy that they are going
to play through in crunch time. But the fact that
they haven't had the ability to develop that synchronicity and
understanding at this point is not a surprise to me.
There is a question, like, I don't think it's a
foreground conclusion. I do believe that with his work, ethic
(22:39):
and his intelligence that he will find a way to
be that go to guy, and I have no question
that he has the temperament for it, but he still
needs to figure out how do I utilize what my
strengths are when the game is on the line and
not allow people to get into my lag and knock
(23:00):
me off balance and make me feel so uncomfortable.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
That that I that I can't get a shot or make.
Speaker 6 (23:07):
A play when the game is on the line. That's
That's what I'm seeing right now is is a guy
who's still trying to figure that out.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Uh as a basketball coach and a former basketball analyst
nailed it. He just he ain't strong enough. He just
he's so so long pause that he just the Hey,
low man wins. You know, it's ill wrestling and life analogy.
Low man wins, and and he's struggling when it becomes
a man's game, which is what happens in the playoffs
(23:35):
as well. Rick Buker joining US Fox Sports Radio NBA Insider,
I'm watching I've watched the Lakers a bunch, and Lebron
does look older. I mean, it's it's hit him this year.
He has moments, but then I see, uh, it was
the national anthem or or introductions, and he's he's doing
the golf club grip and he's like clearly thinking about golf.
(23:58):
Then he's got a day off and he's post it
looks like he was at riv playing golf, like, is
he actively retired?
Speaker 6 (24:08):
Well, I got to tell you, from the beginning of
the year, just watching him as stoic as he was
at the end of the bench when he wasn't playing,
and how disengaged he was, it has felt like a
he's either disengaged or it's a silent protest that this
is not me any You know, this this team isn't
(24:31):
about me anymore. And you know, if you're a Lebron fan,
you're saying, hey, he's just he's trying not to steal
the spotlight, or he's he's acknowledging that he's moved over.
I think there are ways to do that. If you're still.
Speaker 7 (24:44):
Committed to trying to win as much as.
Speaker 6 (24:47):
Possible and support the new sheriff in town, sure there's
ways to do that. And I don't I don't see that.
What I'm really curious about is, and it was just
we saw that that Luca bought all everybody on the team,
that he bought him electric bikes, and I don't know
if he saw the clip online and I was like, okay,
(25:07):
I'm going to see, like, wait a minute, there's nothing
of Lebron. There's no Lebron in the picture when whenever
you're advertising anything involving the Lakers, you always try to
put Lebron in there somewhere for visibility. And I don't
know what, you know, I wasn't there, But I'm just
(25:28):
curious how far the disengagement goes. And I think it's problematic.
And I think we saw a little bit of that
conflict or that wrestling that Lebron has with the fact
and the Lakers, with the fact that he's no longer
the guy there, and it came down with the technical
(25:49):
free throw. He's not supposed to take that. And what
was most interesting was his response afterwards, why wouldn't I
take it? Well, because you're not the guy anymore?
Speaker 7 (25:59):
And hey, Thros all.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
That particularly well, outside of the fact you're not a
great free throw shooter. Lucas shot like fifteen and he's
the better player now outside of that, like honestly, probably
be the third guy to take it, probably the third
game like's taken before him.
Speaker 6 (26:17):
But you know, the the other part was like, I
think it was a game, maybe it was Phoenix. I
think it was. I think it was Phoenix, But there
was a game recently where he was energized and defensively,
he was getting after it and it wasn't the whole game,
it was it was the second half. But I was
really impressed. And this is what I don't think we're
going to see, but what I would I would love
(26:40):
to see from Lebron, which is recognizing we got all
the offense we need. Luka, Doncic and Austin Reeves proved
that coming out of the gate. Uh and DeAndre Ayton
is playing much better than I think anybody expected him to.
Certainly me, you know where I can. I can I
can bring defense of energy because that's just what we need,
(27:03):
and I can still be a factor there and it
might be shorter minutes and it might not be the
same box score, but that's how I can positively affect
this game, affect this team.
Speaker 7 (27:14):
If he were, if he were.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
Approaching this this that way, I would be the first
to stand up and giving him give him a standing
ovation for having the humility to accept that role and understand,
you know what, I'm just here to win, and I'm
here to do whatever is necessary to support us winning.
And I unfortunately I don't. I have not seen that
(27:37):
for the for the most part, and I'm not counting
on seeing it, and and that's where it feels like
he's just he's having.
Speaker 7 (27:43):
Somewhat of a tantrum or you.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
Know, a silent protest that he's not the guy anymore.
So okay, guys, go ahead, Lukashow, let's let's see what
you got. I'm gonna work on my golf swing.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
That is only topped by the ouster of Chris Paul
with the Clippers. I mean, we're talking about a first
ballot Hall of Fame point guard who comes back to
the Clippers where he was mister lob City and not
only does he not make it to Christmas, they cut
(28:22):
him in the middle of the night on the road.
And now more and more details are coming out. All right,
so what happened? What really happened?
Speaker 6 (28:32):
Well, I don't know that we've got all of the
details quite yet, because clearly Lawrence Frank got to a
point where it was like, okay, that's enough, we're done.
And I don't know what that last straw was. I
haven't I haven't found that out yet. But there was
the last straw, and it was you know, while while
(28:56):
no one was paying attention to it, it was.
Speaker 7 (28:58):
Building for a while and I know from Chris Paul's history.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
I mean, if you just look at all the teams
he's been with over the last couple of years. Once
you're not the same player, then how you treat people,
how you carry yourself, how you think of yourself within
the organization, you gotta be careful because if you're rubbing
(29:25):
people the wrong way, and your contract ain't that big,
the financial commitment ain't that big, and your role or
your contribution to the team is not that big, at
some point it becomes, you know what, we would love
for this to be a fairy tale ending, but we're
just sick of you. So we're going to make a move.
And so the biggest, the only the question for me
(29:47):
is not that they made this move, or even that
they made this move when they did. It's that it
feels like it was an emotional decision in the moment,
And I don't know what in fired that emotional moment yet,
but I will continue to work at it and see
if I can find out.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Buke, thanks for joining us. We gotta we got to
keep this thing going. This is awesome finding the Seams,
by the way, just you know, I love talk of
the Seams. People understand that that's the the rubber part
of leather basketball is the seams, all right. Brendan Haywood
obviously can tell you that. Just so you know, I
was like one of I feel like five view on
Earth that could make any pass and deliver it on
(30:30):
the seams. So I I have, I have all ball,
but I wanted to call it on the seams. That's
what I wanted to call it.
Speaker 6 (30:36):
So that is quietly one of the gifts or the
skills that goes completely unappreciated except.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
For shooters to know that they're going to get that
ball in.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
The pocket and it's going to be lined up, and
it gives them that that extra point whatever seconds to
knock down a.
Speaker 7 (30:56):
Shot and has great effect on the percentage.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
So I'm with you. Tell Tell Brandon, and I said, Hi,
thanks for joining us.
Speaker 5 (31:03):
You gotta be sure to catch the live edition of
The Doug Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
It's the Doug Gottlieb Show here on Fox Sports Radio.
Have you heard about trainer games? This is add this
to your binge list. Ten athletes you go ahead to
head for a chance to win an I Fit trainer contract.
We're two hundred fifty grand streaming on Prime Video starting
January eighth. Let's get ties at Glowing Crown and play
a game.
Speaker 5 (31:33):
This is Game Tide on the Doug Gottlieb Show.
Speaker 8 (31:40):
I love what you got, but thank you, Doug, and
you know, friend Sesame Street helped raise all of us.
Now it's our turn donate this holiday season at sesame
dot org. Because the world needs Sesame and Sesame needs you.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
We need a game, lady, Game for better or Worse?
Speaker 8 (32:00):
All right, Big NFC West and NFC showdown tomorrow night, Doug,
who do you got for better or worse? The Rams
or the Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
A lot of emotion in this game for me because
I have been I'm like the I feel like I'm
the last of the Sam Donald Champions. And yeah, I'll
give cal Hurt a little bit of credit. Seahawks, they're
at home. This is the game Donald announces his presence
with authority. Mostly they're at home. Seahawks better than the
(32:35):
Rams tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
All right?
Speaker 8 (32:36):
So that was better or worse. I'm gonna call this
for worse or a little worse to a tongue of
Iloa or Deshaun Watson.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
To a tongue of Blaamber just a better person. And
the way in which he handled his benching yea was
with class. Hey look something, it just comes down to performance.
I'm performed.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Wasn't there There was a report that Deshaun Watson was
almost gonna be on the Dolphins right right. He was
in the mix with the Falcons, the Dolphins and the Browns.
So looking back, should the Dolphins have just gone full
to Shawn Mote?
Speaker 2 (33:18):
No, no, no.
Speaker 8 (33:21):
Actually I'll throw another wrinkle into this for better or
worse to a tongue of Iloa or Kyler Murray, good one.
Speaker 3 (33:27):
Yeah, guys who both sit on the curb in their legs, dangle.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Man, we represent a short You know the problem the NFL,
They just don't measure up to the other quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Literally diego.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Pobby is like, hey, hey, down here, pick out some
of your own size. Anyway, again, I'm gonna go. I'm
to go to a I just again, I don't think too.
I think Calimbur is better as more talent, he runs better,
whatever throws that he's smaller. But pause, But I just
think to it seems like a really decent human.
Speaker 8 (34:12):
Being on too, Uh, to his former team and the
college football Playoffs for better or worse, Alabama.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Or Alabama hold on chase to oh No.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
I still think the coolest thing of the most interesting
thing I've learned about college football this year is that
John Mellencamp has his own box above everything else at
IU so he can smoke SIGs and watch his watch.
Speaker 8 (34:42):
His Yeah, I thought it was like a booth in
the press box, but it's literally like a separate shack.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
It's like you can smoke a camera shit, right, It's
like for the guys, you get the birds.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
It's like you know what it basically is, It's like
that the smoking lounge at the airport, like the sat
place on Earth now only at an Indiana football game,
which used to be the saddest place on Earth.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
I learned yesterday in some report that the pouch, the
pouch has overtaken vaping, that overtook cigarettes. I wonder if
anyone's introduced Mellencamp to pouches and they can let them
inside the building.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
Zinsway, then there's there's all those other ones. The guys
that are zinners are zinners, and they just go through them,
They just go through they're.
Speaker 8 (35:30):
Constantly assembly line kind of deal.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
All right, final grandfather for I have zend.
Speaker 8 (35:35):
Oh that was actually very clever. I must ad been.
All right, this is the most controversial of all, controversial
of all For better or worse, gingerbread or pumpkin flavored cookies.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Not controversial, I don't. I think pumpkin flavor beats gingerbread.
The only thing cool about gingerbread is decorating them my
gingerbread house gingerbread cookies.
Speaker 8 (35:59):
I really don't see how either of those would be
better than chocolate chip cookies.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
Well, ah, yeah, this is a duality here, it's one
of two.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Now.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
I wanted to talk about this just because I wanted
to give a plug for Trader Joe's and their gingerbread cookies.
Speaker 8 (36:16):
Ah, I see, is this part of your Is this
part of an ni l deal over there and your
love that.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
We don't have Trader Joe's in Wisconsin? We need to change.
Speaker 8 (36:29):
I means you take your annual questionnaire online.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
My man, All right, there.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Is in the valley right by right by your studio,
there's a new Trader Joe's right across the street from
an old Trader Joe's.
Speaker 8 (36:39):
The parking lots though you know what I mean. There
a nightmare, it's worth It's get real and the Trader
Joe's parking lot, and it got real. On this edition
of For Better or Worse.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
We'll get to the midway. Plus we'll find out who
showers less Whole Foods workers or Trader Joe's workers. This
is Doug Gottlieb Show.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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