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December 27, 2025 • 11 mins

American sports analyst Leon Busby joined Jason Pine to chat about the latest in US sport from the NFL, NBA, and NCAA Football.

As 'Black Monday' approaches a high turnover rate is increasingly expected.

"There's a lot of rumours going on and as, as per ESPN's Adam Schefter, he's a senior NFL insider for the network. He's projected there'll be anywhere between 7 and 9 openings as the regular season comes to a close.

"At this time, there are already 2 vacancies, and Monday, January 5th will be the day of reckoning, commonly referred to as Black Monday," Busby said.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from News talks 'b.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
For the final time in twenty twenty five. Let's take
your state side. Our American sports expertly On Busby is here.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Lee.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
I want to talk some college football and NFL with you.
Can we start with the NBA though and the NBA Cup. Now,
this is the in season tournament. Have I got that right?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Yeah, you're right, be a pony. So ten days ago,
the New York Knicks they won their first piece of
silverwear for the first time in the fifty two years
when they defeated the San Antorial Spurs one hundred and
twenty four one hundred and thirty in Las Vegas. They're
listed the NBA Cup bed by Starkwood Jalen Brunson, who
was named I guess expectedly took him an MVP. Now,

(00:50):
the last time I was on, I mentioned the great
Kobe Bryant and how he spoke passionately, how the only
banners that should be hanging from the rafters are those
that celebrated championships. So thankfully the Knicks have adopted that
same attitude, and despite pressure from the NBA head office,
they will not be hanging a cup bend, which I
personally agree with. I don't like to La Lakers and

(01:10):
Milwaukee Bucky Nurse to hang a band, which I feel
is not a good look. Finy, No, you.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Just you hang it for the main championship, Leon, I
totally agree with you. I totally agree with you. We'll
let's them look where we are to be. It's an
eighty two game regular season. We're sort of thirty games
in or so, so I guess just over a third
urge leading the standings in the East and the West.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
Yes, as you're lunat you new in the halfway stage
of the regular season. In the East, leading the standings
of the Detroit Pistons, the Knicks, the Boston Celtics, the
Toronto Raptors, and the Philadelphia seventy six is rounding out
the top five. Now out on the West of defending
champion Okase's Thunder lead the league with a twenty six
and five records, followed by the Spurs, the Denver Nuggets,

(01:53):
the Lakers, and the Minnesota Timberwolf.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Are there any big names on the trade block?

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yes, In terms of trade news, is really only a
couple of names on the lips of fans. Ye, such
a Compo from the Bucks and Anthony Davis from the
Dallas Mavericks. Now the Greek Freak and Ada dominating trade
rooms with the NBA trade deadline moving on February five.
Both the league players are one time NBA champions, while
Giannis there's also a two time league MVP, so they

(02:23):
won't come cheap. So there's a lot of speculation where
they may land, especially as openly said that New York
would be his preferred option ifdeed he does ships, they
will certainly be keeping eyes on that pony.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Is it too early to start having an MVP conversation
or of those discussions are started, I guess fans will
be starting to talk about who might be in that
MVP conversation.

Speaker 3 (02:47):
Yes, so it's never too billion. And if you look
at the MVP ladder, it hasn't really changed in recent
months with the usual suspect what the Joker and FGA
are the too clear. I guess they're in a two
horse race at the moment for the award, with Luca
Dontic to the Lakers, Kaye Cunningham of the Pistons and
Brunton of the Knicks. Rounding out the top five. They
just in cash your listeners are unaware, Pony. To be

(03:09):
eligible for the MVP Award, you have to play a
minimum of sixty five games in the regular season. As
you alluded to, it's eighty two regular season games, so
you have to play at least sixty five games to
be considered for that award. All right, yeah, sorry, care on, Pony.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
No, I was just going to ask. I mean, I
know there's betting markets out for favorites to win the
NBA and to win the MVP Awards, So what are
they telling us?

Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yes, so at the moment, like you look at XGA, right,
I mean he won the award last year. He led
his team to the tammis to say, he's on an
unbelievable care Right now, the Canadian has ninety four This
is crazy, ninety four straight games with at least twenty
points sticking all time only to you might have heard
of the guy Will Chamberlain who's done one hundred and
twenty six. So by comparison, Lebron James bearstreak is forty

(03:57):
nine and Steph Curry's is twenty three. So however, Yokis
are still doing Yokis things creating history most nights they
still be. In Superstar yesterday, he recorded his fifteenth triple
double from thirty games this year, dropping fifty six points,
sixteen balls, and fifteen assists and a three and overtime
one thirty eight win over the Timberwolves. Done the process,

(04:20):
the three time MVP also break a record set by
Steph Curry in twenty sixteen by scoring eighteen points in overtime,
and to top it off, created NBA history again by
becoming the first players had at least fifty five fifteen
and fifteen and a triple double. Currently, he's the only
active player averaging a triple double and remains on a

(04:40):
higher all round offensive plane than just about everyone else.
And no remember alone Yokis average thirty two to eleven
and eleven. It's quite remarkable what he's doing. Piney, and
for most Partty just strikes it off and always focuses
as postmatch comments on the team's great.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, incredible, incredible numbers that he is pulling out. Yeah,
I want to move to college football. The Heisman Trophy,
Now this is for the top player in college football,
isn't it? Has this been handed out?

Speaker 3 (05:07):
Yeah? So This is considered one of the most prestigious
individual awards in all American sports. That two weeks ago,
the annual Heisman Trophy ceremony took place. Indiana quarterback Fernando
Mendoza etched his name into college football intube by winning
the prestigious award Force performance in the twenty twenty five season. Mendoza,
in his first season of Bloomington Leather Hoosia's historically known

(05:28):
for their strong basketball program, to an undefeated thirteen to
oer record and the program's first big Den puddle since
nineteen forty five. He'd be three other finalists who made
the trip to New York City and was very humble
during his acceptance speech. Who was well deserved?

Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, good stuff. Now, that wouldn't be playoffs without a
bit of controversy. Anything to tell us here, Yes, So.

Speaker 3 (05:50):
When the regular season first for college football, there was
a lot of talk about which teams did and did
not make the playoffs. So this seems to be the
biggest sticking point with college football right now, and most
analysts are saying that the only way to avoid this
messy situation in the future is to expand a number
of teams from twelve to sixteen, if not more so,
most schools would prefer this option and would be collectively

(06:12):
rubbing their hands together with glee for one reason alone,
the power of your mighty dollar. The bottom line pioneers
that money is that money speaks, and sports much louder
than anything else. And that said there, I think I
think you might be right.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
So the way the college football playoff break at works
from what I can see here, and you'll correct me,
the top four goes straight through to the quarterfinals. There
are there's the first round. But we're at the quarter
final stage now, aren't we.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah, so at the post So you hear a lot
about they have these so called bowl games with those
are just pretty much money grabbing things for sports you
don't make the playoffs. They're starting this Friday, the defending
champion Ohio State playing Miami. Then on Saturday Georgia versus
Old Miss Indiana versus Alabama, and findally Texas Tech versus Oregon.

(06:57):
So yeah, you were saying. The luxury is that those
teams that qualified the highest, they get a rest or
a buyas and so the semis of spanners later on
for January ten and eleven, while the National Championship Game
is actually on January twenty first Pony in Florida.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, gotta got a winner, forest On got a winner?

Speaker 3 (07:13):
Who what?

Speaker 1 (07:14):
Ohig state?

Speaker 3 (07:16):
You know I'm going to sit on the fence with this. Yeah, yeah,
I know. I don't normally say that, but this is
a tough one the pick, because I think most people
were expecting, uh, probably Georgia at higher state. But when
a higher state lost that that final two Indiana, I
think it's sort of thrown a bit of a spin
in the works there. So I think I'll stay utube
on this.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
On Pony, I don't mind it. I don't mind it.
It's a very sensible, sensible approach. Let's go to the NFL.
Been a bit of a head coaching carousel in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yes, there's a lot of rumors going on, and as
as per ESPN's Adam Schift, he's a CIAR NFL insider
for the network, he's projected there will be anywhere between
seven and nine openings as the regular season comes to close. There.
At this time, there are already two vacancies, and Monday,
January five will be the Day of Reckoning, commonly referred
to as Black Monday. Now, this them originated in the

(08:07):
late nineteen nineties and has since become synonymous with the
first Monday following the competion of the regular season, with
many coaches, assistance as well, and even some front office
staff are let go due to a team's poor performance. Now,
remember there are only thirty two head coaching positions in
the NFL, and teams are hot. Yeah, to become a coach,
that's highly sought after in terms of financial remuneration and prestige.

(08:30):
The good luck if you can get it, Pliny, absolutely so.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Tell us who's leading the AFC and the ANFC with
what only a couple of games to go?

Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (08:39):
So, In terms of current conference standings, the AFC has
a Denver Broncos as the number one seed with the
best overall record in the league, followed by the New
England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, LA Chargers, and the
Buffalo Bills. The Steelers are the only team not to
have consed a playoff birth yet so. Over in the NFC,
the Theattle Seahawks are seated at number one, followed by

(09:01):
the Chicago Bears, the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers,
San Francisco forty nine Ers, LA Rams, and the Green
Bay Packers. So the Panthers there are the only team
yet the cincher playoff spot as well.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
Have you got the latest odds for us on MVP
in the NFL yep, So.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
Like the NBA, the pretty nice for MVP in the
Super Bowl win. I'm very open, more so than in
recent years. So the Rams, the LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
He remains the firm favorite and most beating circles, despite
the Patriots drat May and raining MVP Josh Allen for
the Bills closing the gap. Now, the latest NFL Powell
rankings point to the LA Rams, followed by the Seattle Seahawks,

(09:43):
the Buffalo Bills, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Broncos, the Denver Broncos,
and the New England Patriots rounding out the top six. So,
as always, the biggest determining fact it will again be
which team stays healthy and has the deeper roster when
injuries doing evitably happened finding so.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Only a couple of our rounds to go. I think
Round seventeen got underway yesterday with three games. If you
want to come and then Round eight any games and
particularly you've got your eyes.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
On yes, Well, let's take a look at some of
the marquee matchups over the final two rounds. The only
games are really matter with the playoffs, Gloomy. Let's look
at the AFC that the clash tomorrow with the Chargers
hosting the Texans. That should be a really good game.
I think the Texans have won like five or six
games in a row, so they're on a real role.
Bobby games on Monday, three pivotal games of the Panthers

(10:29):
hosting the Seahawks, the Bills hosting the Eagles, and the
Bears away to the forty nine Ers. Now the following
and final week of the regular season, he's a Bronco's
hosting the Chargers and the Seahawks on the road at
the forty nine Ers. I'm a bit handed and again
to pick an eventual Super Bowl when a pony at
the stage as these last couple of weeks, we'll give
us a clearer pitch on which he will have the
better path the Super Bowl sixty that beings dead Piney,

(10:52):
I'm tending to lean more towards La Rams from the
NFC and the Houston Texans from the AFC to Lockhorns
in San Francisco for the Vince Lombardy tracer on February Again,
thanks for having me on again today, pointing the opportunity
throughout the year. This year, my thoughts was steads have
a say a few years with the family, nor the
best you and your listeners in twenty twenty six. Mates.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
Oh you're a good man, Leon. Thanks so much for
joining us. Mate. We've loved your contributions across the year
and we'll pick it up again early in twenty twenty six.
I can tell you as well as you know, my
son Johnny is a big NFL fan and I asked
him yesterday I hit about chat who he was picking
for the Super Bowl and he said the La Rams
as well. So sounds as though you and he are
on the same wavelength. Good on you, mate, Leon Busby
State site our American sports expert.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk sed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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