Cincy 36 w/ Austin Elmore -- 3/20/25

Austin recaps what the last couple months means for the Bengals, chats with Charlie Goldsmith, Jeff Carr, and Chad Brendel. Plus, he takes your calls and TalkBacks on ESPN 1530!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is Skyline Chile. Since he three to sixty about Cincinnati
from Cincinnati, sponsored in part by Skyline Chile. Stop by
Skyline Chile for a three way or chee Coney today.
Feeling good, It's Skyline time. This is ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hi, Hello and welcome in a Thursday edition of Cincy
three sixty right here on ESPN fifteen thirty. My name
is Austin Elmore. Happy to be with you for the
next three hours as we have a lot to talk about.
As it is day one of March Madness. The NCAA
Men's basketball Tournament in bulk getting underway today. First four

(00:42):
is finished Xavier with a comeback win last night. Down
by thirteen at one point, they find a way to
come back and beat Texas to advance into the round
of sixty four. They'll be taking on Illinois, uh Kentucky
plays coming up this weekend as well. Is about to
get things started with the first game of the tournament

(01:04):
up against Creighton. There is a lot a lot going
on that we will be discussing. We want to get
into I want to get into the Reds a little bit.
I have questions about the Reds for Charlie Goldsmith, who's
going to join us at one o'clock, and for Jeff Carr,
who's going to join us at two o'clock. I've got
some Bengals questions for Charlie as well. But I've noticed

(01:26):
myself over the last couple of days as being glass
half empty about the Reds. You've heard our conversations talking
about the idea that this offense may not be good enough,
and I think we all kind of knew that, but
we were just kind of blinded by the fact that, oh, yeah,
Terry Francone is coming, He's going to fix a lot

(01:46):
of stuff. And it almost felt like we weren't allowed
to be negative because the Reds did something right, and
so we were just kind of enjoying that. But now
here we are again talking about injuries and the impact
that injuries will have on this team moving forward, and
it makes you wonder can they actually be competitive in

(02:09):
Major League Baseball this year and in the National League
Central talk to Charlie about it at one, We'll talk
to Jeff about it coming up at two o'clock as well.
Talkbacks will happen in their normal segment today at one
point twenty will give out a Sincy Shirts gift card.
Looking forward to doing that and as along road to
ho If you're trying to get past Robert Kennedy Junior,

(02:31):
who left a talkback earlier today speaking of Sincey Shirts.
Since the Shirts has donated two fifty dollars gift cards
to give away tomorrow, you might be saying, well, what's tomorrow? Tomorrow?
At this time, right now, twenty four hours from this moment,
we will be at Oakley Greens in Oakley, celebrating college

(02:53):
basketball and the tournament and brackets being busted. I'm sure
already today Tony and myself at Oakley Greens. If you've
not been, fantastic place to hang out, watch sports, play
a little putt putt. I don't even know that you
would consider it put putt because if you've never been,
it's like it's not like a putt putt course with

(03:13):
all the bells and whistles. It's like legitimate greens. It's
like difficult. You're like putting on a real golf course,
and it's a whole lot of fun. Tony's gonna try
to sneak in eighteen before we go on the air.
Looking forward to being out there tomorrow at Oakley. Invite
you to join us at Oakley Greens for our show

(03:34):
from twelve to three pm. We'll also talk to Chad
Brindle quick hits and locks of the night. I have
a question for Chad Brindle and all uc fans as
it pertains to the Xavier Musketeers that I will ask
him and also talk about in the second segment coming up.
In just a little bit second segment today's show, you're

(03:54):
gonna hear from Sean Miller, the victorious head coach of
the Xavier Musketeers, met with the media last night. You
also hear the final moments of that comeback victory for
the Muskies. We'll get into that in segment number two today.
Anything else that I've missed in terms of headlines, in
terms of sports headlines of the day outside of the

(04:16):
tournament getting started. We do have a little bit of
information on the Bengals. It is reported by Jordan Schultz
because apparently Jordan Schultz is a Bengals insider. Now at
the Bengals, we'll be hosting veteran guard Lucas Patrick on
a free agent visit tomorrow. He gets into Cincinnati tonight.
Patrick has started sixty four games in his career, started

(04:39):
eleven games for the Saints last year. He's played guard,
He's played center. He is fine. He's not a player
that you would get excited about. His overall PFF grade
last year was sixty four point six. That's slightly above average.
He had a sixty point three pass blocking grade a
sixty six point three run blocking grade. He had five

(05:03):
hundred and sixty two offensive snaps played last year, had
just six penalties, did not allow a sack, did not
allow a quarterback hit. Has not allowed either one of
those over the last two years. Six foot three, three
hundred and thirteen pounds and a thirty one year old
guard out of Duke is Lucas Patrick visiting the Bengals tomorrow.

(05:24):
The Boston Celtics have been up for sale for a while.
Well today they were sold at an astounding six point
one billion dollars. The Celtics were sold for that beats
out the price that Josh Harris paid for the Washington
Commanders just a couple of years ago. A new owner
by the name of William something Bill Bill Chisholm, I

(05:48):
think is his name, Bill Chisholm. Whatever That guy's name is.
He's the new owner of the Boston Celtics, and he
he bottom for six point one billion dollars. We are
one week away from opening day, one week from right now, Moe, myself,
Tony a block and a bridge away from the ballpark
at Smoke Justice. Looking forward to being there and looking

(06:11):
forward to hearing from you today some of your opening
day memories. You may have heard those commercials airing with
seg going through some of his rolodex of opening day memories.
I'm curious what your opening day memories are, what your
favorite moment is from an opening day. There's been a lot,
there's been snow, there's been rain, there's been walkoff homers,

(06:33):
there's been devastating defeats, there's been tragedy at opening day.
I want to know about your memories from opening Day
and what comes to mind when you think of Cincinnati's
unofficial holiday. So that's setting the table. Also have two
pole questions today, back to back days. We've got two

(06:54):
pole questions, the revived Fitness Systems dot Com Poll questions
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(07:17):
a comprehensive at base program, and you can do it
all for under four dollars a day. Here is the
questions Number one, Xavier wins last night. How far can
Xavier make it in the NCAA Tournament. You can vote
at audio more at ESPN fifteen thirty. Your options are
they're going to lose to Illinois, they'll make it to

(07:39):
the round of thirty two, they can get to the
Sweet sixteen or Elite eight or more. How far can
Xavier go? Right now, thirty nine percent say they're going
to lose to Illinois, but right behind that thirty percent
say sweet sixteen. Post question number two and will lead
me into topic number one to start today's show After

(08:03):
all this time, How do you feel about Carson Palmer
and I did this. This has been kind of sitting
with me because the national media kept bringing it up,
and I know some of the local people here have
described it as this whole offseason was like figuring out
if Carson Palmer. Part two was going to happen with

(08:24):
Joe Burrow, and so I asked the question, after all
this time, how do you feel about Carson Palmer. Your
options are still hate him, still love him, don't care,
or he was right sorry Carson right now? Sixty percent
say they don't care. I think you should care. I've
been trying to sit with this over the last couple

(08:47):
of months because it can sometimes be exhausting to hold
a team to a standard, and that's kind of what
I've been experiencing over the last couple of months. I
think when we all saw this team turn the corner

(09:11):
with Burrow and with Chase and make the run to
the Super Bowl, we got a taste of what it's
like to be a relevant and competitive NFL franchise. And
when you follow that up with a second year in
which you go right back to the AFC Championship game
and you were this close, this close to going right

(09:32):
back to the Super Bowl, you became thirsty for as
much of that feeling as you could. And with it
came this demand of the team to keep that window
as open as possible. With the national attention came the
organization being under a spotlight to do everything right. And

(09:57):
while I have made the argument many times in the
past that they have changed and they are heading in
the right direction, there was still some doubt that crept
into this offseason. There was doubt because there were multiple
trade requests, There's still an unresolved situation with Trey Hendrickson,
and the words far apart were used on t Higgins

(10:20):
and Jamar Chase, and this coming after Joe Burrow publicly
put pressure onto the organization, and so after the press
conference this week where you kind of put a bow
on the most notable story of the off season, and
there's still Trey Hendrickson to come in the draft to come,
and I get all that, but when you put a

(10:42):
bow on that, and Moe always likes to joke about
how here in our business we get so many segments
out of stuff like this. I mean, whether it's emojis
or reports or rumors or other options, free agency, draft,
whatever it is, you get so many segments out of this.
And as I was thinking about it this week, it's
finally over and we'll have to pivot to actually talking

(11:05):
about football and getting more into the baseball season and
so on. And I was trying to just have fun
with that press conference. I was trying to enjoy it,
but yet I couldn't help myself but say, man, that's cool,
but what if they don't get a guard to protect
Joe Burrow? And I feel like there's a lot of

(11:28):
Bengals fans that are stuck in the middle of like
caring so much about trying to win and holding the
team to a standard. Because I've said this before, I
believe it is a fans job to hold the organization
accountable and hold them to a standard. But that can

(11:49):
also be really, really exhausting. I think sometimes we can
lose the plot of like sports are supposed to be
fun and these guys are human beings. And I thought
the press conference with Jamar Chase and t Higgins was
a good reminder of the fact that these guys are
human beings, and their lives have just changed, and they've

(12:11):
given a lot to Cincinnati and they're gonna give a
lot more to Cincinnati. And for a few minutes, for
half an hour the other day, all the problems that
we'd been talking about constantly went away, and I was
thankful for that, and I was trying to allow myself

(12:31):
to sit in that. But even then I couldn't because
I still have that thirst for wanting a championship. I
have this idea of holding them accountable and it's not
good enough, and you have to protect Joe Burrow. And
I know many of you are tired of talking about

(12:53):
the Higgins and Chase thing, and I get it. I'm
I'm ready to be done with it too. But I'm
trying to recap the feelings of the last several months,
and it makes me wonder has the fan base in
and of itself completely changed because you've got a taste
of what it was supposed to look like. And the
word that Jamar use that the phrase that Jamar used

(13:16):
in his press conference this week was we know what
it smells like, and now you're on the hunt for
that scent all the time. And that's a good thing
for players and coaches and the organization the front office
to be That's a good place for them to be in.
I think it's also a mixed place for the fan

(13:38):
base to be in because you want to have fun
and you want to enjoy this period of Bengals football.
You want to enjoy the fact that you've got three
of the best players that have ever played for the franchise.
Right now you might have You actually have a fourth
when you consider Trey Hendrickson. You are in right now
the golden age of Bengals football. This is as good

(14:00):
is it's going to get you. We always talk about
the Big Red Machine and how good those teams were
in the seventies, And we always talk about the Bengals
in the eighties and the two Super Bowl appearances and
how great those players were and how this city fell
in love with that those teams in the eighties. We're
experiencing that right now. It's like that scene from the

(14:24):
Office when Andy is talking to the camera and he says,
I wish there was a way to know you're in
the good old days before you've actually left them. These
are the good old days. These are the moments that
you're going to look back on fondly. These are the

(14:44):
seasons and the players and the personalities that create new
generations of fans over and over again. The national relevance
that this organization currently has is so beneficial to its future.
I've talked about this. I've asked the question, why do
Bengals fans care so much about what the national media

(15:07):
thinks if you have a relationship with the truth, if
you know what is true, then you don't have to
get all hot and bothered about what the national perspective is.
I think there's one fair counterpoint, which is that a
national perspective often becomes a public perspective for people who

(15:29):
don't know better. And that's true. That very well. That's
a good point. However, I also would say that if
you have a relationship with truth, and you know the
truth of how the organization is being run and the
people that are in it and how and what the
plan is or whatever it might be, then you don't

(15:52):
need to be upset by what the national media is saying.
And the Bengals social media team last night kind of
took a shot at all the people who had been
saying that the Bengals aren't going to get it done
with Jamar and Tea, and good for them. They deserve
to take a victory lap on some of those people
because they did do it. And oh, by the way,

(16:14):
lost in all of this is that they did get
Jamar Chase done early, they extended him early, and they
got the extension with Chase done well before the Vikings
got their extension with Jamar with Justin Jefferson done last year.
So again one of the things we've been asking the
Bengals to do, which is to sign your great players early.

(16:37):
They tried to do it last year, but Rocky Arsenal,
the agent for the for Chase and Higgins, said got
both teams kind of decided to walk away right before
the season started, and it worked out well for Jamar.
That's okay. They still got him done early. Both of

(16:59):
those deals lower the cap hit for this year and
you set yourself up financially moving forward to continue to
build the roster. And some of the people who were
a part of this post by the Bengals took exception
to it and tried to remind people that yes, the

(17:19):
Bengals are taking a victory lap because they did something
they don't normally do. But the reason they're being criticized
is because they don't normally do those things. And I
thought Mike Florio, who is one of the most hated
people by Bengals fans, made a good point in his
article today kind of responding to that video. He said,

(17:41):
if the Bengals are going to brag, they better be
ready to continue pay Trey Hendrickson pay other deserving players
higher more than a few scouts so that the team
will do a better job drafting the young players who
will become the stars of tomorrow. Are there any Bengals
fans that disagree with that? If so, you're probably not

(18:02):
a Bengals fan. Florio continues by saying, the Bengals are
acting as if they've turned the page to a new
reality that will be characterized by lavish spending and a
fresh obsession with winning at all costs. Bookmark the tweet,
Let's see what happens. If you're a Bengals fan. Do

(18:22):
you disagree with that? Do you disagree that the Bengals
should put their money where their mouth is?

Speaker 3 (18:29):
Now?

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Are we overreacting to a minute long video posted by
the Bengals digital team? Maybe, but also again, national relevance
has the Bengals in the conversation, and so okay, I
think Bengals fans would agree that, Yes, the Bengals do
need to turn the page and they do need to

(18:50):
put their money where their mouth is. Florio continues, watch
the expenditures limited by a salary cap. More importantly, watch
the expenditures that aren't. Will the Bengals beef up scouting.
Will they otherwise spare no expense to lay the foundation
to maximize the window of opportunity for winning championships under Burrow?

(19:13):
Any Bengals fans disagree with that? Should that not be
the ultimate goal? You have this, You've found this diamond
in the rough. Now you've got to protect it. Florio
goes on, who knows what they'll do, but I know this,
the moment they revert to pinching pennies on anything, they'll
be reminded about their victory lap for finally behaving the

(19:35):
way they should have been behaving for years. Bengals fans,
do you disagree with that? That's kind of the point
here is to not do what you did for so long.
Florio says, if they're smart, they won't let that happen
during the balance of Burrow's prime.

Speaker 4 (19:55):
Hmm.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
I agree with Mike Florio and all that right there.
If you don't, then I don't know that you could
be considered a Bengals fan. I don't know that you
could be. That sort of stuff is why you should
care about the national media and why putting pressure on
them publicly from the national media's perspective is a good thing.

(20:20):
I've made this point before. I don't know that it
drives decision making, but right now inside that organization, there
is more attention being paid to the perception of this
organization than at any point in its history, and that's
a good thing. I'm not saying decisions are being made

(20:42):
on it, but the outside perception now matters. Inside the
walls at pay Core Stadium, public pressure is a good thing,
not only from the national media, but also from the
fan base, and more importantly, the public pressure from the
inside of the building by the players in the quarterback

(21:06):
are just as important as anything else. I brought up
Carson Palmer as a part of the poll question for today,
and I saw some people, and I know this doesn't
speak for a lot of Bengals fans, but I saw
a lot of people kind of taking shots at Carson
Palmer as if to say, look, we told you so. Listen,

(21:31):
Carson Palmer did this fifteen years ago. He was trying
to do what Joe Burrow just did. Now, Carson was
not as popular, was not as good, was not playing
at as high of a level, did not have all
the great weapons around him as Joe Burrow does. I
know that they are not on an equal playing field.

(21:51):
But what Carson Palmer was trying to do fifteen years
ago is what Joe Burrow just did. I've heard Mo
talking this week about the power that Burrow now wields.
He's essentially Zach and Duke's boss, and Mo being funny
about it, but also he's right. No player has ever
had this much power. And it is again an indication

(22:15):
to me that the Bengals are rethinking the way that
they've done business for so long. I went back to
the documentary done on Carson Palmer. It's called A Football Life,
and this was done by NFL Films a few years ago,
and I went back to the part where Carson was
discussing what happened in his time in Cincinnati at the end,

(22:40):
and I want you to listen to this and tell
me if it sounds familiar to you at all, here's
Carson Palmer.

Speaker 5 (22:47):
I was under the impression that when I signed the
extension that one my most important thing was Kidna needs
to be here to be in my backup. They didn't
resign him, and they just disrespected him on his way
out the door. And two like they were going to
hire a GM. It was going to be there was
going to be some change, we were going to modernize.
That didn't happen.

Speaker 6 (23:06):
Palmer took a beating and the Bengals record began to
fall eight and eight in two thousand and six, seven
and nine in two thousand and seven, and four eleven
and one in two thousand and eight.

Speaker 5 (23:21):
Something needed to change. And I can't tell you the
amount of times guys were like, man, you got to
go talk to Mike and there was just some obvious
upgrades that needed to happen, and we were so far
underneath the salary cap. It just made sense and I did,
and it just didn't work. He just disagreed with me.
And maybe a day or two after the season, I
called mister Brown's like, hey, can we talk. You have

(23:42):
to be aggressive in pursuit of winning, and I told
him how I was feeling, and I wasn't getting the
answers I wanted. We get into it again and it's
getting heated.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
I'm frustrated.

Speaker 5 (23:52):
I've been thinking about all this for a couple of years,
but it's like coming to a boily point for me,
and I'm sure the same for him. He's a very, very,
very stubborn man. I might be more stubborn than him.
I walked out. As I was walking out, I said,
mister Brown, if you don't trade me, I'm gonna retire.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
Carson Palmer saying a lot of stuff and having a
lot of conversations about much of what we've talked about
for the last few months. Again, though the Bengals pivot.
They get the deal done early with Jamar Chase. Yes,
it cost them, but they were trying to get it
done even a year earlier before that. They've guaranteed money.

(24:33):
Now it's about how do you build around Joe Burrow
And I'm stuck between trying to hold them accountable and
keep them in their aggressive pursuit of a championship and
also enjoy the fact that this is an incredible moment
in Bengals history that has now laid the foundation for

(24:55):
years to come. Moe always says, be good or be interested.
The Bengals could be both. Moving forward, take a break,
we'll come back. We'll talk. Xavier. Phone lines open as well.
Five one, three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty. You can
tweeted me at audio more. This is Sincy three sixty
brought to you by Skyline Chilly on the Home of
the Bengals ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (25:18):
Hey, Alexa, who's on the daylong the baseline out to
mc knight, over.

Speaker 7 (25:26):
To Conwell, Conwell crosses the timeline.

Speaker 2 (25:32):
Doctor. That was the call last night, seven hundred wl
W Byron and Joe on the call. As Xavier puts
the finishing touches on a eighty six eighty victory over
the Texas, Longhur horns Xavier advancing to the round of
sixty four. Well they will where they will play Illinois.

(25:55):
That game, starting off, Texas was just a better team.
Texas made shots early, they shot the ball really really well,
got Xavier into foul trouble trouble, and then you know,
Zavid just missed on some open shots. Shots just weren't falling,
and it felt like Xavier was a step behind everything
Texas was doing. Texas did a great job taking away

(26:17):
the passing lanes, putting pressure on Xavier, making him work
in the half court. And Texas did a great job
getting out and running early. But I'll tell you what
the stretch right before the half where Xavier is able
to claw back and then right out of the half
when they go on a run to make it a
competitive game. They were a much different and a much
better team to start the second half where the Xavier Musketeers.

(26:41):
Here is one minute of Sean Miller after the game
talking about the victory.

Speaker 8 (26:45):
You know, my initial thoughts are, you know, it's one
of the greatest games I've been a part of. You know,
I obviously the energy of our of the crowd, our
fans certainly took advantage of the proximity to Cincinnati and
UH and that emotion and when we needed them, it
was certainly a factor in the game. I think all
three of these guys would tell you that we certainly

(27:06):
felt it, really appreciated it. Look, I thought we beat
an excellent Texas team. You know, they are disciplined, they
have depth and talent. You know Johnson, we knew it
was going to be, you know, a tall order to
guard him, and it was. You know, he had twenty
three points for no lack of effort on our parts.

(27:27):
So we knew we beat a really good team from
the SEC and we knew going into the game it
was going to be a great challenge. I'm just so
proud of these three in our team. There were just
times in the game where you did it didn't feel
like it was going to go our way. But I'll
just stick with resilience. It's the badge of this group.

(27:48):
Right when you think you're going to count us out,
we win. Right when you think things aren't going to
go well, we have found a way. And I think
that's a great characteristic in this year's in any ENC tournament,
and we certainly have that.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
Sean Miller talking with the media after the eighty six
eighty win. Xavier led by Marcus Foster twenty two points.
Freemantle had fifteen, Conwell and Dalon Swain eleven each, altogether
a good good performance from Xavier. Dante Maddox added ten
off the bench. Only three players off the bench played

(28:22):
for Xavier. Trey Johnson had twenty three for Texas in
a good effort. But the Muskies are done. Looks like
Rodney Terry no longer going to be the head coach
of the Musk of the of the Longhorn. So we'll
we'll see what happens there moving forward. All right, we'll
take a break, we'll come back. Your phone calls five, one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. This is Sincy three to sixty brought to

(28:45):
you by Skyline Chilly on the Home of the Bengals
ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 9 (28:50):
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(29:12):
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Speaker 2 (29:17):
Men, this is Jeff for tri Statements Road.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
Sincy three sixty carries on on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (29:33):
AWESO Nomore with you since three sixty, ESPN fifteen thirty.
NC DOUBLEA tournament underway right now in Lexington, Louisville, trailing
Creighton twenty to nineteen ten, eighteen to go in the
first half. That's the first game high point in Purdue
coming up shortly as well. We will keep you updated

(29:54):
on everything that's going on with the NC DOUBLEA turn
as the day moves along. Phone calls five on three
fifteen thirty. You can also tweeted me at Audielmore a
U T y E L m O r E. Let's
go to Virginia. That's where Jeff is. Jeff, what's up?

Speaker 10 (30:14):
Oh?

Speaker 11 (30:14):
Happy Thursday, Austin. The thought on Opening Day and then
the thought on Florio. When I was young, probably eight
or nine years in a row, my older sister and
I always went to Opening Day, sat in the top
two rows, the red seats. Every type of weather except
for sonny and warm, it seemed like, and for me,

(30:34):
Hank Aaron seven fourteen will always stand out. It's hard
to think about anything other than that for.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
Us older folks.

Speaker 11 (30:42):
But you know all the drama for the two days
after it of the braves are gonna sit them on
the bench and all that good stuff. So you know,
it was great to get back last year and see
you guys. I hadn't been Opening Day for like twenty
five years.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
Oh really? Yeah, So you know what, it's what's funny great.
What's funny about the Hank Aaron Homer is that Marty's
call is used as the call more than the braves
call was. I was in Atlanta this past summer and
they have this whole thing around. Hank Aaron at the
ballpark and you hear Marty Brenneman's call of the home run,

(31:16):
you don't hear the Braves call of the home run.
Its actually kind of crazy.

Speaker 11 (31:20):
That was Marty's first game as a restaurants, right.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
Yeah, it was first game, first inning.

Speaker 11 (31:27):
Yeah, but I'm snow neverbove forty five. You know, my
dad would write a note. I'm sure the school had
a stack of notes fifteen deep on that secretary's desk.
But it was great and it won't be this year,
but I'll get back again. And just on Florio, I
don't think he's earned the benefit of the doubt with
Bengals fans, and even him just saying when they returned

(31:51):
to their penny pinching ways kind of shows where his
mindset is. How does he know what's going to happen
in the future. You know that maybe maybe the past
is the past, and like we've talked about all along,
maybe Mike's influences almost off the table.

Speaker 12 (32:06):
Now.

Speaker 11 (32:07):
The salary CAP's gonna go up thirty million dollars a year,
and they've now guaranteed three contracts into the second year.
The agents aren't gonna let them get away from.

Speaker 2 (32:16):
That, right, Yeah, And they even talked about that. It's like,
you know that that's that's gonna be a thing moving forward.
Rocky Arsenal did that, said that in his his interview
with Kelsey Conway, is like, I know other players are
now going to want this. So the Bengals are obviously
comfortable opening up that door for three players. Now, is
it gonna be like that all every time?

Speaker 4 (32:37):
No?

Speaker 2 (32:37):
Probably not, but yeah, I mean until they consistently do it,
people are still going to be skeptical.

Speaker 11 (32:45):
Yeah, but just going back to two years ago, Oh,
the league has to investigate how they've handled Burrow's wrist injury.
Where did he come up with that idea? You know,
that was just completely out of the blue. So, like
I said, I don't think he's earned the benefit of
a doubt here. We'll just see how things going forward.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
I will say I will say YouTube, Jeff, thank you.
I appreciate the call. I will say this about Mike Florio.
He's really really good at ruffling feathers and he knows
that if if you get a chance. Dan Horde did
an interview with Florio at the Combine on the Bengals
Beat podcast and Dan kind of references that talks about

(33:25):
it and Florio. He's made a living off of kind
of being that guy, a bit of a contrarian and
knows how to ruffle the feathers of fan bases. The
good thing about Florio if you're a Bengals fan is
that there's like twenty seven other teams that hate his
guts too. So if nothing else, he's consistent. It just

(33:49):
does feel like the Bengals are in the uh, the
spotlight more often than not for Mike Florio the crosshairs.
I should say, let's go to Mike in La Mike,
what's up, Hey.

Speaker 3 (34:00):
Austin, thanks for taking my call, palper s. Yeah, kicking
ass as usual like you always do. Good jumps. Hey,
uh yeah, we got the Battle of the birds, the
Cardinals and the blue Jays. That's the dandy already to
open it up with an eight and a nine. You
can't top it.

Speaker 12 (34:17):
Go blue Jays.

Speaker 3 (34:21):
The call Prinner is gonna make you wish you never
saw a blue Jay blue you know, Oh yeah, I
know that, I know that. Yeah, they're moon birds. Hey,
real quick with the I want to hit the reds
real quick after this, but with that sangles offensive line,
I'm so worried Orlando Brown is pedestrian at best based

(34:42):
on his pro football stats. No, no, not certainly not
a pro bowler. I mean, both of guards are crap right,
and Keris is getting so old like and probably diminishes
his effectiveness because he's either trying one guard on his
right or to help one guard on the right one

(35:04):
guard on the left. That offensive line, Austin, I just
hope Joe won't end up on a card somewhere.

Speaker 13 (35:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
No, it's a legitimate fear. I mean we've seen it
happen twice already in his already young career. Yeah. I mean,
Orlando Brown Junior is fine. He was a little bit
banged up for a good chunk of last year trying
to play hurt. Amarius Mims seems to have shown you
everything you want, so you feel good about the tackles. Carris,

(35:32):
I thought got better as the year went on, and
you would think with a better guard next to him,
he would be better. I don't know for sure that
would be my thought, but you're right. I mean every
Bengals fan should be feeling the same way. All this
is great, but Joe Burrow needs to be upright.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
Yeah, because it doesn't take much to get binged up
with these big guys is hammering you, right, And he
took a lot of hits last year, didn't he?

Speaker 2 (35:58):
Awesome? Yeah, he did.

Speaker 3 (36:01):
A lot of hits. Hey. With the Reds, the thing about, well,
they just aren't going to have the hitting that they need.
If they were in the NL West, they'd be fighting
the Rockies for last place. So luckily they're where they're at,
which gives them a chance to make the playoffs, it
really does. But but that NL West is so tough
they couldn't they couldn't compete over there with with the

(36:21):
other teams other than the Rockies. So I don't, I
don't know. I guess the pitching will be out of quit,
I hope. But where's the hitting gonna come from?

Speaker 1 (36:30):
You know?

Speaker 3 (36:31):
Awesome?

Speaker 14 (36:31):
Where is the hitting?

Speaker 15 (36:32):
Hey?

Speaker 3 (36:32):
The Dodgers got off to a good start. Mack the
crap out of the Cubs. Uh those first two games,
and a couple of their their their two aceus glass
Now and and Snow aren't even playing. Freeman's not playing.
So optimistic for those guys, That's all I had.

Speaker 2 (36:49):
Austin yeah, Mike, thanks for the call. It was impressive
what the Dodgers did without two starters and uh the
World Series MVP and and uh Freddy Freeman to just
kind of be able to handle the Cubs easily. I
don't know how much stock I put into two games
in Tokyo, but yeah, I mean it's that's the number
one thing with the Reds. So that's what I'm gonna

(37:09):
ask of Charlie, and I'm gonna ask of Jeff as well,
because Charlie is gonna look at things very black and white,
look at the numbers, and say, this is what could
make sense for them offensively, what might not make sense
for them. Jeff is a glass half fool type of guy.
He sees the good and everybody. So I want to

(37:30):
kind of compare those two perspectives when it comes to
this Red's offense. And you know, it kind of felt
like I was like, I don't know how good this
team's really gonna be, but you would kind of allow
yourself to be convinced that all Terry Francona is gonna
change everything, He'll fix all this stuff that's gone wrong,

(37:53):
and at that point, even just the bare minimum, they'll
at least be flirting with five hundred, and then with
McClain back, everything will be fine. And that's not necessarily
a terrible way of looking at it, and I think
most of that is true. They've they've improved the bottom
part of the roster. Jose Travino, you'd much rather him

(38:15):
play than Luke Mayley. I don't know that they're great defense.
Travinho's great defensively, but he's at least adding something offensively.
That's the thing. It comes down to, can Chris Valaika,
who we made a big stink about new hitting coach
and a lot of these guys who had come over
from Cleveland and done a really good job of developing hitters.

(38:38):
Are they going to be able to have their handprints,
their fingerprints all over these young players that are currently
on this roster to get more out of them from
a year ago. So far, didn't really see that at
all with Will Benson through spring training, Jake Frayley not
really doing anything. TJ Friedel just kind of there. He's

(38:59):
a fine player. Austin Hayes a massive question mark. You
felt good about Stevenson, You felt good about Ellie and
Ellie's approach at the plate continues to be fantastic. Matt
McClain looks solid. I think the two that we are
kind of letting fly under the radar is Jamer Candelario
and Christian and Carnassio and Strand. We know that Strand

(39:21):
has the power, but can he be consistent and can
he be healthy? And we know that Jamer Candelario, over
the course of his career has put balls in play
and racked up a ton of extra base hits. If
he can just slightly revert back to what he was
prior to last year and dealing with that knee injury,
you'd be like, Okay, maybe that can pick up the slack.

(39:42):
While we have questions about Steer and Stevenson, I think
that's fair to expect that. But the problem is there's
question marks everywhere, and that is a major issue. Phone
line still open five one, three, seven, four, nine, fifteen
thirty Charlie Goldsmith twelve minutes from right now. Jeff Carr
at two o'clock giving away a sincey shirts gift card

(40:02):
in hour two as well our one brought to you
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Speaker 17 (40:28):
On this Fursday, Spring twenty twenty five, it feels more
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(40:51):
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(41:18):
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over at Oakley Greens. Not fun right now for the
Louisville Cardinals. They are down fifteen after a twelve zero
run by the Creighton Blue Jays with four to fifteen
to go in the first half. Louisville down fifteen, scores

(41:39):
forty to twenty five. Meanwhile, Game two underway high point
in Purdue. Those two teams tied at eleven at the moment,
but Creighton just caught fire. And you know, even though
Louisville's done a decent job against Ryan Klkbrinner, but the
Blue Jays can't miss from three right now. They just

(42:01):
keep racking up three balls and they have built a
fifteen point lead with four minutes to go in the
first half. Talking to Charlie Goldsmith coming up in about
five minutes, Chuck was at the First Four last night
and wrote about it. People forget. You know, Charlie used
to cover the NBA Summer League and he has a
real passion for basketball. So maybe I'll ask Charlie some

(42:24):
March Madness questions as well and see what his takeaway
was from last night the First Four in Dayton. That
is all coming up in just a couple of minutes,
Charlie Goldsmith. When we get back our one has been
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Speaker 2 (43:54):
Hey, it's smallwagger, no matter the occasions.

Speaker 1 (43:56):
Three sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati, sponsored in part by
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Speaker 2 (44:10):
Yes, it is welcome in hour two of since E
three to sixty that first hour flew by. I'm sure
this one will too. We've got Charlie Goldsmith in just
the second talkbacks coming up as well. We'll keep you
updated on what's going on with the NCAA tournament. Two
games underway, a full slate coming up today and tomorrow

(44:31):
and obviously Xavier with a big win last night. Let's
talk a little bit about the Cincinnati Reds with Charlie Goldsmith.
But before we do, Charlie, what is this day like
for you? What's your setup for the first day of
March madness? Do you have like four TV screens? How
do you do this? How do you get it all?

Speaker 14 (44:49):
You know, I've got a.

Speaker 12 (44:50):
TV in a laptop, but I've been trying to get
some work done while I've been watching the first initial
round of games. So I've just been going on the
television so far.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
Okay, all right, fair enough, it's early. Get you in
the Reds. Should should fans be worried about the Reds offense?

Speaker 12 (45:07):
The Reds strength will be their picking staff, and the
offense just has to be at a level enough to say,
win ninety games and to pick up the slack to
do that part in the end of Central this year.
But listen, like, should there ready to be worried about
their offense? One hundred percent? The Reds were exploring opportunities
to get more impact bets than the guys they brought in,
you know, an upgrade over Austin Hayes. Is kind of

(45:31):
where they were looking at before they resulted and the
guy that you know that they landed in Austin Hayes.
And now if Austin Hayes continues this tear that he's
on and is this stand out clean up hitter like
that don't get the Reds in the playoffs. That'll be
one of the swing pieces that gets them there. But
the fact that the Reds were looking at other opportunities
over the course of the off season shows that they

(45:51):
know that they're taking some risks. They're a massive gulf
between ceiling and floor for Gavin Lux Candelario Cees and
kind of the whole lot as well. You're coming back
from injury Catcher like, there are all these questions with
the lineup that won't be resolved until.

Speaker 2 (46:06):
We see how this goes with the way that the
outfielders and I guess the offense in general, the way
that that group has performed so far in spring training,
and then the injury to Stevenson, the injury to Steer
and the timeline for both of them being unclear. Do
you think that would or should open up the Reds

(46:27):
to going back to looking for those possibilities to help
them on offense or no.

Speaker 12 (46:33):
Yeah, the only guy really would be Luis Robert, and
I don't see that happening.

Speaker 11 (46:37):
You know, the White Sox are in a very.

Speaker 12 (46:38):
Interesting position because it was the seller's market of sellers
markets during the offseason. It was one of the best
sellers markets in a long time on the trade market
because there were only two teams in all of baseball
who were who wanted prospects back in return, and that
was the Marlins and that was the White Sox. So understandably,
if you're the Marlins and you're the White Sox and

(46:58):
you're the only team that willing to make a trade
where you'd be the traditional seller and the other team
would be getting one of your good players, well you're
gonna be asking for the moon. You're gonna be asking
for you know, very out there prices, which is why
you know, the White Sox and the uh and the
Marlins ended up not making trades because they decided to
just hold their chips because they had all the leverage. So,

(47:19):
you know, the White Sox leverage would only be greater
now than it would have been in January, for example,
with a guy like Luis Robert, And that's why I
don't see a deal like that getting done.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
Do you think from a White Sox perspective, they'll just
hold on to them as long as they can, probably
up into the trade deadline.

Speaker 12 (47:35):
I mean, their whole idea is eventually some team will
get desperate, and you know, usually like the Yankees end
up getting desperate or the Dogger. You know, this is
how things go. And you have finger market teams that
are able to take those bolder chances. Like an example
is the Dodgers going out and getting Tyler Glass now
two years ago, Like the Threats couldn't have taken that
risk and paid a picture and traded top prospects for

(47:56):
a picture with as much of an injury history as
he had. And you know, Roberts another guy. He's a
very voluable player. You know, he's had great seasons, He's
been bad, he had hot stretches, he gets cold. Not
the kind of guy that I would throw all of
my chips in the middle of the table for.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
You said, pitching will be the red strengths. Is it
enough of a strength to overcome a potentially below average offense.

Speaker 12 (48:23):
No, And that's what the season will come down to.
Will again be the floors and the ceilings of thees, Lucks,
Candelario Steer coming back from injury. Those guys that I
mentioned just really difficult players to get a read on.
Like a great example is Lucks. He was a top
twenty hitter in baseball during the second half of last season.
He'll take that, but then he was terrible in the playoffs.

(48:45):
The fact that the Dodgers were so eager to move
in a different direction from him at second base, Like
I truly the Reds truly have no idea what type
of player Gavin Luck is going to be. Is he
going to hit third for the next two years for
the Reds or is he going to be a platoon
player that we see bounce around the field Austin Hayes,
You know, was last year just an aberration because of
the kidney infecsion And is there some real power that

(49:06):
he was starting to show in twenty twenty three that
he can tap more into in a hitter's ball park
at the ABP, Or is he a guy who was
the platoon player who had to side a four million
dollar contract because he is a four million dollar player.
It's like, we could play this game with basically every
red player except for Elie de Lacruz and as had
as am On McClean. I mean, his thing is coming
back from the injury.

Speaker 11 (49:26):
And the rust.

Speaker 12 (49:27):
So the whole lot up has those that kind of stuff.
There's definitely a ceiling, but there's also just a lot
of uncertainty.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
Something you hear a lot in baseball is if you
can hit, they will find a place for you to play.
Do you think that could be the case with Santiago
Espinal this year? He's seen him back out in the
outfield a little bit during spring He's hit consistently, maybe
was their most consistent hitter at times last year. What
do you think his role could end up being in
Do you think he could be in the outfield rotation

(49:54):
more often than maybe we thought going into spring training?

Speaker 12 (49:58):
Don Diego Espinal is going to pl more than he
did last week, specifical, Like you mentioned the offense, and yes,
of course, if you can hit, and he can certainly
put them all in play, we'll find a spot for you.
But what's the theme of the year, right, defense and
smart baseball, and Santiago Espinal exemplifies that to a t.
The sense I get is the third base quote unquote
battle will continue on into the season and you'll see

(50:21):
all of Candelario, Espinal and Gavin lux get Reps at third,
and when like multiple of those guys are in the lineup,
Espinal is clearly the best defender of the bunch. So
like when multiple of those guys are in the lineup,
you'll see probably Espanol at third and Candelaria at first,
or DH or Espinol at third, or Lucks in the

(50:41):
outfield or Lu's of DH. So Espinol's defense is far
and away the best I think of those three, and
he won't be an everyday guy, but I certainly think
you'll see more of them.

Speaker 2 (50:52):
You wrote this week about the rest of the NL
Central maybe not being that far apart from the Reds.
What was for those that haven't read it yet, what
did you learn the most about you kind of going
through the NL Central? What was the biggest takeaway about
the rest of the division as it pertains to the
Reds competing with them that you think? Uh, I guess

(51:15):
what am I trying to say here? What do people
need to know about the NL Central this year? And
is it as strong as maybe it's perceived to be
a couple of months ago.

Speaker 12 (51:27):
It's not just the Anneral Central, really, it's baseball. Every
team's got problems right now, Like the Yankees' rotation is
an absolute mess, but you ask about the NL Central specifically,
But like the Yankees are a world serious contender and
they're freaking out in the Bronx about who's gonna pitch
and who's gonna play third, but specifically the NL Central.
The Brewers are down five starters. The guy who is
their succession planet short stuff Willie Damis now has a

(51:50):
similar shoulder deal to with Spencer st Year.

Speaker 11 (51:52):
Who's been dealing with.

Speaker 12 (51:53):
They have to play a second instead of short and
they're shuffling their infield on the fly. During the final
look at the spring, the cub To questions that catcher.
They have a second baseman coming back from major injury.
They have guys like Dancy Swanson, you know, having to
really prove it this year, prove who they are, fantsas Zuoki. Defensively,
they're relying on a lot of very young pieces with

(52:14):
talent like Matt Shawn, Peter car Armstrong. But I mean
the reds of scene that they're gonna be real highs
and lows with players like that, the Pirates have the
worst offense I've ever seen. They have the best young
starting pitching tandem in baseball between Paul Skins and Jared Jones,
but now Jared Jones has elbow is comfort and the
Saint Louis Cardinals that had once for agents this offseason
middle reliever all their best players probably the team would

(52:37):
like to trade, and they might be having Jose Barrero
be a role player for them this year. So you know,
it's not a great division, and really the Reds do
have the highest feeling and maybe even the most talent
in they at all Central this year, I'm still picking
the Cubs because they just have They've got more guys
who have won and know how to win. Your Dancy Swanson,
you're Cayle Tucker's, You're just in Steels to a different

(52:59):
extent and shows in Minaga, who of course pitched in Japan.
But it is just a frontline, real guy, Ryan Presley
in the bullpen, like I know what I'm getting from
more of those guys. But the Reds talent, you know,
Francona does his thing. I mean, that's why you watched
the team this year.

Speaker 2 (53:13):
Talking to Charlie Goldsmith. You can follow along Charlie's chalkboard
dot substack dot com with all his coverage of the Reds,
the Bengals and more. This week, Jamar Chase t Higgins
that press conference, it felt like a moment being there
in person. Did you get that same vibe?

Speaker 12 (53:34):
I was thinking about all the people watching and like
Zach Taylor, what does he think? Is he watched that?
Do Cob and what did he think is he watched that?
And a moment like that is really what you do
it for. Like at the end of the day, when
you're the head coach of a team or you're running
a team, all he wants is to have great players
who love being there, who love being together, and are

(53:55):
so comfortable being themselves in you know, this atmosphere. And
not to give the to Zak and Keuk here because ultimately,
you know, it was a testament to everything that Jamar
and t have accomplished and earned. But what a cool
moment for the organization. Guys who take that much pride
in wanting to be the guys who get the Bengals,
you know, that super Bowl that they're chasing, and the

(54:17):
the sacrifices they made to make sure that they, you know,
would take it together. They made this a lot easier
even this offseason than I expected it was going to be.
That's got to be really cool for Jamar and T too,
to stay together, just to do what you like with
your friends, I guess at the end of the day
is what we're all chasing. And for them to be
able to have that experience and get very well compensated

(54:39):
to do that, that just seems like a really cool thing.

Speaker 1 (54:42):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (54:42):
They kind of downplayed the idea that they planned this
out and worked on this together. Are you buying that?
Do you think that they really were just like, we'll
see what happens, or do you think they really did
everything in their power to use their leverage together to
stay in Cincinnati?

Speaker 19 (54:59):
Well?

Speaker 12 (54:59):
What did they got to a number with Jamar and
then they went back to focusing on tea. Then they
got the finish line done with Jamar and I mean,
I've never heard an agent mentioned. I think the final
count was fifteen times as much as Rocky Arsenal was
mentioned and praised by Jamar and T on the podium
the other day. And you know, even in these extension

(55:20):
press conferences, you'll see the agent get a courtesy thank you.
But this was an unbelievably complicated chess game between two
star players who knew what they were worth in an
organization that had refused to play chess for fifty eight
years or whoever old the Bengals are, and the fact
that they got it done took a very It was
a tight rope. It was a million things had to happen,

(55:42):
including some intangible things like Jamar and T's buying with
Burrow and Zach and their connection to the city and
the resources around them that they like in Cincinnati. Like
a million things had to happen to pull this off,
and it all happened.

Speaker 2 (55:57):
You said, they don't normally pay play chess. We all
know that. Why did they? Why do you think they
changed now? Isn't as simple as Joe Burrow.

Speaker 12 (56:07):
It's as simple as look at the stretch that happened
in November last season. So I've said this a few
times this week before the Raiders game. It was reinforced
to me and he was gone. It wasn't gonna happen
from over And I mean, they loved Tea, but they
just didn't see a few They didn't see the pass
and they knew they weren't on the path where Key
Higgins was a Bengal. And what was so interesting about

(56:27):
that week was that was the week that Tremaine Burton
then didn't show up. Yeah, and then that was also
right when cam Tale Britt they were planning on paying
this offseason, really took a nose dive. And then the
defense and the culture of the defense absolutely countpulted. And
meanwhile Burrow and Chase are playing their best football. But
also by the way that that Ravens game, and I
think the Eagles game too, during that stretch, it's the

(56:50):
Bengals have Ke Higgins. I truly believe the Bengals win
both games, and against the Ravens, I think they score
fifty and you look at the terrible play calls that
they had on the road against Baltimore and wonder and
expect what they would have done differently, for example, not
throwing a quick hitch to ten or Hudson on the
two point conversion with basically the season.

Speaker 20 (57:09):
On the line.

Speaker 12 (57:10):
I think all that was a reminder about t was
a reminder about where the defense stood. It was a
reminder about the importance of paying the guys you know,
believe in and want to continue to build around, and
one that can do for your culture. And how T
was one of those guys. I really think it was
that stretch that then ended with the Dallas game and
the Borough press conference with the smirk that turned this

(57:31):
whole thing around.

Speaker 2 (57:32):
There's still some building around to be done. That report
this morning from Jordan's Schultz that the Bengals is going
to be visiting with Lucas Patrick. What do we know
about him and the guard market at the moment for
the Bengals, Well, the heck of.

Speaker 12 (57:47):
A heat check for a Bengals organization that now has
seen all the real starting guards come up the market.
I think Lucas Patrick is a very twenty twenty five
Bengals movement guard. To make you know when you see
then and you go through the resume and you look
at all, right, he didn't allow that many stacks. He
didn't allow them any quarterback kids. You look at all
the connections he has with the organization, Jerry Montgomery, Mike Hodges,

(58:11):
Clint Kubiak, the Saints former ROSSI who's a close friend
to Zach. It's like, all right, I see it. But
the Bengals would have had a much easier time just
going out and getting a guy that they knew could
play guard at a solid starting level, which Patrick frankly hasn't,
as he's signed in multiple places to be a backup,
as he's moved around a lot, you know, across the

(58:32):
line of scrimmage. This is kind of like a middle
school line to say, But like, if you like Lucas
Patrick so much, why didn't you sign them last year
when he signed for one point four million dollars to
be a backup intier offensive lineman with the Saints. And
I just went through his Saints film this morning, and
like it's boring. It's fine, but there aren't bad reps.

(58:53):
But he's really not even in a scheme where he
can do a lot one on one. It's like a
point and shoot vertical passing attack where he's having to
hold the pocket one on one in block like you
would have for Burrow, and Burrow tries to push the
ball down the field, you know, the Chicago offense he
was in before with justin fields. That's not a transferable
scheme to Cincinnati. So like, yeah, it's not a smooth fit,

(59:15):
but I think he's going to start when he signed.
I think training camp will start with him and Ford
and a rookie high pick trying to get one of
those spots. Cordovolson would have a shot as well. But
I want to do this to my news letter today.
That is almost an identical plan to what the Bengals
started the twenty twenty one season with, and that plan
did not work.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. Last question for you here,
Charlie Goldsmith. Charlie's chalkboard on substack. Which is more likely
to happen Trey Hendrickson signs an extension or Trey Hendrickson
plays on his current deal.

Speaker 12 (59:53):
I think the Hunter extension that he signed with Detecting
yesterday provides the type of framework that we seen with
the Bengals help greet the wheels. They love a framework,
and what you saw what the Hunter extension was he
got a little more money this year and then he
got a lot of money next year, but with not
a lot of that guarantee that gives the team a
lot of flexibility for the following season. Again, I'll say

(01:00:16):
the path that makes too much sense for all involved
is basically giving Henderson a massive what would be a
team option for twenty twenty six, that the Bengals won't
be picking up unless he gets seventeen and a half
sacks again, and that will give Henderson the ability to
say I'm making an average a thirty whatever million dollars
a year, even though it will kind of be a

(01:00:36):
fake thirty million dollars. There's the framework now with Hunter.
That's where I'm pushing my chips in and where that
conversation goes.

Speaker 2 (01:00:43):
How many brackets do you fill out, Charlie?

Speaker 21 (01:00:47):
None?

Speaker 19 (01:00:48):
None? None?

Speaker 12 (01:00:50):
Why you know, I don't play fantasy football. I don't
fill out of bracket. I'll do it if I if
I'm asked, you know, if there's a big pool that
I have to be a part of. But I'll just
watch the game. I'll just watch the game. And I've
never won, so that's probably a part of it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:05):
Is Well, that's true. I know that feeling. Uh okay, Well,
if you were filling out a bracket, who would you make?
Who's your pick to win the NC doublea tournament?

Speaker 12 (01:01:15):
I mean, how can you go against Saint John's right now?
You look at the star power on the wing, you
look at the defensive consistency. I know it's not that
it's not the shock, but I don't know that there
was a team that impressed me more really with their
consistency too, than Saint John's did this year. And you
know they're coaching will mean so much at this stage.

Speaker 2 (01:01:32):
Yeah, all right, great stuff there from Charlie Goldsmith. Charlie
who wrote about the first four last night covered that
down and how was that experience? Covering Have you done
NC DOUBLEA tournament games before?

Speaker 12 (01:01:42):
I don't know I have, it's been seven years, but uh,
you know I was back at the NC DOUBLEA tournament.

Speaker 3 (01:01:48):
It was a lot of fun. Yes year.

Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
Awesome. That is a Charlie Goldsmith. Charlie's chalkboard, Charlie g underscore, underscore,
Charlie enjoyed the madness. Thanks for being flexible with me.
Have a great day man.

Speaker 12 (01:02:00):
Thanks author.

Speaker 2 (01:02:01):
That is Charlie Goldsmith, our guy, Our guy moved up
a day. Uh with with our Oakley Green show going
on tomorrow and with Tony being out, Thank you to
Charlie for making that happen. Two o'clock comes around, we'll
talk to Jeff Carr, but when we come back, it's
time for talkbacks right here on the Home of the
Bengals Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:02:23):
Episode of Sincy three sixty Here every show at ESPN
fifteen thirty dot com.

Speaker 13 (01:02:29):
All right, boll, let me hear you good loud oh
wld ah too ah fe.

Speaker 4 (01:02:40):
Wow, listen to soup so come on here, Wow, listen
to the clouds.

Speaker 2 (01:02:50):
Get me a bud of surprise.

Speaker 19 (01:02:53):
Jones.

Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
We hope those other two come back.

Speaker 11 (01:03:00):
We too oh.

Speaker 12 (01:03:05):
Ohing comes close to the show.

Speaker 22 (01:03:09):
We got hake right, Hello, Stars over talk Back show.

Speaker 2 (01:03:19):
Rodswell, Radswell, Welcome back into Talkbacks. Brought to you by
Sincy Shirts. Go to Cincy Shirts dot com check out
their two retail locations. Check out the new glorious T
shirt featuring one nine and five, symbolic of course, of
Joe Burrow, T Higgins and Jamar Chase. Before we get

(01:03:41):
into talkbacks. Quick NCAA Tournament update halftime in Lexington Creighton
Leeds Louisville forty nine to thirty four. The Cards have
been down fifteen points for quite some time. Now elsewhere
Perdue up ten over high point with a minute and
a half to go in the first half. It's thirty
five to twenty five. Is that game next? Game set

(01:04:03):
to kickoff is Wisconsin and Montana tip off. I should
say that's coming up in about five minutes from right now.
But Louisville down fifteen, High Point down ten, and a
slate of games set to kit tip off over the
next couple of hours. Let's get two talkbacks.

Speaker 13 (01:04:21):
Hey guys, it's a hue in College Hill, and I
am a proud you see Bearcut alumni, and I always
root against Xavier in March madness.

Speaker 2 (01:04:28):
I went to bed last night at halftimes Xavier was losing.
I did not stay up to watch the end of
the game. I'm checking the score right now to see
how badly they lost. Drum roll pease. Oh no, okay,
thanks you College Hill. Yeah, I mean, if you're a

(01:04:49):
Bearcat fan that went to bed last night, probably shaking
your head waking up this.

Speaker 20 (01:04:54):
Morning, Hello, this is former President Ronald Reagan. And no
I'm not within one hundred mi of an air raid siren,
so don't worry. As you know, on Monday, the transfer
portal opens, and so I'm wondering if a team set
to play in the Sweet sixteen the following weekend, we'll
try to entice the star player of their upcoming opponent

(01:05:15):
to enter the portal so they won't have to face them.
I mean, it's possible, and it's legal, right.

Speaker 2 (01:05:22):
I believe it is possible. I do believe it's legal.
I guess that is a possibility. Unlikely, but a possibility.

Speaker 7 (01:05:33):
Hey, guys, I started my morning by listening to the
radio in the top of the hour, and he said,
Trey Hendrickson wants thirty million from the Bengals or he's
gonna sit out for the season. Oddly enough, I was
at Costco last night. I was looking at some really
nice metal chairs that are padded and has a high back.

(01:05:57):
Maybe we should do a gofad me page so he
could sit in those chairs and watch the Bengals.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
I would love to know who said that, because that's
not been reported anywhere.

Speaker 10 (01:06:08):
God on a Thursday, what's up? At least we can
count on one team here in Cincinnati to be a winner.
Let's keep it going. Let's keep it going on Friday,
and let's make it to Sunday.

Speaker 2 (01:06:21):
All right, there you go. Fantastic, Hey, fellas, it's Vinnie.

Speaker 23 (01:06:26):
I'm going to call in and give my recommendations for
Talkback Hall of Fame. All right, I think, in no
doubt our first ballot Hall of Famer's got to be
Ronnie Reagan. Let's face it, one of the greatest presidents.
The fact he's deceased and he still calls in every
day man and entertains us amazing man. Controversial, Hank Hill.
I just don't think he's got enough to make it man.

(01:06:48):
I don't think he ever dominated his generation. And then
anyone who made the Stooge report should be in.

Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
It's true. I have sent some some talkbacks to the Stooge.

Speaker 24 (01:06:58):
Hey, Austin at them up at him. My opening day
experience reminds me a lot of today. It started out
like sixty degrees and sunny, and then by noon it
started to rain, and then by the third inning it
was snowing, and of course the Reds lost. I just
think that baseball this early in the seasons is ridiculous,
especially in this climate or New York or any of

(01:07:21):
those places. I don't like baseball until May.

Speaker 2 (01:07:24):
Personally, yeah, I'm kind of with you. I don't know
about May. I would start at the second week of April,
right after the end of March madness, and I would
shorten the season to like one hundred and fifty or
one hundred and forty five games. That's what that's my
ideal situation with baseball.

Speaker 13 (01:07:42):
Yeah, give Zavir a lot of credit last night, they're resilient.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
It did help them out playing a date.

Speaker 20 (01:07:49):
And the fans were behind him ninety.

Speaker 15 (01:07:51):
Percent for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:07:55):
I like Florida and Duke Austin and have a great
day out there. Hey, thanks man, you too appreciate it.

Speaker 25 (01:08:05):
Talkback Matters Guy, Austin, great take today.

Speaker 4 (01:08:08):
Wow.

Speaker 25 (01:08:08):
I usually give you a hard way to go, but
I can't do that. So what you're doing today is
an incredible show. I want you to know that always
want to make sure that all the talkbackers still continue
to love me and wrapping Ronnie and either Peppermint, Patty
or Gina. You guys got my vote, go president vice President.

Speaker 2 (01:08:34):
We're not doing an election, but thank you Talkback Matters guy,
that was probably the best overall quality talkback that you've
ever left. Austin bond an easy here.

Speaker 13 (01:08:44):
I just want to say what an honor it is
to possibly win Talkback of the Week for a second time,
and all this consideration for the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 19 (01:08:55):
It's really just overwhelming, and I'm very grateful, but.

Speaker 2 (01:08:58):
I just got one thing to say, buck eye, bone
and bread even after I'm dead, thank you. Yeah, what's up, Austin.

Speaker 26 (01:09:09):
Uh, don't don't take this as me trying to tell
anyone how to fan, because the Reds don't deserve the
benefit of the doubt. I mean, they've disappointed for most
of my life. But I will say this, Baseball is
a sport where question marks are kind of a given,
you know what I mean, Like every every year it's
a question mark because you just never know if they

(01:09:29):
can repeat that type of production.

Speaker 2 (01:09:32):
So, I mean, I don't know. I'm optimistic, but that's
just my take. Yeah, I know, I hear you on that.
I think I'm just kind of the opposite. It's like
I'm I'm skeptical until I'm proven otherwise. Like I see
it all on paper and it all makes sense, but
I need to to you know, I don't know, I
just need to see it happen and see it feel

(01:09:52):
like they've actually cleaned up the issues that hurt them
so much over the last several years. And we'll get
into this a little bit more the third hour.

Speaker 10 (01:10:00):
But yeah, hey, Tony, I just realized I forgot to
wish you happy birthday every birthday.

Speaker 21 (01:10:09):
Repp it in Thattie out here in sunny hot Zona.

Speaker 14 (01:10:11):
What our body speak.

Speaker 2 (01:10:12):
Facts.

Speaker 21 (01:10:13):
That's the way you open up the show. And yes,
General Joe runs the show. So Zach and Duke, you
better get it right. Get that guard so proud of
the city. That's how you rep the city. To me,
it's all about Sincey Pride, even though I'm a diehard
Bearcatch fan, but still it's all about Cincinnati Sports five
prior to me. You know, that's feel like the Centa
Center last night, the way that crowd was. That's how

(01:10:35):
you rep get to the Sweet sixteen.

Speaker 2 (01:10:38):
Yeah, I'm all for it, hey, be.

Speaker 19 (01:10:42):
Stick it is every game matters, guys.

Speaker 22 (01:10:46):
And I like to say, you know, the thing will
just win more games than they lose games, and they
don't lose games as many as the as many as
they win.

Speaker 19 (01:10:55):
And I think they're going to be all right. They
can just pick up a few more players here and there.
I think they'll I think he'll be good. Yeah, I
think so. So go ahead and just vote me in
for the Hall of Fame. Uh and uh murmur murmur.

Speaker 13 (01:11:12):
Kyla Hank Hill here in Austin, I'm gonna take you why.
I hate to throw our buddy under the bus. But
I know Tony said he was off today about that
career fair or something like that. But I swear I
just came out of Try State Men's Health and saw
him signing some papers and walk into a back room.
But I don't know part time Tony's back.

Speaker 2 (01:11:34):
Yep, that's him. That sounds like something he would be
doing on and off day.

Speaker 27 (01:11:39):
Hey, mister Elmore today, thank you great win by Xavier yesterday.
I want to come back. I think were ended up
playing Kentucky and beating them. Possibly, Who do you like
to win it all?

Speaker 3 (01:11:54):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (01:11:54):
In my brackets I did two one just opposite of
everything I did in the first one. But my main
bracket I picked Houston to win number one because I
think they're tough and they're good at defense, and they
barely ever lose and they play in the Big twelve.
And number two I don't think other people will pick
them to win, So just trying to win the bracket challenge,
I went with Houston.

Speaker 13 (01:12:15):
Hy vannit. Yeah, you can't go round with Ronald Reagan
and the talk box Hall of Fame, and heck I'd
even throw you in there. Vannie and Harry Carey's pretty good,
and the talkbox Cowbo and the Congressman Kevin from Northern Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (01:12:32):
Yeah, I think when you I think there's a little
bit difference between the talk back Hall of Fame and
just in general, the Sincy three six three sixty listener
Hall of Fame. I think Ron Reagan in and of
himself would be in the Sincy three sixty Hall of
Fame because was the first talkback president, was the first
to really perfect that. He's come to our live shows,

(01:12:55):
he's come to our live events, He's done unbelievably nice
things that some of you don't even know about. Just
first team, first ballot, all good guy. And there's also
people like Richard who at the very beginning said the
Bengals need to draft a kicker and we were kind
of laughing at him, and then they drafted Evan McPherson.

(01:13:16):
Evan McPherson kicked him to the Super Bowl. And Richard
has provided song for us, and he's come out to
our events as well. Richard, you know, got Tony and
I Christmas gifts at one point, which a reminder that
we could be bought that's a joke. Anyways. Yeah, there's
a difference, you know between a few of these, and
then there's talkback Hall of Fame Vinnie. Even Vinnie was

(01:13:37):
one of the early callers into this show when I
first came around, and you know, provided us with several
great soundbites. So yeah, there's different wings of the Ciny
three to sixty Hall of Fame party. You know how
some people just like to stir the you know what,
the pot.

Speaker 18 (01:13:53):
We'll say, Yes, I did not see it reported anywhere
that Trey had threatened to sit out.

Speaker 2 (01:13:59):
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. I appreciate you being
my fact checker there, pizza dude. Uh yeah, I just
kind of figure out something Jim made up. Jim and
the fake news media. All right, we'll come back. We'll
choose a winner. This is Cincy three sixty ESPN fifteen thirty. Hey,
you run a small business.

Speaker 20 (01:14:15):
But have ESPN fifteen thirty at iHeartRadio station.

Speaker 2 (01:14:24):
All right, welcome back ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports station.
Twenty minutes from right now, Jeff Carr locked on Reds Podcast,
and you've got some Red's news to get to for
updates today coming from Terry Francona. We'll get your get
some information to you on that one, and we'll talk

(01:14:46):
to Jeff about that, including an update to the starting rotation.
But before we do all that, we've got to get
to our talkback of the week, a gift card giveaway
by Cincy Shirts. Go check them out Cincy shirts dot com,
download their mobile app, visit their retail locations. Get set
for baseball season. I know they ran a special on

(01:15:06):
Xavier shirts. They've got everything you could possibly imagine. Sincey
shirts dot Com. I have one, two, three, four, five
nominees for Talkback of the Week. Here's the first one.

Speaker 28 (01:15:19):
Hey, little sis, good job of making the inaugural Crown Tournament.

Speaker 2 (01:15:25):
I just thought that one was funny. Half say, I
tell you how Tony. I'm out there dingos they standing
on business. Thanks signing up Tea and jam.

Speaker 14 (01:15:43):
Granted it should have been a few years ago.

Speaker 2 (01:15:45):
But they got a downe lode, had all your national
media out there.

Speaker 28 (01:15:49):
I may have one thing to say tell you, Kevin
de Nordica, Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (01:15:54):
Great job by Kevin de Northern Kentucky. That is a
very good talkback.

Speaker 15 (01:16:01):
RFK checking into the talk bags. I was just going
to mention before eating a green Freeway today, Brad, consider
the effects of could have on your body, regarding the
toxins and the food coloring back.

Speaker 2 (01:16:20):
It's just as funny now as it was the first time.

Speaker 4 (01:16:24):
Brought to buy Skylight Children the j Stateman's Health We're
right now. They're all for your special where you make
an appointment today and have lunch, eat a chilino and
check your libido.

Speaker 2 (01:16:42):
Holy rides wild. I think that's what Tony's doing right now.
I think he's eating a chiledo and checking his libido.

Speaker 24 (01:16:53):
Hey, fellas kits Adam Adam, Everyone's happy, everyone's euphoric.

Speaker 19 (01:16:57):
Eiggin's a signed, Chase is signed, Hendrickson's got another year
left on his deal. No one wants to give anything
up for him.

Speaker 12 (01:17:04):
So can we please work on the other deficiencies on
this team.

Speaker 4 (01:17:08):
We need an offensive guard, we need defensive linemen, we
need a linebacker to replace Kaiper, We need safeties and
corners and draft didn't want to cover that all.

Speaker 2 (01:17:20):
I love when Adam gets mad Man. That's uh, that's
one of the best. All right, these were good. I
thought Kevin had a really strong performance. But nobody has
made us laugh like that since the original Chad Brindell.
One more time, here's the was this secretary of the
Health Department or whatever, Robert Kennedy Jr.

Speaker 15 (01:17:43):
RFK checking in to the talkbacks? I was just going
to mention them before eating a green three way today,
perhaps consider the effects that could have on your body
regarding the toxins and the food color.

Speaker 2 (01:17:58):
Yeah, if you don't know what RFK sounds like, that
is spot on. So congratulations to ballin ain't easy for
winning talkback of the Week. Ball and I will be
in touch with everything you need to get your gift card.
All right, That does it for this segment. Will come back.

(01:18:18):
We'll give you an update on what's going on with
the Cincinnati Reds, including a new report from Goodyear. As
we are now one week away from the NC DOUBLEA Tournament.
Before we take a break, though, I do want to
update our poll question. Poll question brought to you by
Revivefitnessystems dot Com and coach Pjstreet. Go check out everything

(01:18:41):
PJ has to offer to get your body ready to
go for the summer and just in general to live
a healthier lifestyle. Pole Question number one, how far can
Xavier make it in the NC DOUBLEA Tournament. Thirty seven
percent say they will lose to Illinois in their first game,
two percent say Xavier will make it to the Round

(01:19:02):
of thirty two, and thirty four percent say the Muskies
could go to the Sweet sixteen. Just five percent say
they go to the Elite eight or better. And poll
question number two, After all this time, how do you
feel about Carson Palmer? Fifty nine percent say they don't care,
sixteen percent say they still hate him, twelve percent say

(01:19:23):
they still love him, and eleven percent say he was right.
I'm sorry, Carson Palmer. An update on the tournament and
the Reds when we come back. This is hour two
of Cincy three to sixty, brought to you by Cincy
Shirts on the Home of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:19:37):
You see fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (01:19:42):
Welcome back Cincy three sixty ESPN fifteen thirty on Austin Elmore.
Tony Pike out today, Tony and I back together tomorrow
noon to three. Will be at Oakley Greens watching a
lot of college basketball, playing some golf, doing the show
live on site, and have a lot of fun. Invite
you to join us coming up tomorrow at noon. All right,

(01:20:06):
we've got some Reds updates, and then we'll go into
a college basketball update, and then we just got details
on the contract numbers for Jamar Chase and t Higgins
and some pretty interesting stuff that we're going to sift
through here before we get to Jeff Carr at the
start of hour number three. All right, let's start with
Reds and we'll talk to Jeff Moore about this. Gordon

(01:20:26):
Wittenmeyer of the Cincinnati Inquirer is reporting that the Reds
have told Andrew Abbott he will open the season on
the injured list and that Carson Spires will open as
the Reds' fifth starter. Wetten Meier says that Abbot had
been slow played this spring coming off of a shoulder injury,
and may have been able to open on time, but

(01:20:49):
the schedule would have meant pitching in minor league spring
games the day the rosters are set, creating a possible
issue if there were a setback. According to Terry Francona,
so Andrew Abbott will start the season on the injured list.
Hopefully it's just to build him up to the number
of pitches he needs, and then he'll be able to
quickly rejoin the team in April. Wittmeyer also says that

(01:21:12):
the Reds have pushed Graham Ashcraft to the bullpen. Lyon
Richardson has been optioned to Triple A Louisville. That means
there are fifteen healthy pitchers left for thirteen spots on
the opening day roster. Graham Ashcraft officially now a bullpen guy,
and then just three minutes ago, Gordon Whittmeyer confirms the

(01:21:33):
reports that Reds catcher Jose Travino, who will start on
opening day in place of Tyler Stevenson, has just signed
a three year contract extension with the Reds through twenty
twenty seven. So that is all Red's news at the moment.
And I guess since we're here, we might as well,

(01:21:55):
because the Reds do play again today, we might as
well give you a Red's line four h five first
pitch in good Year against Jonathan India's Royals. Here's how
the Reds will line up leading off the dhtj Friedel
batting second. The second baseman Matt McClain. The third batter
is shortstop Elie de la Cruz. The cleanup hitter is

(01:22:17):
the left fielder Austin Hayes, Christian Incarnassi, and Strand bats fifth.
He's the first baseman, batting six. Is third baseman Jamer Candelario.
In right field and batting seventh Santiago Espinal. The catcher
as Jose Travino. He bats ninth and bats eighth, and
batting ninth. In center field is Stuart Fairchild. The starting

(01:22:40):
pitcher for today is Brent Suitor. The Reds I believe
is this a split squad day? I forgot to look
at the schedule. Uh, it is not. Tomorrow is a
split squad day. This is just one game against the Royals.
Brent Suitor gets the start on the mound. That is
how the Red Legs will line them up once more.
For Cincinnati, it's Freedom McLean de la Cruz, Hayes, Incarnassi

(01:23:04):
and Strand, Candelario, Espinal in right, Travino Fairchild with Suitor
on the mound. All right, let's go to NCAA Tournament update.
Eight forty eight to go in the first half or
in the eight forty eight to go In the game,
Creighton leads Louisville seventy one to fifty four, just underway,

(01:23:25):
Wisconsin up twenty one thirteen over Montana halfway through the
first half, and Purdue has a seven point lead over
High Point with seventeen fifty nine to go in the game.
So three games underway and all of them comfortably leading
or being led by the higher seed, with the exception

(01:23:45):
of Creighton, who is in the process of blowing out Louisville.
All right, quick update here and stick with me for
a moment. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated has come out
with the contract details for Jamar Chase and t Higgins,
and there's some good stuff in here. Jamar Chase four year,

(01:24:06):
one hundred and sixty one million dollar extension has seventy
three point nine million fully guaranteed at signing at his
forty one point one seven million in a b in
base salary, a roster bonus, and per game roster bonuses
for twenty twenty five, thirty two point three million base

(01:24:26):
salary and roster bonus for twenty twenty six. His two
year total is seventy five million, with another one point
one million in per game roster bonuses for twenty twenty
six not fully guaranteed until next March. In March of
twenty twenty six, those roster bonuses plus twenty eight point

(01:24:47):
nine million of his money for twenty twenty seven becomes
fully guaranteed. His three year deal is total. His three
year total is one hundred and five million, with one
point one million of his thirty million for twenty twenty
seven not fully guaranteed until March twenty twenty seven. In
March twenty twenty seven, those roster bonuses plus seven million

(01:25:09):
for twenty twenty eight become fully guaranteed, bringing the guaranteed
total at that point to one hundred and twelve million,
which realistically ties the Bengals to chase for the next
three years. With the seven million in twenty twenty eight
subject to offsets. He's also do a non guaranteed forty
four point eight eight one six million in twenty twenty nine,

(01:25:32):
the final year of his deal. So, as you know, again,
people kept saying that the Bengals were cash poor, and
we kept trying to say, you don't have to put
all that money in escrow right away, you don't have
to have it guaranteed right away. These rolling unlocks, as
we talked about a lot with the Patrick Mahomes contract,
the Joe Burrow contract, that stuff unlocks as the raw

(01:25:56):
as the length of the contract goes, and then you
put all that money in that are guarantees. The Bengals
have plenty of time and they have plenty of money. Meanwhile,
t higgins four year, one hundred and fifty one hundred
and fifteen million dollar deal has thirty million fully guaranteed
at signing, a twenty million dollar roster bonus this March,
and a ten million dollar roster bonus next March. Interestingly,

(01:26:19):
according to Breer, his thirteen point eight million dollar base
for this year is not yet guaranteed. Interesting the practical
guarantee here is the forty five point nine million if
he plays in all seventeen games this year, with thirty
five point nine million DOO in twenty twenty five and
the ten million dollar roster bonus for next year subject

(01:26:41):
to offsets, which means the Bengals could get out of
the deal after a year with just what they paid
in twenty twenty five is someone paid him more than
ten million dollars next. That said, the Bengals don't have
a history of cutting guys after a year. This, according
to Albert Breer, ten point nine million of Higgins' twenty
twenty six base becomes fully guaranteed next March, which adds
to the already fully guaranteed roster bonus that's paid. Then

(01:27:03):
Higgins has a two million dollar per game roster bonus
each year of the deal, having given the team considerable
protection against injury. I know that all is a lot
right there, but that is the good details there on
the contracts and the numbers and the salary and so on.

(01:27:23):
With T Higgins and Jamar Chase. We'll take a break,
we'll come back. We'll check in with Jeff Carr from
the Locked On Reds podcast and Red's Talk Sports Illustrated
and get his reaction to the news of the day.
As we are a week away from opening day. This
is all coming up next. This is since He three
to sixty Home of the Bengals ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 18 (01:27:43):
Tony Pike with my friends at Tri State Men's Health.
The one you love is the law of your liirty.

Speaker 1 (01:27:48):
This is Pennstation East Coast Subs. Since he three to
sixty of bound Cincinnati from Cincinnati, sponsored in part by
Penstation East Coast Subs. Handcrafted hot grilled subs, fresh cut
fries and lemonade. It's all about good taste Pennstation East
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(01:28:08):
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 10 (01:28:10):
Man.

Speaker 2 (01:28:11):
Time flies when you're having fun, ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm
Austin Elmore, happy to be with you. One hour to go.
We'll turn things over to Chad Brindle at three o'clock.
He's in for Moe Eggar if you missed it. And
Mo was live at the Holy Grail for his annual
college basketball tournament preview show, a spectacular and Mo had

(01:28:31):
a great show this morning. Dan Horde was there, Rick Brooring,
Richard Skinner, Shannon Minor, and you can find that on
the podcast page at ESPN fifteen thirty dot com. Let's
talk some Reds. It's been a busy half hour over
the last well, it's been a busy half hour in
Red's News. We just talked about all of it shortly there.

(01:28:53):
And let's talk with a man who knows a lot
more than I do about many things. Jeff Carr, the
host of the Lockdown on Red's podcast, co host alongside
Steve Offenbaker, joins me. Now, Hi Jeff, how are you Austin.
I'm doing great, man. I was just all ready to
talk about.

Speaker 4 (01:29:09):
One week before opening day, and then the Reds decided
to give us plenty of news.

Speaker 2 (01:29:14):
I'm pumped. Which of these pieces of information the Travino extension,
Ashcraft to the bullpen, Abbott on the injured list, Which
is the most important to you? Where do you want
to start with this?

Speaker 4 (01:29:27):
I'm the most bullish about the Jose Travino extension right now.
I don't think you get this contract done unless you
are talking with other guys like Jose. Trevine is not
the first guy that you would think to extend, and
I believe that this is a good sign for further extensions,
but also it secures the catching position for the next

(01:29:49):
three years, especially depending on what Tyler stevenson health look
like over the next year. I think that there's a
bit of a contingency there that, you know, if Stevenson
is going to struggle with health this season, that may
delay any sort of long term contract talks with him.
So now you have that, dude, you have a guy
that has a Platinum Glove in his history. He knows

(01:30:12):
how to play catcher at a very high level, and
he's done it at the highest stage in Major League Baseball.
So I'm very happy to see them get this deal done,
and even just kind of on the macro, like the
highest thirty thousand foot view of this, that means the
Reds can get contract extensions done.

Speaker 2 (01:30:32):
Now, yeah, that's you know, that's a good point. Certainly
one of those guys would be Tyler Stevenson. He's going
to be on the injured list to start the season
with that oblique injury. So what exactly is the scouting
report on Jose Travino? Is it just offensively he's slightly
better than Luke Mayley and defensively he's really good. What

(01:30:55):
is what are the Reds getting out of Jose Travino.

Speaker 4 (01:30:59):
I'm thinking that they're I mean Tucker Barnhardt with slightly
better defense than slightly worse offense. Don't think he's going
to have the type of the power that Tucker Bartinheart
had on a consistent basis, although he could run into
one but most major leaguers can. But I really love
the defense that he brings to the table. He brings
an ability to frame and get that extra strike that

(01:31:22):
is going to be so valuable to this pitching staff,
something that they've not seen. I mean, Tyler Stevenson got
better in the framing department last season compared to twenty
twenty three, but even that that was still bringing him
kind of back to league average. The Reds have not
really top framing. They've kind of lagged behind on this
over the last few years. And they're bringing in an expert,

(01:31:44):
a guy who during his Platinum Glove season he led
the league. He was like the best framer in all
of baseball. But he has maintained a standing near the
top of catchers who really are able to bring in
that extra strike. More than that, thinking about you know,
guys like Nicolodolo, Hunter, Green, Splitter, the pitches that the

(01:32:06):
Reds have that move and cause problems for catchers that
aren't the most nimble behind the plate. Who's that your
venu is Dude as a wall. Things aren't getting past him.
There's not going to be pass ball. It's like, maybe
there's gonna be one or two here or there because
he's human, but ultimately he's the kind of guy that
you can trust that nothing's gonna get past him. You're

(01:32:27):
not going to give up the extra base simply because
your catcher couldn't handle a curveball. The only thing that
I worry about a little bit is that he's never
really been that great as far as like throwing guys
out at second base and controlling the run game. So
that's going to be something to keep an eye on.
But everything else about his defensive game is elite. It's

(01:32:49):
not just good, it's elite.

Speaker 2 (01:32:51):
Reds have also told Andrew Abbott he will open the
season on the injured list, Carson Spires will open as
the fifth starter. What do you make of that.

Speaker 4 (01:33:00):
I think that this is a little bit more procedural
than it is anything else. We hear Red's put so
and so on il and we're like, oh gosh, here
we go be going to see this guy till June.
But I think that Andrew Rabbit just isn't stretched out enough.
Terry Francona told us at the beginning of camp that
he wanted his starting pitchers to be stretched out to
one hundred pitches before they threw in the regular season.

Speaker 2 (01:33:22):
He's not going to get there.

Speaker 4 (01:33:23):
He's going to throw seventy five in his next start,
and then he would have to pitch another game five
days later, and it would have to be a minor
league spring training game. At the same time that they're
finalizing the roster, and then you got to hope that
absolutely nothing happens to set back and push him back.
So really, Terry Francone is just not trying to force things,

(01:33:44):
And I kind of love the caution here. And I
think that Carson Spires in a pinch is fine. He's
not somebody you really want to make twenty five to
thirty starts in the season, but if he's going to
give you five or ten and then coming out of
the bullpen a lot more, I think that he's a
very serviceable pitcher.

Speaker 2 (01:34:01):
Yeah, I was gonna say, do you kind of see
him being in the Nick Martinez role from last year?

Speaker 4 (01:34:06):
Does that?

Speaker 2 (01:34:06):
Does that feel like that fits for him at all?

Speaker 4 (01:34:09):
I do, And I think that the Reds have a
couple of guys that can really sell that role, between
him and then them also announcing the Graham Ashcraft is
going to move to the bullpen as well. I think
that those dudes can provide that sort of security where
you know, Ashcraft hasn't had the best of spring, but
I think that he will get into that shape that
you need to be in the bullpen, which quite frankly

(01:34:31):
is just throwing you know, somewhere around fifteen to twenty
pitches in then outing, and I think ultimately he can
give them the sort of length, especially Carson Spires on
this point where you know, if somebody struggling early, if
Nicodello comes out in his first start, he's he's a
little edratic with the control and walking some guys and
you need to pull them. In the fourth, you can
pull them, and you can bring in Spires once ever

(01:34:54):
and your rabbit return.

Speaker 2 (01:34:56):
I know that you are a glass half full person.
You always are. I'm worried about the Reds offense. Are
you worried about the Reds offense?

Speaker 4 (01:35:06):
I think that they are struggling at the right time
to struggle. I think that there's still plenty of time
for them to get that mojo back for opening day.
I would worry more so if we were like a
week end of the season and we're seeing two and
three runs and things like that. Honestly, what we saw
from the Cubs in Tokyo, that's the kind of thing

(01:35:26):
that I would worry about in the regular season ball.
But I think that they still have plenty of time
to get things rolling. Think about the different guys who
are in the lineup, a little bit out of position
in the lineup, simply because they want them to get
more at that in a given spring training game. It's
not going to be the exact flow of things once
we get the March twenty seven. So I believe that

(01:35:48):
this is something that they can overcome.

Speaker 19 (01:35:50):
I'm with you.

Speaker 4 (01:35:50):
I'm not disavowing any sort of struggles and saying that
they're not real at all, But I don't think that
i'd put myself like a three out of ten on
the worry field.

Speaker 2 (01:36:02):
How do you expect the outfield to shape up? I
think most people think every day, for the most part,
it's going to be Hayes, Friedel and Freyley. But Santiago
Espinal is hitting the ball well. He's maybe their most
consistent hitter from a year ago, and he's getting more
reps in the outfield. How do you see that playing out,

(01:36:22):
not only with the starting three, but also with the
backup outfielder.

Speaker 4 (01:36:27):
Kind of makes me wonder a little bit on the
fourth outfield spot if they aren't sold on Stuart Fairchild,
because we've seen a lot of Blake done, We've seen
a lot of Jacob Herdebe's. Although Jacob Herdeby's wouldn't be
the right handed point of a platoon, but we and
we've seen Espinel in right field. I wonder if Terry
Francon is trying to cover all his bases there. I
think early on will be Freiley and Fairchild in right field,

(01:36:51):
and Fairchild will have every opportunity to prove himself against
left handed pitching, which they will need at a couple
of different points with the Giants and a couple of
teams that they faced early on. So we will cease
to a fair Child early because I know for a fact,
and I would love to say that Jake could prove
us wrong in this, but I know for a fact

(01:37:11):
he can't hit left handed pitching, so I want I
definitely think that Terry Franklin will roll with that platoon.
But TJ. Friedel is a platoonless hitter actually could be
a little bit of a reverse split guy, depending on
which year to look at. And then Austin Hayes is
a platoonless guy, albeit a little bit less power against
right handed pitching, but pretty similar on base and average wise.

(01:37:34):
So I think both those guys, like you said, will
play every day.

Speaker 2 (01:37:37):
Have you seen any updates on Spencer Steer. I know
he was supposed to start throwing again this week. He
had said previously when he starts throwing, he doesn't want
to stop. Is there any indication on the status of
Spencer Steer.

Speaker 4 (01:37:50):
There's nothing concrete yet from the point that they said
he was throwing on Tuesday. I think that the upside
currently is that he's throwing and there's no discomfort, and
he plays first base in DH early on in the season.
There's a chance he could unlock the potential to go
back to being that super utility guy. But they're really

(01:38:11):
comfortable with Gavin Lux spelling that role right now, so
I think that they can slow play Spencer Steer's shoulder,
and as long as he's swinging a bat okay, which
all reports are that he is, then they can at
least trust him in that DH spot for the first
i'd same month of the season.

Speaker 2 (01:38:28):
So you don't think he'll start the season on the
injured list.

Speaker 4 (01:38:31):
I don't believe. I was in the camp that I
thought he would. But as much as they are continuing
to push this back and not give us a concrete decision,
I honestly thought Austin that the first guy we would
hear about hitting the IL would be Spencer Steer as
opposed to Andrew Abbott. So I think it's telling that
Abbot's already been announced and Spencer Steer has not.

Speaker 2 (01:38:51):
Yeah, I think that's true. I mean, especially considering how
long this has gone on and their propensity to be careful.
Jeff Carr co host Locked on Reds podcast with Steve Offfenbaker,
also Sports Illustrated's Red's Talk SI. What constitutes a successful
season for the Cincinnati Reds.

Speaker 4 (01:39:13):
I'd say a playoff appearance, and I would say especially
if it's from a division winning standpoint, this division is
still very much up for grabs.

Speaker 15 (01:39:24):
And I.

Speaker 4 (01:39:26):
Love to jest about the fact that the Cubs have
had a horrible first two games of the season and
that means that their entire year is going to be horrible.
But I know that they are a good team and
they're going to figure it out at some point, So
he can't write them off, can't write off the Brewers.
It's going to be a tough year. But I don't
think either one of those teams is exponentially better than
the Reds. And I think that, especially if Terry francona

(01:39:47):
can manage this accordingly, and he has the resume that
shows that he can that they can really take over
the Nlcentral. I think that a successful season, though, is
just a playoff appearance. But I would be over the
moon if it's a division winning playoff appearance.

Speaker 2 (01:40:03):
Can they make the playoffs without winning the division? You
think in today's in the way the National League is
built right.

Speaker 3 (01:40:10):
Now, I think so.

Speaker 4 (01:40:12):
I think that you know the key. Obviously, the Dodgers
are going to win the West. I'd be very shocked
if anything different happens there. The East, you're going to
have the Braves and the Mets up top, and then
the Phillies as well. So you are talking about the Mets,
the Mets, Braves, Phillies, two of those in a wild card.

(01:40:32):
The Diamondbacks are likely going to be a wildcard team
as well. But I don't have a lot of faith
in the Mets figuring everything out. Just because they got
Juan Soto doesn't mean that they have fixed all ales
from last season. I think that they are a vulnerable team.
I think that the Diamondbacks are a vulnerable team and
the Reds could overcome.

Speaker 2 (01:40:52):
Is there anybody that we're not talking about that we
should be talking about that you think is going to
have a big impact on the twenty twenty five.

Speaker 4 (01:41:01):
We've talked a lot about a lot of guys, so
that's tough, but I would say Nicolodolo. I think that
Nicolodolo's start to the spring convinced everybody that he just
hasn't figured anything out and that he's going to be horrible,
And I think there couldn't be anything further from the truth.
I think he is going to be right where he
was in the early part of last season the first

(01:41:23):
eleven starts. At twenty twenty four, he had a two
point seven to six ERA. He was right there with
Hunter Green, and then the blister happened and then everything
else happened. I think that he is going to stay
healthy this year and he is going to be that
ace one B that really propels the Reds up the standings.
The pitching is going to be what carries the Reds

(01:41:44):
this year. I think that the offense will do enough,
and they're going to get much better with the health
of Matt McClain and Christian and Karnacian Strand, and they're
going to be able to support a pitching staff that's
going to be I would say top ten in the
National League. I think that's an easy prediction, or not
in the major leagues. Of the prediction, who's the closer?

(01:42:09):
You know, this is an interesting one because I think
it's Daz to start the season. Ever since May last
year he had a two point seven ERA or a
little bit under three, two point seventy point eight, something
like that. I got a lot of numbers going around here,
but I think that he is a guy that started
to figure things out again last year. Not super worried.

(01:42:30):
I'd say I'm a six out of ten worried about
his spring, but I think that he's going to be fine.
But I also think that Nick Crawl did a beautiful
job of adding Taylor Rodgers and Scott Barlow to this mix.
So I think that the Reds have a good problem
and that they have too many guys that you could
count as the closer of the bullpen. I think that
Daz begins it. Taylor Rodgers is an easy, you know,

(01:42:54):
fill in in case Daz falters, and then you've got
Barlow and Emelia Pagan, who I think injuries really messed
him up last season. And we don't we did not
see the real Amelio pegotten last year. So I think
that they've got four dudes that they can really rely
on in any one of those situations, with Diaz currently

(01:43:15):
at the top of that pecking order, but it could
change depending on how his season starts.

Speaker 2 (01:43:20):
Jeff Carr locked on Red's podcast, Red's Talk Sports Illustrated. Uh,
how many brackets do you fill out?

Speaker 26 (01:43:29):
One?

Speaker 4 (01:43:30):
One?

Speaker 2 (01:43:30):
Only one? Okay? Who did you pick to win the
National Championship?

Speaker 4 (01:43:35):
Houston?

Speaker 19 (01:43:36):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:43:36):
Okay, I'm not alone. Then, I said that earlier. I
didn't think many people would pick Houston, but you and
I both did, so, you know, they say that thing
about great minds. I don't know if you're watching right now,
but Houston is up twenty four to eight, so I'm
liking our pick so far.

Speaker 4 (01:43:52):
At least they're getting out of the first round because
I got a couple of picks. I picked Louisville. I
don't know why I picked Louisville, but a horrible pick.

Speaker 2 (01:43:59):
Yeah, not looking good right now, Jeff. We'll see you
around on opening day. I'm sure we will talk again soon.
Thanks for making some time for me today, man, Absolutely thanks. Austin. Yeah, Reed,
that is Jeff Carr from the Locked On Reds podcast
and Red's Talk SI will get you updated on the
NCAA Tournament when we come back. This is since He

(01:44:21):
three to sixty hour three, brought to you by Penn
Station on the Home of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.
Good afternoon, nothing but sports.

Speaker 15 (01:44:29):
This must be what happened?

Speaker 1 (01:44:30):
Is like Lowagg Cincy three sixty is back on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (01:44:45):
Since He three sixty ESPN fifteen thirty. Austin Olmore with you,
Tony Pike out the Big Fellow back Tomorrow will be
at Oakley Greens twelve to three, catching a lot of
college basketball. Speaking of college basketball, update scores from the
NCUBA Tournament, Creighton, with a minute left to play, leads
Louisville by ten, eighty three to seventy three. Wisconsin holds

(01:45:08):
an eight point lead over Montana forty to thirty two
at halftime. Number one seed Houston is leading SIUE twenty
eight to eleven with nine minutes to play in the
first half. With eight minutes left in the game, Perdue
leads High Point fifty nine to fifty three. That's a
close game, right now definitely the closest among the current

(01:45:29):
games perdue and high point just six point just a
six point lead for the boiler Makers. That is everything
you need to know from a college basketball standpoint. Our
pole questions have concluded. If you voted, thank you. Here
are our results. Poll Question number one, how far can

(01:45:52):
Xavier make it an NC DOUBLEA tournament? A last ditch
effort by lose to Illinois makes the cake at thirty
six point nine percent, round of thirty two at twenty
three percent, sweet sixteen thirty five percent, and just four
point nine percent of respondents say they can get to

(01:46:13):
the Elite eight or better. Pull question number two, After
all this time, how do you feel about Carson Palmer?
Fifty eight percent say they don't care, sixteen percent say
they still hate him, twelve percent say they still love him,
and twelve percent say he was right. Sorry Carson. I
just think with Carson Palmer, I've I've always tried to

(01:46:34):
say that he was doing the right thing in trying
to demand that the organization do everything in its power
to win. He was not always perfect, he did not
always have all the equity, but his point and his
purpose was in a good place and Bengals fans ultimately

(01:46:59):
got a good deal out of it. The Bengals ultimately
got a good deal out of it in the sense
that they were able to get Andy Dalton and AJ
Green and other good players out of that deal. And
they were successful for a few years, but they didn't
really change anything, and so nothing really changed in the

(01:47:21):
sense that they would go to the playoffs and lose,
and go to the playoffs and lose, and they never
really changed anything. And nothing really changed until twenty twenty
until Joe Burrow got here. And I don't know that
there's ever been a more impactful or powerful player in
the history of the franchise. The most important thing, though,

(01:47:42):
is that the Bengals recognize the season of life that
they are in in this franchise. They also recognized, to
rehash my point from earlier, they also recognize that these
are the good old days and this is the opportunity
and the window is open. When you have a player

(01:48:03):
like Burrow, you've got to do everything you can to
maximize it. That's why you keep the wide receivers, and
that's why you have to do a better job of
building around him with the offensive line, and you have
to do a better job at drafting and developing. The
good news is that the Bengals clearly recognize that this

(01:48:28):
is a moment in time in which we have to
do things we are uncomfortable with. And so when you
look at the structure of the contract, we got some
of the details, but we still don't fully know the
cap hits. The structuring of deals is a big thing. Guaranteed.
Money is a big thing that in and of itself

(01:48:49):
will help you to acquire better players and force you
When you get great players like this, they force you
to change. They force you to do things you're uncomfortable with,
and that's a good thing. I've always said that it's
one thing to change, and I've stood on my ground
multiple times at the Bengals have changed in a lot
of ways. But you can't just change and be like,

(01:49:10):
all right, that was fun. Now we have some good
players and we're competitive and everyone's talking about us. Now
you get there, you change, and then you have to evolve.
If you want to stay at the top, you have
to evolve because this league never stops moving. You know
the way that Howie Roseman and the Eagles hunt down talent,
pay talent and manipulate the salary cap. There were always

(01:49:35):
going to be better quarterbacks coming in, and good quarterbacks
and good playmakers coming in. There are always going to
be opportunities to make your team better. You can't just
stand idly by, and so I think most people look
at how this offseason has gone and say, Okay, well,
it's really good that we got Jamar, it's really good
that we got t It's looking like it's gonna be

(01:49:56):
okay with Trey Hendrickson. But man, I wish this stuff
could have been done earlier and that they wouldn't still
be looking for starting guards. And that's a fair criticism.
The fact that this took as long as it did
is a fair criticism. It should have been wrapped up
a long time ago, and we try to repeatedly express

(01:50:17):
the importance of that after the season ended. But the
fact that they got them both done before opening day,
I think is a big deal, and it seems like
they're probably gonna have some sort of an answer on
Trey Hendrickson also prior to opening day. I would expect
something within the next week. That is a good starting point,

(01:50:39):
but you're mostly coming back with the same team. The
shift now goes to the organization and to Duke Tobin
and to the coaching staff, in which this organization puts
a lot on the shoulders of when it comes to
scouting and developing talent and making those draft picks. Yes,

(01:51:01):
everyone knows that the Bengals have a small scouting staff,
but when you look at it, they have one of
the larger coaching staffs in the NFL. And this organization
has always relied heavily on the coaching staff to evaluate talent.
Now that could be a flaw, it could be a
good thing. I would trust Al Golden to be good

(01:51:22):
at that, maybe better than what Lui Ana Rumo had
been in the past. Now the pressure all shifts back
on the organization. It shifts on to Zach Taylor to
prevent slow starts and to make the right selections to
bring the right guys in here. They took some chances
last year. They took some chances on a guy like

(01:51:43):
Jermaine Burden and it hasn't worked out. They took a
chance on a guy with an injury history and Eric
All and it hasn't worked out and he's gonna miss
another season. But they've also hit on guys like I
think I'm still very high on Jordan Battle if hit
on Chase Brown like there are, there just needs to
be more consistency around that. I also think the linebacker

(01:52:05):
position has to be addressed. That to me is as
much of a glaring need as guard minebacker not really
a sexy position, not something you want to talk about
a lot. Orrin Bergs is a good run defender, but
he's basically a Keen Davis Gaither And that's fine. You
need to have a spot for people like that, but

(01:52:25):
he's not good enough to rely on him as a starter.
I don't think now. He played good during the run
of the Super Bowl, but you know it's vict Fangio,
and that's with a bunch of really good defenders around him.
How's he gonna perform with an unproven defensive line in
front of him and an unproven secondary behind him? Those

(01:52:46):
are my questions. Maybe Luke Logan Wilson next to him
will will help with that, but there are still too
many questions, more questions than answers. And here's the thing
with Trey Henderson. I've always gotten the field that the
Bengals would prefer him to play out this deal as
it currently is, and I kind of feel like that's

(01:53:09):
what they would prefer to happen. To be honest, I
don't know that it will. I was wrong about Jamar
and t I thought this would go well into the summer.
I hope I'm wrong about Hendrickson. I hope they get
to some sort of an extension with him. I just
can't see that at the moment. I just wonder if
there will be resolution over the next week, like where

(01:53:32):
it's like, Okay, you know what, I'm just going to
play out this last year on my deal, or it's like, okay,
here's the extension. Either way, I don't think Trey Henderson
is in the long term plans of the Bengals. Maybe
two more years if you get an extension, and if so,
that's fine to me. Over the last week or so,

(01:53:54):
it's just clarified the fact that they're going to draft
an head rusher. Like if there is one thing we
know about them, one thing that's predictable about them when
it comes to the draft is that they'd try to
draft for positions that they are going to try to
replace players. It hasn't always worked, but that is at
least a trend that has happened with them over and

(01:54:16):
over again, and because of that, I fully expect them
to try to draft another another edge rusher. I also
fully expect them to trade back because they have too
many holes to fill. I wouldn't be surprised if they
traded back in the first round and the second round

(01:54:37):
or one of the other That wouldn't surprise me at all.
They only have six picks, they lost one in the
Khalil Herbert trade, and there's too many holes to fill.
If you can add one more third round pick or
one more fourth round pick or whatever it might be,
or if you're able to get something for Jermaine Pratt,
I don't know either way. They need more draft picks

(01:54:59):
so them to move back. And I also think they're
going to draft an head rusher with their first pick
because they're going to be trying to replace Trey Hendrickson
and also replace the idea of what if Miles Murphy
isn't what he what he's what we think he's going
to be. And also Joseph Osai is only on a
one year deal, so as is cam Sample and say

(01:55:20):
Sam Hubbard's gone, that position needs beefed up immediately. I
think they will go after that, almost a certainty in
the first round of the draft. We'll take a break,
we'll come back. Phone lines are open five, one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. Will take your phone calls.

Speaker 3 (01:55:37):
Next.

Speaker 2 (01:55:37):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station. Hey, what
could you do with the next roum?

Speaker 28 (01:55:44):
Hey, Alexa, what's going on in the NFL?

Speaker 26 (01:55:47):
Getting ESPN fifteen thirty from iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (01:55:55):
SINT three sixty, ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Austin Elmore. We'll
be talking to Chad Brindle in just a few minutes.
He's in for Moe Egger this afternoon. I'm sure Chad
will have a lot to say to break down last
night's big Xavier win. If you know Chad Brindle, there
is no bigger Musketeer fan on the planet than Chad Brindle.

(01:56:15):
And looking forward to hearing what he has to say
about that game, and about the tournament and the Bearcats
and the Crown and the Bengals and the Reds and
all of it. Uh, busy afternoon for Chad, coming up
three to six. We'll talk to him for quick hits
coming up in just a few minutes. But right now
we've made space for phone calls, and we have phone calls.
Let's go to Jarvis. Who's calling in? What's up? Jarvis?

Speaker 15 (01:56:38):
So with you?

Speaker 11 (01:56:39):
Man?

Speaker 14 (01:56:39):
I heard from y'allan wow, be trying to cale? Yeah
business that time I get off with and be about
to handle y'all show.

Speaker 2 (01:56:46):
Well, you're here now, and I'm glad you are. What's
on your mind?

Speaker 11 (01:56:49):
Yes, sir?

Speaker 19 (01:56:51):
Remember me?

Speaker 14 (01:56:51):
I was the one that predicted the big Gone Cos
and Super Bowl. You want to see me even started now?
Some days I just don't like that.

Speaker 12 (01:57:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (01:57:00):
I always try to paint pictures of Cincinnati like the
they not exactly who they are, Like, let's be honest,
like the last since when he done gave up Marvin
Lewis and Dak Taylor took over, the Bigles have been stick.
And then on top of that, when we when we
don't stand, they say the chief when we do span,
they say we over pay. I mean like which one is?

Speaker 28 (01:57:20):
Like you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 14 (01:57:21):
And then on top of that, like then the thingles
ain't been missing out on draft picks, majority of them
done got hurt, like and most of the time we
don't even play our players. If we're have played Chris Brown,
I mean Chase Brown from the very beginning to look
to see who said letting Jack most ron yards and
wasn't even being productive. Who's to say that he wouldn't
even have more yards than Joe Mixon because that you
look at you look at Joe Mixon stacks when you

(01:57:43):
look at Chris Brown, that I mean Chase Browns. That
Chase Browns, that's almost identical to the Joe Mixon and
Joe Mixon only mixed three games and we didn't even
run Chase Brown as a starter until week six.

Speaker 2 (01:57:57):
Yeah, so I just be I just I just be
a little back man, like you know what I'm.

Speaker 14 (01:58:00):
Saying, Like, Uh, Torian Battle was one of the best
rookies on the defense that and then the next year
we get Gino Stone and put him on the bench.
More part of the problem, why you know your rookies
don't development because you don't we sud to.

Speaker 28 (01:58:16):
Mattie, don't play cam sample we barely.

Speaker 2 (01:58:19):
Seen and uh to your to your point, Jarvis, I
think that's why they moved on from Loui an Arumo.
They weren't getting enough from those young players. The ones
that were healthy didn't get there. Wasn't enough trust in
them to execute the system. And when they played more,
the defense was better. And I think that's a big
reason why they moved on from ana Umo.

Speaker 14 (01:58:39):
And I can agree with you, but all I'm saying
is that he didn't. We didn't miss on draft picks.
You got to think we got josh uh Newbie last year.
We got DJ Turner. The year before that, we got
uh Uh. I can't even pick the day right now,
but we got him. The year before that. We got
the fast, the fastest, the missive back in the league.

(01:59:00):
But they they ain't had time to jail together and
played together. We took back to you from the position
he had and he had brought you in a washed
up better and that we had some years ago.

Speaker 2 (01:59:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (01:59:11):
So, like I said, if they play a rookies, if
they actually played a rookies, maybe he will see the
pretentions of the draft to young had. And then on
top of that, like got said offensively, we was gonna stop.
If we would have got into the playoff last year,
wouldn't nobody even be talking as bad as they talking
about them right now?

Speaker 2 (01:59:29):
Yeah, But they didn't, though, Jarvis, thank you for the
phone call. So this is now the way we have
to look at it.

Speaker 10 (01:59:34):
I don't know that.

Speaker 2 (01:59:35):
I would say, listen, the draft picks just haven't been great.
Some of them have been hurt, but many of them
just have not produced. It's still very early, but this
is the year they have to start producing and prove
Jarvis right. Uh, let's go to Montgomery. Brian is there?
What's up Brian?

Speaker 15 (01:59:53):
Hey?

Speaker 11 (01:59:53):
How are you doing?

Speaker 2 (01:59:54):
Good? Man? Hey?

Speaker 28 (01:59:57):
I was telling about what we were talking about with
all the holes. You know, we obviously need a couple
of guards that can actually pass block. I'm tired of
seeing Joe Burrow not be able to step in the
pocket from the pocket just coming right in his.

Speaker 14 (02:00:08):
Face right away.

Speaker 28 (02:00:10):
I think that benefits Mahomes, you know, Barry, they can
step up in the pocket. Burrow could, but you never
You usually have to dodge somebody who's gonna step up.
But I feel like the draft needs to be a
lot of defense. You know, we still haven't. We still
have addressed the pass rushing defensive tackle. That's a huge
Need's been a huge need for a couple of years.

Speaker 22 (02:00:29):
Now.

Speaker 28 (02:00:30):
Need another end dresser besides Hendrickson. And of course, if
indricks is gone, we're gonna really need another one or
two a safety. I mean, I can't get it. I
can't get my mind around about Bengals fans with this
narrative that gen Stone improved it.

Speaker 14 (02:00:45):
In the year.

Speaker 28 (02:00:45):
Well, quarterbacks play had a lot to do with that.
They played terrible quarterbacks in the year. Of course he's
going to play better.

Speaker 14 (02:00:51):
I hope he does.

Speaker 28 (02:00:51):
I mean, geez, we they were terrible. So I'm not
sure why we haven't released him yet because we definitely
need a free safe. I'd actually prefer to sign Hilton
and put him his free safety. He's a better tackler
as Gino two, and he's smarter. I think, you know,
IQ wise, Uh, you know, a corner for the slot,

(02:01:11):
you know, with Hilton leven that's gonna be a huge need.
And like you said, a linebacker Arren Burks is more
of a good special teamers, maybe a good fill in
like a Keen David Gaylors.

Speaker 2 (02:01:22):
That's the thing. That's why I think Geno Stone is
still here at the moment, is because there are so
many other holes to fill, and Jermaine Pratt is already
looking for a contra a trade. Uh, and Keem Davis
Gaither has gone and Joe Batchie's not there anymore. Who
even though he's Joe Batchie, did feel fill a role
at times. There are so many holes to fill. I

(02:01:43):
think they're probably saying, all right, let's get the guys
that keep, the guys that were confident in like bj
Hill and Cam Sample and Trey Hendrickson, and we'll hold
on to Geno Stone through the draft and see what happens.
Maybe one of those safeties like Xavier Watts or Iman
Ori from South Carolina falls in their lap and they're like,
all right, we're gonna take this guy, and then they'll

(02:02:04):
move on from Geno Stone. You're right though the offenses
that they played at the end of the year were
not great, but they probably look at it and say,
if we let him go, that's another hole that we
would have to then fill and we don't really have
the draft picks to do that, and Brian, I'm up
against the clock. Thank you for the phone call. So
there's a lot of holes to fill. That's gonna, I
think kind of cause them to hold on to what

(02:02:26):
they have and then kind of go through it one
by one. And it's got to start with the pass
rush and build out from there, I'm way late for
a break. Chad Brendle joins me. Next for quick It's
ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (02:02:37):
K WAT three sixty continues on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station. It's time for Cincy three sixty Quick Hits
on ESPN fifty.

Speaker 2 (02:02:48):
Yes, indeed it is. And we are joined for quick
hits by the man who will be hosting the Moegar
radio show this afternoon. But it's not Moeger, it's Chad Brendle. Hi, Chad, Hi, Austin.

Speaker 22 (02:03:00):
What the the worst possible day of my life to
do radio following a big Xavier n CUAA tournament, when
when Cincinnati's headed to the crown.

Speaker 2 (02:03:12):
I was thinking about this last night because I know
that you love to spar with Xavier factors and and
not just you, all UC fans do. And then the
big thing especially yeah, the big thing is, yeah, you've
never been to a final four. They've they've That's which
is factual. What would then, what would be your comeback

(02:03:36):
or your go to insult when Xavier finally makes a
final four? You've only been to one final four? Okay,
I figured I figured that's what it was going to
be congratulations. Much like Mike Florio and the national media.
You moved the goalposts on people.

Speaker 22 (02:03:53):
Well, no, the goalposts moved themselves. So you just got
to adapt. You got to get back in the lab.

Speaker 2 (02:03:59):
I think I.

Speaker 22 (02:04:01):
Would think I would come up with something more better
than that, but that would be the original go to,
the first go to. But that look because I thought
about that. You know, this is a type of run.
This is the start of the Championship DVD. Here comes
Sean Miller's Muskies. It's funny though that yesterday was the

(02:04:22):
exact carbon copy reversed of what got them into the
Like why they're in the first four in the first place, Yeah,
get out to that early thirteen fourteen point lead, and
then at the ten minute mark the things start to
wobble and then slowly like the wheels fall off, and
x was in the hunting role instead of the team

(02:04:46):
being hunted. And I still think, like the thing for
me is what turned Xavier season around was their ability
to defend, because they they were bad at it early
in the year. And if you look at the metrics,
like they haven't been great, but they've at least been Yeah,
they've been competent defensively through the back you know, ten

(02:05:09):
games of the season, and that has changed their outlook.
It's changed their you know, perspective on what they can accomplish.
They made Texas take a bunch of tough shots in
the first half. Texas just has guys to make take
and take tough shots. But as you play through a game,

(02:05:30):
you keep making them take tough shots, they're gonna start
missing at some point. What was the they made four
field goals. Texas made four field goals in the final
thirteen minutes of that game. And that's Xavier being able
to answer the bell defensively, because if Texas keeps scoring,
Xavier doesn't have enough runway to make up the ground.

Speaker 2 (02:05:53):
So you have to turn off the faucet. They turned
off the faucet.

Speaker 22 (02:05:57):
Texas couldn't get buckets, and they just slowly, methodically climb
back into it and got the win. What do you
have coming up on your show this afternoon? Well, we
did not collaborate today on guests. Oh really, I also
have Jeff ff Carr fantastic.

Speaker 2 (02:06:13):
Well, I here's the full truth is I asked Jeff
to be on my show yesterday. Me too, because I
thought that I was doing this show yesterday, but then
I realized that the day I asked him was Wednesday.

Speaker 22 (02:06:29):
I got my days confused, so I said, what are
you just moving back a day? And sure, and then
yesterday he just likes to talk, so I wanted to
talk to Skinny. So I watched Moe's show preview and
I looked at most tweets and MO did not indicate
that he was having Richard Skinner on yesterday. So I asked, Kenny,
if you wanted to come on today and then this

(02:06:49):
morning you hear Richard Skinner. I saw MO tweet out
here's yesterday's segment with Richard Skinner, and I'm like, I tried,
but I'll have different conversations than than you and Mohat's
all right, those those are two versatile people. So we'll
have those two on. We're gonna talk some Xavier today.
It's gonna pain me, but I'll do it and I'll

(02:07:11):
do it fairly.

Speaker 2 (02:07:12):
That's good. That's all we ask for you. And I
don't want to me and Musky Nation. We just asked
that you that you're fair. You're so despicted. Somebody has
to be around here between you Tony and Mo. Somebody
has to represent it. Tony a Cincinnati fan. Really, yes
he is, really he is?

Speaker 3 (02:07:31):
It really is.

Speaker 2 (02:07:32):
I mean some of the performances, you know, especially the
Orange Bowl, you wouldn't think. I'm starting to wonder if
maybe he was throwing games while he was here. Now,
what I have learned about Tony is he will do
anything for a dollar, so that would not surprise me
if there was some sort of a gambling run.

Speaker 22 (02:07:50):
We're gonna talk about the a similarity between the Reds
and the Bengals.

Speaker 2 (02:07:54):
Oh, I like that.

Speaker 22 (02:07:55):
That similarity is the Reds just need the offense to
be every and the Bengals just need the defense to
be outage Can they get Can they accomplish average? Right now,
I'm very skeptic for the Stars. The Reds don't seem
like they're going to have an average offense.

Speaker 2 (02:08:14):
No, they don't.

Speaker 22 (02:08:15):
The Bengals don't seem like they're going to have an
average defense. The good news is Jose Travino's locked up
for the next three years.

Speaker 2 (02:08:21):
Though. I feel much better, Yeah, yeah, I feel much better.
I mean, obviously you'll lead with that and then just
kind of see where the everything else will just fall.

Speaker 22 (02:08:28):
Into place from there, we'll definitely be watching the NCAA tournament.

Speaker 2 (02:08:33):
How many brackets do you fill out? None? None?

Speaker 22 (02:08:36):
I'm like Charlie, I don't, okay, interesting, I like watching
I like I like just watching my daughter now. So
technically I probably filled out like five. Because last night
my daughter she inter pools for her No, she doesn't, oh,
and she like she pulls out whenever there's a game
on that we want to watch, she pulls up a

(02:08:58):
chair in my office and we watch game together.

Speaker 2 (02:09:00):
That's nice.

Speaker 22 (02:09:01):
So we're watching Texas and Xavier last night, and she
was doing brackets and when you think about this game,
what do you think about that game?

Speaker 2 (02:09:06):
She would ask me on the games that she didn't
have a lot of knowledge of.

Speaker 22 (02:09:10):
But when your fourteen year old daughter willingly like sits
down and watches basketball with you, I feel like I'm
doing a good job as a parent.

Speaker 2 (02:09:19):
That's That's one of those moments. I feel like there
were three or four times this year about to get
choked up. I am there were three or four times
this year that like, there was a big, big twelve
game on and it went into overtime, which is like,
you know, it's bedtime. She's got school in the morning,
and she will sit on the.

Speaker 22 (02:09:38):
End of the bed and we will watch the game
all the way to completion because she's just become a big,
big basketball fan. So that's gonna win the national championship quickly.
If Cooper Flag is healthy, it's Duke. If not, I
think Florida's probably got the best team.

Speaker 2 (02:09:56):
All right there, it is Florida from Chad Brindle. If
Cooper Flag not healthy enough to contribute to Duke, Chad
Brendle filling in for Moegar this afternoon on the Moeger
Radio show. Are you back tomorrow?

Speaker 12 (02:10:08):
Yep?

Speaker 2 (02:10:08):
Oh, typical egg Man standard. Every year he's the best
at this. Every year I get the first two days
of the tournaments. The Rick Patino of taking days off
for the tournament. Chad Brendle is next. Thanks so much
for listening. Join us at Oakley Greens tomorrow twelve to
three right here on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (02:10:26):
Ky Cincinnati.

Speaker 16 (02:10:27):
Make us the number one preset on your car radio
and on the free new and improved iHeartRadio app Free
never sounded so good.

Speaker 2 (02:10:34):
ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 12 (02:10:36):
The Women's College Basket