3/5/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Home of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
What's up, Good afternoon on my legger. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty. Thank you for listening, hook You've had an
awesome Wednesday so far. It's my first show back. I
was not here yesterday. I was not here Monday, I
was not here Friday, I was not here Thursday. Took
the annual trip to Arizona for spring training, which was

(00:27):
awesome and refreshing, and so many other adjectives that I'm
not going to bore you with my thanks to Chad
Brundle for producing or not producing. Thanks to Chad Brendle
for hosting this show in my absence. He didn't take
Tarren Bland's job, so it is awesome to be here.
Thank you so much. Show preview is available right now

(00:50):
on Twitter thanks to Emery Federal Credit Union, your credit
union with heart since nineteen thirty nine.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Go to Emery FCU dot org.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
In one hour, somebody who I'm excited to talk with
because I think his show on this radio station is
off to a great start. Clinton Yates, who hosts the
show that airs from ten am to noon on ESPN radio.
Obviously we carry that show before Sincy three to sixty.
Clinton's gonna join us, and I like his show. I
like a show for three reasons, one of which is

(01:25):
he's actually there for it. It's nice to have a
show on this radio station where the host who is
supposed to be on is on. Number two is his
show is smart and fun. Number three, Clinton's a big
baseball guy. It's fun to listen to a national outlet
where they work in some baseball talk.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
I like it.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
I like Clinton. He's going to be on with us
in one hour. Also, Rick Boring, It's Wednesday. Rick Poring
on Xavier n NKU basketball, the Norse advancing to the
quarterfinal round on the Horizon League Tournament, Xavier getting set
to play Butler on the road to Night that and
so much more. Or let's let's start with this. Found
this out a little before eleven o'clock this morning. Sam

(02:04):
Hubbard is retiring the Molar product, the Ohio State product
is hanging it up. He announced it in a social
media post. And I'm not gonna say anything that others
haven't already expressed on social media.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
What a what a terrific career?

Speaker 2 (02:24):
And maybe not the world's longest But what a terrific
career and a what a storybook tale. Every boy who
grows up in this town at some point has imagined
or dreamed of playing for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
He did that. I mean that in itself is awesome.
He did that.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
I mean every boy in this town would love to
just play for an NFL team. He did that, and
he got to play his entire career for his hometown team,
and not just play, but he was a part of
the solution here. The last holdover from the Marvin Lewis era.
Sam drafted in twenty eighteen, and I think we all

(03:10):
remember what those those first few years of Sam's career
were like. He was a promising young player, certainly a
guy that you thought, this guy can be somebody that
we move forward with. But his first two NFL seasons
he was toiling on just miserable teams, Marvin's last one

(03:31):
which went six and ten, Zach Taylor's first one, which
went to and fourteen.

Speaker 1 (03:36):
The twenty twenty.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Team not all that much better, obviously, with Joe Burrow
playing but getting hurt late in his rookie season, but
he ended up being one of those guys that was
a part of the turnaround here. So here you have
hometown dude gets a chance to play in the NFL
for his hometown team, and he's a part of the solution.
He's one of the guys that the organization and the

(03:59):
coaching staff identified as a foundational piece that we're going
to move forward with.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Man, that's cool as hell. That's cool as hell.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
And then you add to it him authoring some iconic moments,
him authoring if you're gonna go out, go out catching
a touchdown pass. He did that obviously in what turned
out to be his last NFL game. He takes a
snap at tight end and he catches his first NFL

(04:31):
pass and it goes for a touchdown, And you kind
of hated that he got hurt, and maybe that kind
of helped put some writing on the wall. But if
you're gonna look back on your career and go, you know,
what's a really cool sort of way to end it
catching a touchdown pass and the game your team wins,
it would be a pretty cool thing. Obviously, the Hubbard

(04:51):
yard dash or the rumble in the jungle, I'm still
not completely sure we've all agreed on what to call
that play. But in the twenty twenty two wild card
win over the Baltimore Ravens, I certainly am of the
belief they don't win that football game if that play
doesn't happen. And I will never forget being in the

(05:11):
stadium that night watching Sam charge down the field, hoping
nobody would catch them, hoping that the call on the
field wouldn't be Baltimore touchdown, hoping there was no Bengals penalty.
And what was really cool is watching a hometown guy
get a chance to.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
Enjoy that moment.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
It was awesome, was awesome, And so you add to
that his impact off the field, and you know, if
you do what we do for a living, you're often
pitched press releases or you become aware of certain charitable
initiatives and an athlete will attach their name to it,

(05:52):
and sometimes you go, okay, I bet you the athlete
has no idea what their foundation does. Sam Hubbard's foundation
and what it's done for kids in this community is
really cool and it's genuine, and he's involved with the work.
A two time Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee,

(06:15):
the Bengals recipient in those two years. By every account,
we've been lucky enough to have Sam on this show
three times. Extraordinarily good dude. I've never heard anybody say
a negative word about Sam Hubbard, the guy. It's just
it's a really neat life and really neat story. And

(06:36):
I certainly there's a part of me played seven years. Man,
it'd be kind of cool if the Bengals are good
next year if Sam was a part of it. But
you know, forget all that for a second. Congratulations to
Sam on his retirement, and we would be saying that
no matter where he was from, no matter where he
grew up, right, a guy who played seven seasons in
a Bengals uniform and was a part of the solution

(06:57):
and was a part of some really cool moments, that's
something we're talking about no matter where they're from. But
the fact that he's from here. But there's a certain
type of athlete in this town, and let's face it,
maybe more baseball players than football, but if they grew
up here and then had professional success here, it's just different.

(07:17):
It's just different than an athlete who comes here from
elsewhere and has success here.

Speaker 1 (07:23):
It just is.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
And so congratulations to Sam Hubbard on his retirement, one
hundred and four NFL games, a part of a Super
Bowl team, and again a guy who and Tony and
Austin were playing some of the audio, is responsible for
some of the greatest and coolest moments in at least
recent Bengals history. And excited to see with Sam what's next.

(07:46):
So congratulations to him. There is a football part of
this because and I don't want this to sound cruel,
and I don't want this to sound inappropriate, but let's
be honest. Sam Hubbard's future is something that we talked
about even before he got hurt late last season.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Right?

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Could he be a cab casualty? Will they renegotiate with him?
Will Sam get cut and look to play elsewhere? Like,
what role, if any, is he going to have on
the Bengals moving forward? It turns out none. With each
departing player who was a part of a team that
wasn't very good in twenty twenty four, there's even more

(08:28):
room for someone new. And I don't want this to
sound mean, but that's refreshing because the Bengals at the
end of the year, we drew up a list of
guys who either got here and never really panned out
like Sheldon Rankins, or whose best days were probably behind him,

(08:54):
Alex Kappa, or whose usefulness has exposed, maybe Jermaine Pratt,
who I guess has asked for a trade. I haven't
done anything with him yet, he would fall into that category.
And I think, and again, I don't want this to
come off as mean, because we love how do you
not like Sam hovered right, one of the most popular

(09:17):
Bengals ever in a great hometown story, and somebody who
was being celebrated today. But Sam was on that list
of guys that you looked at and thought, either their
best years are behind him or their usefulness has expired.
And certainly you wouldn't say about Sam that it just
didn't work out, because it worked out in spades. But

(09:39):
he was on that list of players. And I think
we all knew Sheldon Rankins was going to get cut.
Many of us suspected that Alex Kappel was going to
get cut. It certainly feels like this week it's crystallized
that they're moving on from Mike Hilton. But a fair enough,
a fairly decent sized group of play that I think

(10:01):
a lot of us were really hoping they would replace
I would add Geno Stone to it. I've listened to
arguments that it makes sense to bring him back, and
I'm willing to listen to them, but Sam was on
that list, and I just I haven't. And this is
gonna sound harsh on a day like today, but it's topical,
and Sam's a big boy, and we're all adults here,

(10:22):
so we could do this. I wasn't that interested in
watching Sam play for the Bengals in twenty twenty five.
And I don't know if if Sam's retirement was his
way of sort of controlling the narrative. And it doesn't matter,
because whatever the narrative is, Sam was a terrific player
and a great guy and a big part of this
team's success and has authored a really awesome story. But

(10:44):
there was a list of dudes that as we watched
them last year, I think most of us thought, I'm
cool with them moving on from him and him not
being a part of the team in twenty twenty five,
and the more of those guys we see hit the road,
some will be celebrated, like Sam Hubbard, some will be
acknowledged like Alex Kappa. Some we have already forgotten, like

(11:09):
Sheldon rankins. But the players that are on that list,
the more of them that we talk about being in
a transaction, the.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
Better for this team.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
At least, I think you are welcome to disagree at
five point three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
There's a lot going on.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
The next week and a half or so is going
to be nuts as far as NFL news, and there's
not a lot of real aside from Sam Hubbard, which
is a big story. Sam retiring is a big story.
There's not a ton of other Bengals related stuff that's
directly related to the team, but there are some things
happening around the NFL today that could factor into some

(11:51):
decisions made by the Bengals in the coming days. You
can follow me on Twitter at moeger. That is thanks
to our friends at Delta Dental. Delta Dental building healthy, smart,
vibrant communities for all. Good to Delta dentaloh dot com.
Uh Rick Boring's gonna join us in less than thirty minutes.
On Xavier and NKU basketball, it's a big college basketball tonight.

(12:13):
Xavier played great on Saturday against Creighton, and now it's
do you take care of business on the road against
a butler team and a Butler crowd that I'm sure
would love to be in the role.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
Of spoiler for the Bearcats. It's simple.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
Most of us have made it about Cincinnati finishing ten
and ten in the Big Twelve. That's obviously not possible,
right now, Okay, then win the next two and put
yourself in a position to make a run, and make
a run that matters in Kansas City. I think that
goes out the window if they lose tonight on Senior
Night at Fifth Third. More on both of those teams

(12:49):
coming up here in just a bit. Can the Bengals
do what the Chiefs did?

Speaker 1 (12:55):
Next? On ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
Star Right Radio app have podcasts of shows like Since
the three sixty and My Show, and we have interviews
and segments if you missed.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Chad Brendle had Paul Daanner Junior on He and Mike.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
De Corsi on Go listen to Those are good and
podcasts of this show a service of Long.

Speaker 1 (13:16):
Neck Sports Grill. It's March. You know what happens in March?

Speaker 2 (13:20):
Right, College basketball games a lot of them, and you
can watch every single one of them on one of
the four k TVs at Long Neck Sports grill and
have a beer and have wings and be happy. Long
neck sports Girl, Wilder, Hebron and Ridgewood Stay long come
often a busy day of NFL news. Alex Kappa has

(13:40):
quickly found a new team with the Raiders. By the way,
the Raiders have also given Max Crosby a massive contract extension.
How that may impact what the Bengals do with Trey Hendrickson.
We'll get to here in a bit. Joe Tooney, Remember
the off season of Joe Tooney, the altar product who,

(14:01):
after years with the Patriots, became a free agent after
the twenty twenty season. And for about a two and
a half month stretch, you were not allowed this God
is through COVID, because this is like March of twenty
twenty February, and then COVID hit in March.

Speaker 1 (14:19):
March of twenty twenty, you were.

Speaker 2 (14:21):
Not allowed to talk about the Bengals without mentioning Joe Tooney.
Our buddy James Rapine filled in on this show a
couple of times, and I made tarn to a Joe
Tooney ticker where I had him cut out every time
James mentioned Joe Toney, And it was in the hundreds.
You couldn't talk about the Bengals without talking about Joe Toney.
He obviously ends up going to Kansas City, and he

(14:43):
wins a couple of Super Bowls, and this year, in
his age thirty two season, he was a first team
All Pro, He was a Pro Bowler. He finished tenth
in the Offensive Player of the Year voting. So Joe Tooney,
Kansas City Chiefs gets traded today to the Chicago go
Bears in exchange for a twenty twenty sixth fourth round pick.

Speaker 1 (15:07):
Here's what's interesting.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
This dynamic is not that dissimilar from well, the Bengals
in Trey Hendrickson, an established player coming off of very
good year being traded, a guy who has been an
important part of the team's success, a guy considered to
be among the very best at their position, traded away

(15:35):
by a team that has championship aspirations this coming season. Now,
it's obviously not apples to apples. Joe Toney is an
older player than Trey Hendrickson. He plays I think it's
fair to say a less valuable position, but there are
some parallels. I think you'd have to acknowledge that, right,

(15:57):
some similarities in the dynamic.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
If you will.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
Now, I'll be honest with you. I'm not interested in
trading Trey Hendrickson or anyone else. If the compensation is
a fourth round pick in twenty twenty six, that doesn't
do anything for me, because I want to win the
championship this year. Now, it's a different conversation. If we're
gonna get top end draft capital that helps us this

(16:21):
coming season, well then I'm willing to talk. I'm not
I'm not that interested. And if I'm a Chiefs fan, frankly,
I'm not that interested in a twenty twenty six fourth
round pick. That doesn't do it for me. I understand
the value of future assets. I certainly understand the value
of draft capital. But if I was a Chiefs fan

(16:43):
and you said you could have Joe Tooney playing guard
for you this season and then walking in free agency
and helping you win a title, or you could have
a twenty twenty six fourth round pick, I'm taking Joe Tony. Conversely,
in Cincinnati, if you said, alright, well you can have
Trey Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks, or a

(17:03):
twenty twenty six fourth round pick, that's a no brainer.
I want to win the title this year that twenty
twenty six fourth round pick ain't helping me win the title.
But here's the difference I think between Cincinnati and Kansas City.
I think there's actually two. One is the Chiefs don't
have Patrick Mahomes telling the world who he wants the
team to keep, resign, extend, give a pay raise to.

(17:28):
I've never heard Patrick Mahomes. I'm sure it has happened,
but I've never heard Patrick Mahomes lobby for a teammate
the way Joe Burrow has lobbied for t Higgins and
Trey Hendrickson and Jamar Chase. I've never heard Patrick Mahomes
publicly try to pull strings the way.

Speaker 1 (17:46):
Joe Burrow has.

Speaker 2 (17:49):
Because Patrick Mahomes plays for a team that can be
trusted to replace good players who leave. Patrick Mahomes watched
what happened after they lost the Super Bowl at the
end of the twenty twenty season, when the Patriots just
destroyed them up front, and the Chiefs said, Okay, we
got to get to work fixing our offensive line, and
they did. He has seen good players leave, and he

(18:11):
has seen the Chiefs figure out a way to either
replace them or still win while not replacing them effectively.
The Chiefs can be trusted to replace good players who leave,
which at the end of the day, when it comes
to how we talk about Tea or Trey or anybody

(18:35):
else who may leave, even possibly Jamar if they still
can't get a deal done. There is so much about
the Bengals that earn skepticism because of their track record,
recent track record and even not so recent track record
of not being able to successfully replace players who leave.

(18:55):
I know this is not the first time I've brought
this up, but the very first thing I did Paul
Danner Jinger's podcast today, The Growler, which is out now
if you want to go listen to it, and we
talked about Joe Toney and I'm thinking about it, going well, yeah,
Patrick Mahomes probably doesn't love this, but I'm sure Patrick's going, Okay, cool,

(19:16):
what do you got that's better?

Speaker 1 (19:18):
What's next?

Speaker 2 (19:19):
And I've got faith in you because of our track record.

Speaker 1 (19:24):
We'll see if it works out. We'll see if the
Chiefs figure it out.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
They've got some major decisions on their offensive line, and
to a degree, if you look at the composition of
their offensive line, it makes sense why the odd man
out would be a thirty two year old player. But
I think it would be different if Patrick Mahomes was
out there telling everybody who would listen, Dude, we got
to keep Joe Toney. We've got to extend Joe Toney.
This dude's got to be a part of what we're doing.

(19:47):
And again, he has not done that and might not
do it because of his age, but also because his
team has a really good track record of having and
executing a successful plan to replace good player who have
been a part of their success.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
At the end of the.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Day, and I know this is not the first time
I've talked about this, and it's not going to be
the last. Every time I'm asked about the Trey Hendrickson
thing and what the Bengals have in front of them,
and the t Higgins thing and what they've done with
him in the franchise tag, it comes back to Joe
Burrow referencing we can't keep being the team that lets

(20:24):
good players get away. And the reason he is doing
that is because their recent track record of having a
plan in place and it working to replace those players
who leave hasn't worked.

Speaker 1 (20:39):
Here's the difference.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
In Kansas City. You could do this and nobody bats
an eye. And again, I know Trey is younger, but
there could be some really hard conversations about Trey Hendrickson now,
and the math may have changed because of the Max
Crosby thing in Vegas, which we're gonna get to.

Speaker 1 (20:55):
Here in a minute.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
I would be okay moving on from Trey Hendrickson, not
trading him for a fourth round pick in next year's draft.
I'm okay with letting him play out this year, play
out the contract, dealing with any offseason circus that may
come with it, and deal with the fallout at the
end of the year, because I think I can win

(21:19):
with Trey, and you could certainly entertain me with possible
trade packages and the suggestion that you could still get
better this year by adding draft capital this draft, for
this draft and using it to make the team better
this year. And I would understand that, except I can't

(21:45):
help but think of the team's recent track record of
not being able to replace really good players once it's
time for them to leave, like Jesse Bates, like DJ Reader,
like Chadobia Woozie, going back aways like Andrew Whitworth, and unfortunately,
right now at least like Trey hendrickson the Chiefs do

(22:07):
something like this, It's a big deal, man. This dude
was the last three years an All Pro player, this
year first Team. I haven't looked at the Offensive Player
of the Year voting breakdown, but somebody gave Joe Toney
a vote.

Speaker 1 (22:25):
He was that good this year.

Speaker 2 (22:28):
And less than a month after he played in a
Super Bowl, the Chiefs moved him for next to nothing.
And you just kind of NodD along because of their
track record and because their quarterback isn't going out of
his way to mention how bad your track record is.
It's an interesting dynamic. Sports headlines are coming up. There's

(22:50):
a bunch of them today. Reds are playing this afternoon,
Xavier Place to night. Rick Brooring on the Musketeers and
the nurse who advanced to the Horizon League quarterfinals tomorrow night.
He joins us in just about two minutes plus Clinton
Yates from ESPN Radio at four oh five on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (23:10):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center. When it comes
to multiple sclerosis, trust the experts at UC Gardner Neuroscience
Institute for Innovative and comprehensive care. Learn more at UCHealth
dot com. Still seeing that accident on Coleraine Avenue over
at North Bend Road. Southbound seventy one traffic moving slow

(23:30):
from Martin Luther King Junior Drive to four seventy one.
That's a two minute delay, and southbound seventy five traffic
is slow from Galbreath Road to Town Street on that
ezallic with traffic.

Speaker 3 (23:41):
The ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
Sports headlines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet Home of
Lifetime powertrain protection and guarantee credit approval from their family
to yours for lifeeshev dot com. The Bengals have just
made a big announcements involving a player re signing with them.

(24:08):
Jackson Kirkland has signed a one year contract extension through
the twenty twenty five season. A third year player this
coming year, the guard was a college free agent signee
in twenty twenty three, spent the first five games of
the twenty twenty four season on the active roster and
played in two games, and then spent the remainder of
the year on ir with a biceps injury. Welcome back,

(24:28):
Jackson Kirkland. Meanwhile, Earlier today, Sam Hubbard announced his retirement
after seven NFL seasons, all of them with his hometown Bengals.
Alex Kappa got cut and then immediately signed somewhere else.
The Guard, the former Bengal, signs a two year contract
with the Las Vegas Raiders. Also, Max Crosby signs a

(24:49):
record breaking three year deal, an extension with Las Vegas
that will make him the highest paid non quarterback in
NFL history. The Edge Rusher signs for a contract with
the total value exceeding one hundred and six million dollars.
Congratulations to him. How might that affect Trey Hendrickson.

Speaker 1 (25:10):
I don't know. We'll talk about it.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
Meanwhile, the Reds are playing this afternoon against the Texas Rangers.
Hunter Green on the mound for Cincinnati, coming off a
pretty rough start in his last outing. Right now, the
game in Goodyear is headed to the top of the
third inning. Cincinnati has a one nothing lead. Jacob Hurdabe
striving in the only run with a hit. Hunter Green

(25:32):
so far two and two thirds so they're in the
top of the third inning, has given up two hits,
has struck out for and he has not walked about her. Meanwhile, tonight,
it's a senior night at you see the Bearcats getting
set to host Kansas State Wildcats beat the Bearcats in
Cincinnati's Big twelve opener. Seven o'clock is tonight's tip off.
The game can be heard live on seven hundred w

(25:55):
l W. Meanwhile, the surging Xavier Musketeers on the road
to battle Butler tonight. XU coming off that big home win,
blowout home win over Creighton, Musketeers have won five straight games.
In that five game winning streak, a thirteen point home
win over the Bulldogs. Tonight's game tips off at seven
o'clock from Hincklefield House and you could hear it live

(26:16):
on fifty five k RC. Oh and I got to
do this as well. Red's did make some of their
first cuts of spring training. Cam Collier and Edwin Arroyo
have been sent to a minor league camp. So has
Hector Rodriguez, an outfielder, Ivan Johnson, a second baseman Jose Akunya,

(26:39):
a pitcher and catcher Michael Troutwine each reassigned to minor
league camp, where I believe they have bunk beds five thirty.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
I have a poll question up here.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
In just a few minutes on Twitter thanks to a
United Heartland Insurance.

Speaker 1 (26:55):
And I know it.

Speaker 2 (26:59):
It feels like we've talked about t Higgins and Trey
Hendrickson and Jamar Chase to the point of exhaustion and
to a degree I think, especially with Tea, I'm just
to the point that you know, we did this last
week a little bit when Duke Tobin talked. Duke Tobin
says he wants t Joe Burrow says he wants t
Tea said he wants to be here. I'm not that

(27:19):
interested anymore in what anybody has to say, whether they're
tweeting out pictures of caps or saying stuff at the combine,
It's like, all right, if everybody wants to get this done,
let's get it done. I could be dead wrong about this,
and there is a part of me that really hopes
that I am. I am starting to operate out of
the assumption that while I think Jamar and Tea and

(27:44):
Trey will play for the Bengals in twenty twenty five,
which is a good thing, obviously, that the chances of
all three of those guys being here in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (27:58):
Is unlikely.

Speaker 2 (28:00):
Now, that's not what Joe Burrow wants. It's also not
what Duke Tobin says he wants. But there's two questions here.
One will throw out on Twitter, and it's do you
if you had to wager an amount of money, would
it be on each of those players being here in
twenty twenty six or at least one of them not

(28:21):
being here in twenty twenty six. Spoiler alert, That's where
my money is. But there's another question that I I'm
interested in your answer to that we'll get to coming
up in the four o'clock hour. Our numbers are five, one, three, seven,
four nine, fifteen thirty first Rick Boring on Xavier and
NKU basketball on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (28:47):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center when it comes
to multiple sclerosis, trust the experts at you see Gardner
Neuroscience Institute for Innovative and Comprehensive Care. Learn more at
uc health dot com. Some found seventy one seventy five
after Buttermilk Pike getting reports of an accident on Glenway
Avenue another accident at Lawrence Road. Broth found seventy one

(29:11):
Traffic slow from Ridge Avenue up toward Ronald Reagan Highway.
That is a six minute delay. Right now, I'm at
Ezelik with traffic.

Speaker 5 (29:18):
This report is sponsored by Rapid.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
With a win in the first round of the Horizon
League Tournament, NKU well play a road tilt tomorrow night
against Cleveland State, with a berth in the semifinals in
Indianapolis on the line. Tomorrow night's game, we'll tip off
at eight o'clock and you'll hear it on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (29:39):
Jim Kelch and Rick Boring.

Speaker 2 (29:41):
Rick is en route currently as we speak, Musketeer Report
dot Com, NKU Radio, the King of Facebook, The Skinny Podcast,
and right now, somewhere in I seventy one, how's it going.

Speaker 6 (29:54):
Doing well.

Speaker 5 (29:54):
I'm in the car.

Speaker 6 (29:55):
I've got Jim Keltch driving, We've got the publisher of
Norse Illustrated, Dave Ostler, and the passenger seat, and I'm
just in the back talking to you.

Speaker 1 (30:03):
Wow. Wow, Is Jim a good driver?

Speaker 6 (30:06):
I think Jim's a B plus driver. Okay, I wouldn't
say great, but he's be solid. I mean, there's no
no issues that have really occurred.

Speaker 1 (30:13):
Okay, he got a lead foot.

Speaker 6 (30:18):
Okay, he's worked out. Now, he's worried about the NFLPA
report cards.

Speaker 5 (30:21):
He said he's not an F minus.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
Okay, hey, look that's fine.

Speaker 2 (30:24):
That's if you're an F minus, chances are you're not
alive to drive.

Speaker 1 (30:27):
So good.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
I'm glad, I'm glad. I'm glad he'll get you there safely.
Let's start with Xavier coming off a terrific performance at
home against Creighton. Before we talked about tonight, what was
your major takeaway from the performance against the Blue Jays.

Speaker 6 (30:44):
Well, I think it was the fact that they won
so handily, right, I mean all year we've been talking
about this Xavier team blowing leads, and they had that
big lead. They played so well in the first half,
and you're thinking, Okay, I've seen this before, and sure enough,
Creighton did start to make a comeback, they made a
little bit of a run, but then Xavier answered right
back and then stretched that lead out to its largest
point ended up winning the game by twenty two. I mean,

(31:05):
they really played well from start to finish in that one.
And I think you know, from a standpoint of when
you're trying to think about the at large bids and
the metrics beating a creating team by twenty two is
definitely going to help your metrics.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
I think what stood out to me more than anything
for a high possession game, a team that right now
was one hundred and seventy first in turnover percentage turn
the ball over just six times.

Speaker 6 (31:32):
No question, And I mean you got to give a
lot of credit to the guards in that case. I
mean Ryan Conwell had three of the six turnovers himself,
but aside from him, everybody else took really good care
of the basketball.

Speaker 5 (31:43):
I thought Daveon McKnight.

Speaker 6 (31:45):
Who has been very up and down throughout this year,
played one of his better games. He was solid throughout,
he was pretty good defensively, and he had a couple
of big shots as well. So I agree with you
taking care of the basketball when you're playing at that
type of pace and scoring over eighty points is huge.

Speaker 2 (32:00):
I also and Ryan Klckreunner statistically had a nice game.
I thought it was a quiet game, especially on the
defensive end.

Speaker 6 (32:07):
Yeah, I mean, he had twenty three points and it was,
you know, not terribly inefficient. He was ten for eight
team from the field, also had twelve rebounds. But I
think he never took over the game like he did
in the first meeting between those teams, where.

Speaker 5 (32:20):
He did whatever he wanted.

Speaker 6 (32:21):
Whenever they needed a basket, they were able to just
kind of lob it up inside to him. He got
as deep as he wanted and he scored over the
top of the Zach Freemantle. That didn't happen this time.
They had a better plan for him in place. Talking
to Sean Miller after the game, he said their entire
focus was on not letting Ryan Kulkbrenner get off for
the big game. He wasn't happy with Kolbrenner getting twenty

(32:42):
three the way he did, but I think they really
did do a much better job of slowing him up
and got to give some credit to John Huckley off
the bench. He had some good minutes in there where
he held his ground and didn't force Xavior to double
team and give up those wide open kickout threes on
the perimeter.

Speaker 2 (32:58):
I talked to a lot of Xavier fans in the
up to the Creighton game who expressed this sentiment, they'll
beat Creighton at home and that we'll all be feeling
really good about their chances. And then against the Butler
team that doesn't have a lot to play for, but
wants to be spoiler at Hinkle. They'll go there and
lay an egg to a team that they beat by
thirteen points the first go around. Is that just paranoia

(33:19):
or is that based on something legitimate?

Speaker 6 (33:23):
No, I mean, I think it's legitimate. I just think
it's probably like fans don't quite understand how basketball works
all that well. I mean, the fact that they beat
them by thirteen at the Centas Center is accurate, and
it was a good matchup for Xavior. But if you
look at like Ken Palms projection for tonight's game, Theer's
just a one point.

Speaker 5 (33:39):
Favorite in that game.

Speaker 6 (33:40):
When you go on the road, it's much more difficult
to win. And so I don't think it's just the
fact that Deaker's gonna have a letdown performance or just
the fact that Butler wants to play spoiler, although those
storylines are both true as well. It's the fact that
it's going to be much harder to beat Butler inside
Hinkle Fieldhouse than it is to beat them inside.

Speaker 5 (33:57):
The Cintas Center.

Speaker 6 (33:58):
So yeah, I mean, in terms of a metrics or
like a ten pound prediction type site, this Butler game
is just as difficult for Xavior as the home game
was against Creighton, So they certainly have their work cut
out for that.

Speaker 2 (34:09):
All right, Let's say they beat Butler and then beat
Providence on Senior Day. That's twenty one to ten and
thirteen and seven in the Big East in the regular season.
What would they have to do, if anything, in New
York to see their name called a week from Sunday.

Speaker 6 (34:25):
I know that's what everyone wants to talk about this
time of year. I know Zavier fans aren't gonna like
hearing this. I'm a big believer in if you go
into your conference tournament quote unquote needing to do work,
still you're not getting into the NCAA tournament. I think
we've seen enough cases in the last few years where
teams have racked up multiple quad one wins in their
conference tournament and then weren't rewarded for it with an

(34:48):
at large bid or with moving up seed lines. I
think after we get past that, like Tuesday or Wednesday
of that selection week, the committee kind of already has
you slotted where you're slotted, and I don't think they
do a lot of shuffling at that point.

Speaker 5 (35:00):
I mean, is it possible.

Speaker 6 (35:02):
If you make a run and you win the biggest tournament,
obviously you become an automatic qualifier, and that will help
your seed line. If you really make some noise, maybe
it helps you a little bit. But just going there
and winning one game in the biggiest tournament on a
neutral floor, I don't think that's enough to push Zavier
over the top.

Speaker 5 (35:19):
So the other question.

Speaker 6 (35:22):
Is is there metrics. Is their resume good enough just
with winning out the rest of the regular season, And
I think that's a more interesting debate. I think they're
right on the cut line, and it's really going to
come down to how chaotic are these conference tournaments over
the next few weeks and are the teams on the
bubble from the high major conferences that are still finishing
out the regular season. That's really going to dictate where

(35:45):
Zavier stands, because as it is right now, they're right
there on that cut line. They really need some other
teams to play their way out of a large bid
and for there to be no bid Steelers, because these
wins that they're racking up here late in the season. Yes,
they have the chance go seven to zero here in
the final seven games, but none of them have been
the squad one wins that they really need to enhance

(36:06):
their resume.

Speaker 2 (36:07):
Rick Boring Musketeer Report dot Com, NKU Radio. Tomorrow night,
the Norse in Cleveland to take on Cleveland State, a
two versus seven matchup in the Horizon League Tournament. Winner
advances to the Semis in Indy on Monday. We've talked
about this all year long. The idea was to be
the Norse playing at their best going into the tournament.
They win their last four in the regular season, they

(36:29):
get a decisive blowout win last night. Should NKU fans
start thinking that this team can win their next three?

Speaker 6 (36:38):
I mean, how could you not? At this point, I'm
sure the rest of the Horizon League is thinking that
exact same thing. Mo, that this isn't your typical seventh
seed and that NKU is very much a factor. And
here's the biggest thing. If you look at the last
ten games, including last night's win against Detroit Mercy, NKU
might have the best guard in the conference. The emergence

(36:58):
of Dan Grezder late in the sea In over of
these last ten games, NK use eight and two. Grezger
is averaging about sixteen points per game. He's shooting over
forty four percent from three. He's as dynamic of a
playmaker as you'll see at the mid major level with
his athleticism and at six foot four. I mean, he
had a behind the back move at the top of
the key last night against Detroit Mercy and then a

(37:20):
finish at the rim that was so impressive. I think
that's what really gives NK you Fann some confidence going
into the postseason and now after this win over Detroit.
Is just the way Dan Gorezger has kind of re
mixed this team and made everybody else more dynamic on
the offensive end.

Speaker 2 (37:38):
So they win tonight. They would play Monday at Corteva
Coliseum in Indianapolis. Is that a new name for the
same old bad arena.

Speaker 6 (37:47):
That's absolutely what it is, though various dude observation, it
is the same old dumb player out on the fair ground.

Speaker 2 (37:53):
That place is beyond awful. Does Cleveland State have a
this arena different?

Speaker 7 (38:00):
It's it's old school.

Speaker 6 (38:02):
The Wolfstein Center is like kind of a big hockey arena.
It's got a little bit of history to it, but
it's a bit cavernous.

Speaker 1 (38:08):
Have you given up on Facebook?

Speaker 8 (38:11):
No?

Speaker 6 (38:11):
Of course, not, of course, not a little timing here.
You know, we're just getting into the March Madness the postseason,
so I didn't you know, I wanted to let it
breathe a little bit on your March Madness topics. So
just shuffling things around. You know, we've got we've got
a lot of content right now, the workers.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
I certainly understand. Where are you guys? Right now?

Speaker 8 (38:32):
We are.

Speaker 6 (38:33):
I don't know where we are in terms of location,
but I do know we are twenty five minutes out
from the nearest Texas roadhouse, which is what we are
all focused on at the moment.

Speaker 5 (38:41):
Are you are you?

Speaker 2 (38:42):
Like?

Speaker 1 (38:43):
Are you north or south of Columbus?

Speaker 6 (38:46):
Are we north or south of Columbus?

Speaker 2 (38:48):
Well, I mean you, so you've passed through Columbus and
you didn't even notice.

Speaker 6 (38:53):
No, I've been on my laptop working this entire time
and then talking to you.

Speaker 5 (38:56):
I pay zero attention while we're driving.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Oh so you're you're like, is Jim's a g but
you're not a very fun travel companion. That's how it works.
You just dive your nose into laptop. You don't have
to talk to him.

Speaker 6 (39:07):
No, we're talking, but I'm also looking at my laptop
and working. I'm just not paying attention to the road.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
And then you guys are gonna go tear up Cleveland tonight.

Speaker 6 (39:15):
Yes, that's exactly what we're gonna do. Tea up Cleveland.
Kelch was making plans right now to hit some clubs
and we'll see how it works out.

Speaker 2 (39:22):
Very good. Well, I can't wait to hear about that.
All right, Well, thank you as always. We'll talk next.

Speaker 5 (39:26):
Week, all right, hit me up on Facebook.

Speaker 2 (39:28):
Thanks most definitely, Rick Boring, Musketeer Report dot Com, NKU Radio,
Xavier Butler tonight in Indy and the Norris in Cleveland
for a battle against Cleveland State tomorrow night.

Speaker 1 (39:41):
We have a good show. I'm not referring to this one.

Speaker 5 (39:44):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (39:45):
This radio station airs a good a new show, but
a good show from ten am to noon every weekday.
It's called Clinton and Friends. It's hosted by Clinton Yates.
He's going to join us next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 5 (39:59):
Sprae is finally here.

Speaker 1 (40:00):
This is Dave Laplock and you're listening to the Home
of the Bengals ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
That's right here, you go, right on time. Five minutes
after four. This is ESPN fifteen thirty on Moeger. Thank
you so much for listening. I have questions about the
I have a question about the Bengals and how afraid
you think they should be? Coming up in just about
fifteen minutes. I mentioned this when it started, that I

(40:27):
was excited for the news show that airs on our
station from ten am to noon, right before Tony and
Austin are on. Since e three sixty, Clinton Yates took
over the spot I think just over a month ago
that was previously occupied by Mike Greenberg. And nothing against
Mike or nothing against anybody else who has been on

(40:47):
in that time slot or on ESPN Radio, but I
was excited that Clinton was going to be on. He
is somebody who I've read for years. You could read
him on Andscape somebody who I've watched on around the Horn,
which is is going away from my standpoint, unfortunately, because
I like that show and I've heard him do radio before.
But what I like about Clinton, and this has proven

(41:10):
to be the case, and I said this was gonna
happen when we found out he was going to be
taken over that time slot. He was gonna talk baseball
because this guy's a seamhead. This guy loves the sport
and lo and behold, and I have said this to people.
Listen to the show Tend the noon. He's gonna work
in some good baseball topics and it's happened because he
loves the sport as much as I do. So Clinton,

(41:31):
I appreciate you joining us and talking baseball when you're on.

Speaker 1 (41:34):
It's good to have you. Good afternoon. How are you well?

Speaker 7 (41:36):
What up?

Speaker 8 (41:37):
Dude?

Speaker 9 (41:37):
That's nothing abnormal at all. Baseball is the sport that
I love the most. It's the sport that I liked
playing the most. It's the sport that I covered the
most now. And I'm being quite honest, your red legs
over there probably a story that I'll be paid a
lot of attention to. This seed's in with what they've got,
what they've done in the offseas. They're not just a
cute little reds anymore. They got a real shot to
make some noise.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
They do, especially in this division.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
I know it's it's challenging for a lot of folks
on national outlets to talk baseball, and I like, I
get it, and we can talk about the direction of
the sport and the placement of it on large platforms.
But I like how you work in smart topics about
the game, and you've talked about the ABS system and
some spring training storylines, and frankly, it's more than just
the Dodgers and the Yankees. So I really am speaking

(42:21):
from a place of appreciation that it's been a refreshing
change of pace.

Speaker 1 (42:25):
I'll just put a t you that way.

Speaker 5 (42:26):
No, I appreciate that. I'll say this quickly.

Speaker 9 (42:28):
I think it's difficult for a lot of people on
a national skill we'll talk about baseball because a lot
of people on a.

Speaker 5 (42:32):
National skill don't actually like baseball.

Speaker 9 (42:35):
They just like talking about baseball as a reason to
crap on it, which is a completely different thing. If
you genuinely enjoy the game, it's not that difficult, just
like any other sport for me.

Speaker 1 (42:44):
So you like the direction the sport is going in,
I'll say this.

Speaker 9 (42:50):
I'll say that what baseball has figured out is that
what people care about is a lot more than just
what teams win what, and they've actually tried to jump
in and delve into how the game is played and
what the people playing it are actually like. That was
the big mistake that I think a lot of this
country did not understand in terms of the regional concepts
of the game. Nobody necessarily cares that much whether or

(43:12):
not the Dodgers beat the Yankees, especially from the participant standpoint.

Speaker 5 (43:16):
You think about people who are baseball fans.

Speaker 9 (43:18):
There are people who probably caught onto baseball at some
point up through high school.

Speaker 5 (43:22):
They like the game.

Speaker 9 (43:23):
The game itself is what baseball needed to get back
to marketing, not just oh do you root for that team?

Speaker 7 (43:29):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (43:29):
Do you root for this team? Always their homer is
always they're not.

Speaker 9 (43:32):
The culture of baseball is what makes it cool, and
if you understand who the guys are that play it,
you're you have a far better chance of attaching to
it than if you're just concerned about whether or not
a team in your town or another is a winner.

Speaker 1 (43:43):
You know what I mean? Yeah, no, I we're on
the same page. I love the sport.

Speaker 2 (43:47):
I like some of the on field initiatives I will admit,
you know, like banning the shift. I thought that was
gonna have an undesirable effect. That hasn't been the case.
The pitch clock has been universally received. I think for
the most part, people like the extra playoff team and
hasn't watered down the season all that much. The playoff
format is really good. Here's what I like the most,
and this I've noticed this us doing what we do.

(44:10):
We've done this show now for a while. I don't
really have to listen to people talk about unwritten rules
in baseball anymore, and that, to me is the most
refreshing thing.

Speaker 9 (44:19):
It's a great call too, because it's also changed I
think the way a lot of fans have felt about
what they are allowed to like, which is huge in
terms of trying to expand your fan base. That was
the thing that I always to talk about. People say, oh, well,
you know, the baseball riders are gonna say this. The
baseball Rider's gonna say that. Man if the baseball writers,
for lack of a better term, you know what I'm saying,
come to the game and enjoy what you want to enjoy.

(44:39):
And I think that also, And this is a very
different thing that a lot of people think about.

Speaker 5 (44:43):
But I'll say it this way. Baseball is more than
just the big leagues.

Speaker 2 (44:46):
Man.

Speaker 9 (44:47):
You know, the World Baseball Classics showed that. I get
to a lot of college baseball games in general. The
sport is the sport because of where it rests globally,
not just in your city, and that once MLB figured out,
you know, maybe we shouldn't act like we're the only
product in town or on the world, you know, in
the planet, then they kind of figured out that different

(45:07):
people want to come to the game. Not everybody who
likes baseball has to be a seam head. As you said,
people want to feel invited and welcome, and this unwritten
rules for part of things that just made people feel like,
this is too stupid.

Speaker 5 (45:17):
There's too much going on for me to actually care about.

Speaker 2 (45:19):
Now. I work in Clinton, Yates from ESPN Radios with
us on ten to noon every day right here on
ESPN fifteen thirty on ESPN Radio. I live in a
small market, and you know, you've this has been amplified
this past offseason with what the Dodgers have done, and
you have folks in markets like this who go, well,
we can never do that. My counter to that is, well,

(45:39):
forget the Dodgers, how about be the Brewers.

Speaker 1 (45:41):
How about beat them? You know, figure out what they are.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
What do you say to somebody in Cincinnati or Milwaukee
or in another similar type of market where they go, look,
I'm not as in love with the sport as I
used to be because of that economic disadvantage that a
team like, for example, the Reds have had to deal
with when it comes to the bigger market clubs.

Speaker 5 (46:02):
Well, I think that there's two things about that.

Speaker 9 (46:04):
Number one is that I do think the concept of
an economic disadvantage is a bit of a cop out.
And the other reason is this because while there is
a disadvantage, it does not mean that teams are still
maximizing what they have in order to be the best
clubs that they can. People talk about, oh, there should
be a salary cap. No, there should be a salary floor,
is what there should be to insist that teams are

(46:24):
actually trying. And I'm not saying the Reds are an
example of this, but when I look at teams like
the Pirates or the Marlins, some of these squads where
you're like, these owners are clearly just using their baseball
teams as an ATM machine and not trying to invest
in the product, and it hurts. I totally understand if
I lived in a market like that, or I worked
for a team like that or whatever, or like the
team like that in which I did.

Speaker 5 (46:44):
For a long time.

Speaker 9 (46:45):
The Washington Nationals come to mind from BC and it's like, yo,
just because you are at a disadvantage from somebody else
doesn't mean you can't try harder. And that's something that
I don't know how to replace. Greed is a hell
of a factor when it comes to these people. I've
said over and over and over again. All I want
is for owners who actually like their sports to own

(47:05):
the teams.

Speaker 5 (47:06):
That is the number.

Speaker 9 (47:07):
One thing that is going to motivate them to want
to be better, because other than that.

Speaker 5 (47:10):
It's just a way to try to make money and
use it as a plaything.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
If you know we've all done the what would you
do if you're a commissioner for a day, If if
you could implement one initiative, rule change, or just thing
in the sport, what would it be?

Speaker 9 (47:23):
It'd be Dropped pitches are all runnable on as in,
you can steal strike, You can steal a base at
any point during the ad back. I know this sounds weird,
but think about it. You can go on drop third strikes.
Why can't you go on any other pitch from the plate. Now,
the strategy is you might not want to take the
bat out of your hand. You're not necessarily going to
gain a huge advantage by lumbering something big dud down
in the first base who might get thrown out.

Speaker 5 (47:43):
But yeah, it would add a little element of change
to be like, yo, you snap off a sixty foot
or I might be out of here, Jack. You know
what I'm saying.

Speaker 9 (47:51):
I think that that would be an interesting thing to
kind of mix up the game, add base running a
strategy and also change the way that the.

Speaker 5 (47:57):
Things the dynamic works between the batter and the catcher.

Speaker 1 (47:59):
So you say, got Reds have a chance in the central?

Speaker 9 (48:02):
I think you have a chance in the central. I
think that they are also moving up on the list
of things that we like, which is fun to watch, Yes,
which is half the battle. You know what I'm saying,
Like the way Ellie looks, the way you know, I
just I just feel that the Reds are a team.
Last year then when people figured out who Dyla cruzsmos,
they were like whoa Okay, And if you add a
little talents to that, you add a little hope, you
know what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (48:21):
Yeah, certainly got a chance at at Paul Park. You
got a chance to do anything.

Speaker 2 (48:25):
I have followed your work for a while. I did
not know until recently that you attended Miami University. Now
you're from d C. How did you find your way
to Oxford? My mom went there. That's pretty much all
that happens. She's from Kansas City, Missouri. I was very lucky.

Speaker 9 (48:39):
I'll tell this story really quickly because I know you
guys are probably up against it. But I went there
and I got their sight unseen. I transferred there after
not working out another school on.

Speaker 5 (48:46):
The East Coast. My mom went there.

Speaker 9 (48:47):
It was sort of my last chance on life kind
of thing to really get make sure I could get
to college when I was still of age to be
of a normal situation.

Speaker 5 (48:54):
The year that I got there, this excuse me. The
fall that I got there was this fall.

Speaker 9 (48:58):
That nine to eleven head and I remember I was
working as a student broadcaster a WMSR, doing color for
football games, and we were going to be off for
two whole weeks, and I was thinking to myself, Wow,
that's a long time, because football is pretty much so
it makes this town run on some level.

Speaker 5 (49:13):
I wrote a column about it.

Speaker 9 (49:14):
I sent it to the student paper that got printed
verbatim and was just like, what do you got for
me next week? So, as it turned out, I was
there also when one guy by the name of Benjamin
Todd Roethlisberger was there, so I got to write about
him and all those good teams, and thus people knew
who I was and pahim next thing I knew, I
was in the age.

Speaker 1 (49:28):
Wow, So did your mom? Does your mom from here?
Did she? She came from outside as well?

Speaker 5 (49:32):
In Casey, she's in k C Moya.

Speaker 9 (49:34):
She went to She went to Western when it was
the women's college on campus that is now part of
Miami Universal.

Speaker 1 (49:40):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (49:40):
Very good, all right, I didn't I did not know
that until maybe two or three weeks ago, and I'm
not even sure how it came up. Well, it is uh,
it is great to have you on our airwaves every day.
I told folks this show is going to be a
combination of smart and fun and he's gonna work in
baseball and you're gonna love it. And the feedback I've
gotten has been really, really good. It is good to
have you. Hopefully we can do it again.

Speaker 9 (50:02):
Well, listen, I always got love for Cincy. I want
to shout out my man David Cox.

Speaker 5 (50:06):
He still lives there.

Speaker 2 (50:07):
One of my.

Speaker 5 (50:07):
Roommates back from college. Get after it, y'all. It's gonna
be a fun summer on the Diamond.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
I hope. So Clinton, thanks so much, No problem.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
You'll hear Clinton Yates tomorrow ten am till noon before
Sincy three sixty. Clinton and Friends on ESPN Radio. Obviously
you might be aware we are in ESPN radio affiliate.
It's a quarter a half for four. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty. My name is Mahegor. Thank you for listening today.
It's been a busy day in the NFL. Two questions

(50:36):
about the Bengals, one about Joe Burrow. Next on ESPN
fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (50:43):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (50:47):
to multiple sclerosis, trust the experts at you see Gardner
Neuroscience Institute for Innovative and Comprehensive Care. Learn more at
UC Help. Southbound seventy one seventy five after Buttermilk Pike,
it's an accident blocking the ramp lane that's causing a
little bit of slow traffic from Dixie Highway. About a

(51:09):
five minute delay right now. On westbound two seventy five
axident in the construction zone at the Kentucky Indiana Line.
I'm at exelic with traffic.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
This report is sponsored by Chapter four. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty on my Leger. Poll questions on this show
or on Twitter. Thanks to United Heartland Insurance UH. If
you own a business, United Heartland Insurance can help you
save a lot of money on the insurance you need,
especially if you have commercial vehicles. Go to uachions dot com.
They have three offices in the area, Hamilton, Cincinnati and

(51:42):
Northern Kentucky. Again you hi ns dot com. Will Jamar,
Chase T. Higgins and Trey Hendrickson all b Bengals in
twenty twenty six? Will they retain all three beyond this year?
Meaning extensions for Jamar T And you probably understand the question.
Vote now at Muegar The early returns, very very very

(52:06):
early returns so far indicate most of you don't think
that'll happen. Max Crosby, the defensive end in Las Vegas,
has agreed to a three year, one hundred and six
point five million dollar contract extension with ninety one point
five mil guaranteed. Crosby had seven and a half sacks
last year, had a lot of injuries, twenty two sacks

(52:28):
over the last couple of years. Now, he is younger
than Trey hendricks and he's twenty seven years old, but
a contract like this for Max Crosby only makes Trey
Hendrickson's bargaining position better, at least for him. I was
the better player in twenty twenty four. I had more sacks.
I was a Defensive Player of the Year finalist. So

(52:51):
even though he's younger, if Max Crosby's gonna get this
kind of coin, I'm gonna ask for at least thirty
a year. We'll see if he gets it. I could
be wrong about this. I'll be upfront. I want Jamar
Chase to sign. I am on board with t Higgins signing,

(53:15):
and I'm not opposed to signing Trey Hendrickson. I also
as a fan, I'm not desperate. I don't think the
Bengals should be desperate to sign Trey Hendrickson. Look, he's
a terrific player, maybe the best free agent signing in
the history of the franchise, and a guy we're expecting

(53:37):
to have a really good season in twenty twenty five,
assuming he is here. He's also going to be thirty
one by the end of this season. If you're paying
Trey Hendrickson Max Crosby type money in twenty twenty six,

(53:59):
or you get Trey Hendrickson twenty twenty four production for
that money, I think there's a good chance the answer
is no. What hovers over all of this is what
Joe Burrow wants. I want to do most things Joe
Burrow's way because the Bengals way of doing things over

(54:20):
the last two years hasn't worked. We've discussed this ad nauseum.
The inability to successfully plan for players leaving, I think
is why Joe is has been as emphatic as he
has been. And so if they don't do what Joe wants,
the question becomes, how's Joe going to react? How's he

(54:42):
going to feel about this? Those are fair and legitimate questions.
I will ask those questions. But I also think we
have to ask this, how afraid of Joe Burrow should
the Bengals be. This is not a play who can
leave at the end of this coming season. This is

(55:04):
not a player who could leave on his own at
the end of the following season. He's a guy in
a contract to the team for the rest of the decade.
Now we all understand, you know, things get out of
whack if Joe asks for a trade or you know,
if Joe were to do something along the lines of
what Carson Palmer did, and those who hated what Carson
Palmer did, I'm not one of them, are maybe still

(55:28):
traumatized by that.

Speaker 1 (55:29):
I don't know, but I think it's a fair question.

Speaker 2 (55:32):
There is what Joe wants, and by the way, Duke
Tobin has stated, I want what Joe wants, which kind
of kicks the things that kicks things upstairs a little bit.

Speaker 1 (55:40):
But I think it's a fair question.

Speaker 2 (55:45):
Let's say that they balk at giving Trey Hendrickson the
sort of money he desires because there is a belief
inside the organization that using a combination of free agency
and a deep class of edge rushers and yes, the

(56:11):
players they already have that you know what we can
we can make up for what we lose by not
extending Trey Hendrickson. I'm not even talking about trading him, like,
I'm on board with keep him here for a year
deal with the off season fallout and hope he has
a great season. Maybe revisit this at the end of

(56:33):
the season and then and then you know, we'll see
what happens. But if you feel so confident, you know what,
using the resources we have, using what's available in free agency,
using the draft and players we already have, and that
might be the one that strains credibility. But using what

(56:54):
we have, we feel we have a plan. We like
this plan, We're confident in this plan. Should you not
implement it because you're afraid of Joe Burrow? Again, man
like Joe making the point, we can't be the team

(57:16):
that keeps letting really good players get away. It's a
valid thing to say. It's refreshing to hear this guy
say what he has said. It's certainly given us a
lot to talk about. It's created a really interesting offseason dynamic.
There are teams around the league making tough decisions. The
Kansas City Chiefs just made one today, trading away an

(57:37):
all Pro guard, a key member of two teams that
won titles. And it's a lot easier to do perhaps
if the face of the franchise hasn't made a stink about, Hey,
we got to keep Joe Tooney here, it's different. Joe
Burrow has made a stink and that's not a criticism,
but he has made a stink about how, hey, we

(57:57):
got to get this thing with Jamar Dunn and we
got to keep Tea and he's in, and we got
to pay Tray too. And he's coming from a very
fair place. He's coming from an informed place. He's not
just throwing darts. But if you run an organization, should
you really be afraid of one of your employees. I'll

(58:21):
be honest with you. I don't know a good leader
who's afraid of one of their employees, who's gonna not
do something because they're afraid of what one of their
employees might do. Don't confuse this. Joe Burrow is not wrong,
and he's certainly not coming from a wrong place. And

(58:44):
you can't blame any player. You can't blame anybody for
wanting to see their team keep reward and extend all
their good players. And I absolutely do believe there's a
world where you can get the Jamar thing done, get
the t thing done, pay Tree, try Hendrickson, and still
make the rest of the team good at the same time. Though,

(59:08):
if you believe you know what Trey has peaked, let's
be honest. At his age there's a very good chance
he has. He is peaked. He has been awesome for us.
We hope he's really good for us this coming season.
But you know what, we don't think he's gonna be
awesome in twenty twenty six. We don't think he's gonna

(59:30):
be awesome in twenty twenty seven. And so, you know what,
We've got a plan. And yes, we've had plans before
that haven't worked. But we've got a plan and we
think we can do this. We think we can rebuild
our defense long term without Trey Hendrickson being a part
of it long term. We like our defensive coordinator, we

(59:51):
like what's available in the draft. We've got some resources
in free agency. We're gonna have even more resources at
our disposal. If we're not paying Trey hendrick In thirty
million dollars a year starting in twenty twenty six, we're
going to be okay. Number one, Should you deviate from
that just because you're worried about what Joe Burrow is

(01:00:12):
going to do?

Speaker 1 (01:00:17):
Number two. If you're worried.

Speaker 2 (01:00:19):
About what Joe Burrow is going to do, are you
willing to say to him, hey, man, we think we're
going to be Okay, because we.

Speaker 1 (01:00:27):
Paid you like we we paid you.

Speaker 2 (01:00:32):
We we made you the highest paid player in the
league for a reason because we think you're good enough
to kind of help us get through losing some of
these players, not extending some of these players. Yeah, we
might not be We might not be paying Trey Hendrickson
because in part we're paying you. And say, you know what, dude,
the reason why we're paying you is we think you

(01:00:54):
can win with not anybody, but we think a combination
of you and our our plan can be successful. So
you know what, Trey Hendrickson long term is not in
our plans. Would you be willing to do that if
you were not? Even Duke Tobin because again, Duke last
week kind of put the onus on ownership. If you're

(01:01:15):
running the franchise, are you willing to do that or
do you do something that deep down inside you believe
is not best for your franchise's health because you're afraid
of Joe Burrow. I'll be honest with you, I don't
know that I have the answer. I'm asking this at

(01:01:36):
least somewhat rhetorically, but my guess is as much as
and again I make this about ownership, and this is
not being critical of ownership. It's just Duke Tobin last
week said, I want what Joe Burrow wants. Well, if
if Joe is putting pressure on the front office and
Duke wants what Joe wants, then Duke is putting pressure

(01:01:58):
on the people above him. That's what it is. I've
been following this franchise for four decades now. I've never
seen them do something or not do something out of
fear and for as much clout as I think Joe

(01:02:18):
Burrow should have and should exercise, and for as much
as he's meant to this franchise, I'm just not to
the point that I believe that they're going to do
what Joe Burrow wants just because he has stated it publicly,
just because he has flexed his muscles privately, or because
they're worried about what Joe's next moves are going to be.

(01:02:39):
If they don't do what he wants. It's not to
say that this won't get done. I think the way
it gets done is for there to be some degree
of flexibility with the players involved here. Now, if I'm
Jamar Chase, I want to be the highest paid non
quarterback in the league, and if I'm t Higgins, I

(01:03:03):
want to try to get some of the money that
I would be getting if I was a free agent,
and if I was Try Hendrickson, I'd be looking to
cash in every penny on the season that I just
had and the career the Cincinnati that I've just had.
But it does feel like in order for all three

(01:03:25):
to stay here beyond this season, that's someone involved here,
and I mean the players is gonna have to be
at least a little flexible, because it doesn't feel like
the Bengals are just going to hand out a blank check.
They might with Jamar, it certainly doesn't feel like they
will with T Higgins, and I'm gonna guess they don't

(01:03:48):
for a guy and Trey Hendrickson who will be thirty
one by the end of next season. The only way
you're giving a blank check is if I'm so afraid
of what the fall is going to be, if we
piss off number nine that you know what here, go
ahead and do it. The fact that, uh, it feels
like they're still a ways away from getting anything done

(01:04:09):
with any of the three would suggest that they're not
going to act out of fear of Joe Burrow.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
So are are are you, like if you ran the
Cincinnati Bengals? Are you? Are you doing what Joe wants?
Just because? Oh my god?

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
If we don't, who knows what happens? I I love
Joe's opinion. I want Joseph. I'm not sure they should
just I'm not entirely sure they should. Twenty seven away
from five o'clock. Uh five one, three, seven, four nine,
fifteen thirty is the phone number. I saw something the

(01:04:47):
other night that was sobering in its familiarity. Tell you
what it is next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (01:04:57):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:05:00):
Institute for Innovative and Comprehensive Care. Learn more at UCHealth
dot com. Westbound two seventy five, it is an accident
in the construction zone on the Carrol Cropper Bridge that
is currently blocking the only open lane on Gilbert Avenue.

(01:05:24):
It's an accident at Walter Avenue in northbound two seventy five.
An accident at seventy four. I'm at ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:05:32):
This report is sponsored by Rapid Radios.

Speaker 2 (01:05:35):
Thanks are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetime
powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family to
yours for life kelseyschev dot Com. Sam Hubbard this morning
announced his retirement after US seven NFL seasons. The Molar
product was drafted by the Bengals in twenty eighteen, obviously
a huge part of back to back AFC North champions

(01:05:58):
in twenty twenty one one. In twenty twenty two, congratulations
to Sam. The Bengals also announced that they have signed
to a contract extension. Jackson Kirkland, the guard, gets a
one year deal through the twenty twenty five season, was
a college free agent signee of the Bengals two years ago.
Spent the first five games on the active roster and
played in two games before suffering a biceps injury. Also,

(01:06:21):
former Bengals guard Alex Kappa is set to be new
Las Vegas Raiders guard Alex Kappa. He is going to
sign a two year contract with that team. There are
a couple of connections. One of them obviously Tom Brady,
his former quarterback, is a part owner of the Raiders. Also,
the new Las Vegas GM John spy Tech drafted Alex

(01:06:43):
Cappo in Tampa Bay. Max Crosby has reset the market
for edge rushers three years, one hundred and six point
five million dollars with ninety one and a half guaranteed.
That is a three year contract. Meanwhile, the Reds are
playing in Goodyear today. Hunter Green his first. The good
started the spring four shutout innings, struck out six, walked one. Reds,

(01:07:04):
though trail the ball game by a score of five
to one. Connor Phillips was, as we say in the business,
rouffed up. That's only something sportscasters say. The picture was
roughed up. Nobody ever goes to a game and says,
you know, I went to the again. Connor Phillips was
roughed up. Cincinnati's only run scored on the second inning
on a Jacob Herdabees RBI single. Meanwhile, college basketball tonight,

(01:07:26):
you see his home for Kansas State. That game will
tip off at seven o'clock on seven hundred WLW. Immediately
after UC's loss to Houston, where the Bearcats jumped out
to an early ten to two lead, and then for
the final twenty five minutes or so, you just kind

(01:07:46):
of knew what the outcome was gonna be. It it
never it never got out of hand. They covered, They
lose by nine, but they were never in the game.
Immediately after that game, the conversation turns, too, well, they
got to get to ten and ten of the Big
Twelve to well, you know, if they can just get
these next too. Rick Bering said something before that I've

(01:08:10):
brought up on this show, and I brought it up
to our bracketologist Nky bracket guyde that I feel like
we overstate the value of conference tournament games as it
relates to selection Sunday, and so I certainly believe the
Bearcats would have to win their next two. I'm of
the belief they would have to win their next three

(01:08:31):
in the Big Twelve tournament to have a chance. Don't know,
and obviously bid steelers from smaller leagues could have something
to say about that. What happens with other bubble teams
could have something to say about that.

Speaker 1 (01:08:43):
I just I say this without without.

Speaker 2 (01:08:46):
Having done an extensive amount of research into whether this
is true or not.

Speaker 1 (01:08:50):
But I I feel.

Speaker 2 (01:08:53):
Like, for the most part, if you go into the
last weekend of the regular season with the consensus being
your not an NCAA tournament team. That it just doesn't
happen that often that a team goes to its conference tournament,
wins two and suddenly they're in. I just don't think
that happens all that often, and uh, maybe I'll research

(01:09:18):
it and find out if that is indeed the case. Also, tonight,
Xavier's on the road against Butler. A very impressive performance
against Creighton on Saturday. I know a few days have
obviously passed the thing, and I brought this up to
Rick as well. When Xavier's been at their best offensively
this year, they haven't turned it over and that's an
obvious statement, but they have had times this year been

(01:09:38):
a team that you know, they're one hundred and seventy
first in the country in turnover percentage. That's not great.
It's obviously kind of middle of the pack in relation
to the rest of the country. But in a very
fast paced game, in a game where they had enough
possessions to take sixty shots, only six turnovers. If that
continues tonight, I think they'll be okay against Butler. Seven

(01:09:58):
o'clock is tonight's tip off there It is on fifty
five KARC. One other thing here really quickly, and then
we'll try to get a phone call or too. In
so the Reds Hunter Greens pitching today. His first couple
of spring starts have not gone well. Today much much better.
I went to Arizona for a few days, and I

(01:10:20):
go there with a group of guys. Our goal isn't
to just spend all our time in Goodyear or see
nothing but Reds games. We just kind of love going
to the different ballparks, and we always make good Year
a part of the experience and try to see the
Reds when we can. But we saw them on Monday night.
They played that game that was on local TV and

(01:10:41):
on MLB Network against the Milwaukee Brewers, and they came
back and won that game. They had three guys get
picked off in that game, and they also would have
had four if not.

Speaker 1 (01:10:52):
For a balk.

Speaker 2 (01:10:54):
And you're being reasonable if you watched last year's team
and listen to all winter long, to all the talk
about how they're going to clean up that sort of stuff,
and then you see a game like Monday night where
there's three pickoffs they nearly had three in one inning,

(01:11:14):
and you kind of go, what gives this is an
interesting dynamic to me, Terry Francona deserves the benefit of
the doubt. Like when we say Terry's gonna fix this,
or Terry's going to address that, or this is going
to be better under Terry, well we say those things
because we believe in his track record. He's got a
Hall of Fame resume, and so with that comes the

(01:11:37):
assumption that this team this season, when the games actually count,
is not going to do as many dumb things on
the field, and there's not gonna be as many And
by the way, sometimes you can get picked off and
the guy just makes a great move. Sometimes you can
get picked off and you kind of you misjudge how
larger leads should be. I mean, there are a lot
of things that can happen, but I don't think there's

(01:12:00):
anything more frustrating as a fan of the sports and
watching a guy get picked off, and it was a
problem last year and the other night basically four guys
get picked off. You're kind of wondering what gives and
you go, okay, well, Terry frank Cone is gonna fix it,
and he deserves that benefit of the doubt. The Cincinnati

(01:12:20):
Reds as a baseball team.

Speaker 1 (01:12:22):
Do not.

Speaker 2 (01:12:26):
Like Sorry, there's a big part of me that when
I see stuff in spring training games that drive me
nuts and look like things I saw in regular season
games last year.

Speaker 1 (01:12:37):
And by the way, TJ.

Speaker 2 (01:12:38):
Friedl was one of the guys who got picked off, Like,
that's a guy who's gonna play. That's not somebody who's,
you know, wearing number ninety two and is gonna be
option to minor league camping a couple of days. That's
a guy who matters. That's a guy who can't get
picked off. And so when you see something that is
painfully familiar from what you saw last year, how do
you not wonder, Okay, is this going to get addressed.

(01:13:01):
I'm sure it's been addressed, and I'm sure it will
be addressed, But there's a difference between addressing something and
fixing something. Again, Terry Francona deserves the benefit of the doubt.
The Cincinnati Reds is a baseball team, deserve none has anybody.
I don't think Hunter Green had a bad pickoff throw,

(01:13:23):
but I don't think any any Reds players got picked off.

Speaker 1 (01:13:27):
I don't believe all right.

Speaker 2 (01:13:29):
Five point three seven, four nine, fifteen thirty and thank
you for your patients. You're on ESPN fifteen thirty. Good afternoon.

Speaker 10 (01:13:36):
Hey brother, I got just a couple of points when
you started talking about, uh, you know, did the Bengals
fear Burrow?

Speaker 7 (01:13:45):
And I've been.

Speaker 10 (01:13:46):
Thinking about this for a while, but it's just.

Speaker 7 (01:13:48):
You know, the way you praised it really brings it
on hope for me.

Speaker 10 (01:13:53):
And I don't think I think Burrough's.

Speaker 7 (01:13:55):
Genius because it's a bold move.

Speaker 10 (01:13:58):
Everyone talks about how you know, or maybe it was
you said it was refreshing, But I think it's a
long term view man to like kind of turn the.

Speaker 7 (01:14:09):
Mirror very crystal clear.

Speaker 10 (01:14:14):
Towards themselves and you know, maybe not gonna get everything that.

Speaker 7 (01:14:19):
He wants, but to really take a new look for
the long term of his time being there, that's beneficial.

Speaker 10 (01:14:28):
I think that was smart of him doing that. I
don't think he's gonna be the guy that does some
drastic like I'm gonna retire hold out or I just
think that that that's he's got this long term you know,
seeing what's going on and kind.

Speaker 7 (01:14:46):
Of you know, break the mold a bit, you know, to.

Speaker 10 (01:14:48):
Be able for it to reshape over time. And it's
kind of that that could be wrong. You know, it's
just positive outlook is one the thing that I'm thinking, Uh,
I got a couple other things, and I'll be real quick,
you know, you got others. But uh, with Trey, you know,

(01:15:10):
in this deal, which is kind of crazy in my opinion,
paying acrossby that much, But do you think that his
value of.

Speaker 7 (01:15:18):
Trade goes up or down from that?

Speaker 10 (01:15:23):
And if they do keep him, could they just you know,
if he's not gonna agree, could they just like give
him some guaranteed money for the rest of this year
and and maybe on a perfect scenario they get some
real solid guys that and the next two, next year

(01:15:44):
or even this coming year can be implemented and he's just.

Speaker 7 (01:15:47):
Kind of phased out that way. That's just my thoughts.

Speaker 10 (01:15:52):
But I wonder if his trade value goes up or
down from that kind of deal like that.

Speaker 7 (01:15:58):
The guy's a little younger, you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:16:00):
Yeah, with Crosby, it's a guy who's younger but has
a pretty significant, pretty significant recent injury history, where Trey
Hendrickson's been very durable. I guess the Trey Hendrickson trade
question that I've wanted all off season is if the
Browns were to make Miles Garrett available after he has
requested a trade.

Speaker 1 (01:16:21):
What does that do to Tray's value?

Speaker 2 (01:16:23):
I look at Trey from the standpoint of another team,
if I'm looking for a guy for one year, he's
one of the best values in the league. Sixteen million
dollars for dude coming off a seventeen and a half
SAX season. That's worth giving something up for if I'm
in win now mode. But the Bengals are also in
win now mode, and so should they look at Trey

(01:16:46):
as more valuable than whatever they would be offered by
another team in win now mode? Yeah?

Speaker 10 (01:16:53):
I just kind of think that they should try to
just retain him for one year, give him like some
good here, thanks for doing so well to shut him up,
you know what I mean?

Speaker 7 (01:17:05):
And if the draft has really got these defensive guys
as deep.

Speaker 10 (01:17:11):
As it's being talked about, then I feel like that
could be like a safe move, you know, and they
just get the freaking Tray and Higgins feel done, you know, like,
at least do that.

Speaker 7 (01:17:23):
I don't know just what I really do think that.

Speaker 10 (01:17:27):
Burrows playing the long game with his kind of like, yeah,
he would like to keep him all he knows that
it's not necessarily going to have.

Speaker 7 (01:17:35):
But I don't think he's gonna go eight, you know
what I mean.

Speaker 5 (01:17:39):
I think he's just.

Speaker 10 (01:17:40):
Trying to really bring it to focus. Like he's a
smart guy.

Speaker 7 (01:17:45):
And they value his opinion, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:17:47):
So yeah, I think there's there's a part of me
Ian thank you. I mean, I think he's to a
large degree, he's being a good teammate because he's you know,
talking about his guys, talking about his teammates, talking about
you know, players that he has had a lot of
success with. I think to a degree, you know, he

(01:18:09):
obviously wants to play with those players. I do think
that Joe would be interested in. Okay, let's say it's
about Trey Hendrickson. You went to Joe and said, we're
not going to extend him, and maybe there's some merit
to the idea that you pay him a few more
dollars this year. I don't know what that could possibly

(01:18:30):
come at the expense of. And you say to Joe, Okay,
we took care of him a little bit here in
the long term, in the short term, but in the
long term, you know, here's here's why we're here's why
we're not extending them. I look, Joe's gonna play football
for the Bengals this year, and if the team that
Joe has to work with his teammates they all win

(01:18:54):
the Super Bowl next year, Hey, Joe's going to be
more than okay with what they have done. I think
we're the The question becomes if we're two years from now,
three years from now, and you know, now it looks
a little bit different. There's not a very long list
of quarterbacks who have won their first Super Bowl after
eight NFL seasons, and you know, now he's on the

(01:19:16):
other side of thirty and he's starting to think about
the second half of his career and whatever the Bengals
have done hasn't resulted in them winning, and on what
does that look like then? I don't think it's as
cut and dry as you know. They don't do exactly
what he wants and throw he throws, so he throws
a temper tantrum and no shows and is a malcontent

(01:19:38):
and is looking to retire and looking to get out
of us. And I think it's it's that So, I mean,
I think, but again, like it's easy for me to
talk about that, it's it's a little bit more difficult
when you're the people that Joe Burrow is trying to
put pressure on, when you're the people who are in
charge of the decisions this team has to make.

Speaker 1 (01:19:59):
But again, like.

Speaker 2 (01:20:02):
The moment anything happens with any of these three three players,
and again like Jamar Chase is on a contract for
this year, so is Trey Hendrickson, and theoretically so is
t Higgins. But the moment anything happens with any of
these players, we're all going to wonder, well, how's this
going to go over with number nine? And if you're
asking that, you're kind of curious, like, is there going

(01:20:24):
to be some sort of bad fallout if you run
the Bengals? Are you afraid of that bad fallout? Whatever
that bad fallout is, to the degree that you're not
going to do what you genuinely believe is right for
the franchise. Seven away from five o'clock. More on this
coming up after the top of the hour, a tribute

(01:20:45):
to Sam Hubbard, and some college basketball stuff as well
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 3 (01:20:52):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 4 (01:20:57):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. When it comes to
momultiple Sclerosis Trust. The experts at U see Gardner Neuroscience
dot com. Westbound two seventy five, it's an accident in
the construction zone on the Carrol Cropper Bridge. Backed up.
Traffic starting to move again westbound two seventy five as well.

(01:21:19):
The entrance ramp from the Petersburg exit has been blocked off.
Police and fire crews blocking the left lane there. I'm
that he's not like with traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:21:28):
This report is sponsored by Rapping for Football.

Speaker 9 (01:21:31):
Yes by this is Dan Horde, joined Dave Lapham and
me for every play of every game on the official
home of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:21:38):
All right, five oh five. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:21:45):
Am Leger, thank you for joining us. Tell me about
a great Wednesday so far we have as well. Uh,
it's been busy man. Part of me like on Monday,
I'm like, what's what's gonna be going on on Wednesday
when I come back?

Speaker 1 (01:22:00):
And there's been there's been a lot.

Speaker 2 (01:22:02):
Reds are playing right now in a game against the
Rangers and encouraging start for Hunter Green.

Speaker 1 (01:22:07):
They are losing the ball.

Speaker 2 (01:22:08):
Game five to two right now, patting in the bottom
of the seventh inning. The big story of the day
for the Bengals, Sam Hubbard announced his retirement from the NFL.
You know, it's a significant career end or end of
tenure with the Bengals when you get quotes in the
press release from both the head coach and the owner.

(01:22:32):
Needless to say, you didn't get either in the piece
or the press release about Alex Kappa being let go.
But Sam Hubbard's retirement understandably so. The last link to
the twenty eighteen season, the last link to Marvin Lewis's
final year, the last link to the final draft class
of the Marvin Lewis regime.

Speaker 1 (01:22:54):
This is.

Speaker 2 (01:22:56):
A real storybook tale, and I know that sounds hokey,
Not so much the ending, I guess you know.

Speaker 1 (01:23:03):
The the ending is weirdy.

Speaker 2 (01:23:05):
He lines up as a tight end, catches a touchdown pass,
gets hurt, and never plays again. And so he's not
a part of the end of the year's surge or
the very end of the season surge. And obviously the
season for the Bengals didn't end the way we would
have liked. But it's it's you know, you think of
every boy who grows up here at one point wondering

(01:23:26):
could I grow up and play for the Bengals. They
all dream of it, we all have, regardless of how
old you are. He did that, you know, And it's
it's a dream to play for any NFL team. We
can all relate to that. But it's something else to
dream of playing for your hometown NFL team and you
do it, and you do it for a long time.

(01:23:47):
Seven years in the NFL is a remarkable career. It
completely defies the odds, whether you're a college free agent,
a dude taken in the fourth round as Sam I'm
sorry he was a third round or dude taken in
the third round as Sam was, or a guy you
know who's an obvious first round pick. That's that in

(01:24:08):
itself is awesome. But and you could say this about
a lot of guys, and we you know, we had
this conversation about Jesse Bates when he left, and we
had this conversation about Joe Mixon when he left, a
group of players who were here before Joe Burrow and
who were here before Zach Taylor, and you know, we
did this last year when Joe Mixon got traded to

(01:24:30):
the Houston Texans. Say what you want about how it
ended with Joe and some of the off field stuff.
That guy was here when things were terrible, but he
was a part of the solution. He was a part
of the turnaround and should always be remembered for that.
And you could apply that to Jesse Bates. We focus
a lot on him leaving and what the team didn't

(01:24:50):
do to keep him, but a guy who was drafted
in the same class as Sam Hubbard and was one
of those pieces that you could identify as if this
is going to work with a new coach, he's got
to be a part of it. And you can apply
that to Sam Hubbard as well. And to do that
as a local guy, I think is really cool. Somebody
who's always going to be remembered very very fondly for that.

(01:25:14):
But also, you know, he authored a handful of awesome moments.
Let's be honest. The one that comes to mind first
is the Rumble in the Jungle, the Hubbard yard Dash,
whatever we've agreed to call it, a play that is
one of the most memorable in the history of the
franchise for how it unfolded, for what was happening in

(01:25:36):
the game to that point, and you know it being
done by dude who is from here is really really awesome.
Some of the most treasured athletes in this city's history.
And let's face it, you I think often identify the
Reds with this because they've had in their history so
many players who played for them, who grew up here

(01:25:58):
and who played high school ball here, played for Midland
or something like that. But with the Bengals, you know,
there's there's just something different about a guy who was
from here doing what he did here and more than
anything being a part of the turnaround, I think that
there's a really special cloister of players. And I just
mentioned two of them who they were here when the

(01:26:22):
team was not very good, and they were here during
a time year one of Zach Taylor where you just
were trying to figure out, Like, all right, Zach seems
like a really nice guy and he's more affable in
his press conferences than Marvin Lewis was. But is this
really going to work? Who are the players? Who are
the players that are going to make up the core,

(01:26:44):
Who are the players that are going to help the
new coach establish the culture? That he talks so much about,
and there were a handful of players who ended up
being a part of that and a part of what
the team accomplished in twenty twenty one, in twenty twenty two.
Tyler Boy is obviously another And I think there's a
collection of those guys and they're all gone now, right,

(01:27:07):
I mean they're all Sam was the last link to
Marvin Lewis. Kevin Huber would be on that list. There's
a lot of players who have come along since you know,
who have come along since Joe Burrow, who came along
with Joe Burrow, like t Higgins or after Joe Burrow,
Jamar Chase, Trey Hendrickson, revered players, special players players In

(01:27:29):
many cases, we want to be here for a very
long time. But I think there's something about that handful
of guys who were here before Joe and even before
Zach in most cases that were a part of the solution.
And we're a part of the turnaround and brought so

(01:27:52):
much joy and so much excitement, and we're a part
of Say what you want about how the super Bowl
went down in twenty twenty one, like that season was
so much fun and so awesome and that two year stretch,
were a franchise that hadn't won a postseason game in
thirty two years ends up winning five in two seasons.

Speaker 1 (01:28:14):
That was a really fun time.

Speaker 2 (01:28:16):
And the players that I felt, and I think a
lot of us felt happiest for, were the guys who
had been here through the end of Marvin and early
Zach and pri Joe and Sam Hubbard was one of
those players, and beyond all that, was a good football player.
You know, we're I don't believe we're talking about somebody
who's Ring of Honor material. You know, we're obviously not

(01:28:39):
talking about somebody. Sam never played in a Pro Bowl,
was not an all that's okay, seven years in a cornerstone,
and then you add to all that the off field impact,
the work by his foundation, how hands on he is,
two time Bengals Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.
Just a really, really fun story. There's also a football

(01:29:01):
part of this, And on a day where everybody's talking
about all the good that Sam did and what he's
come to represent and how he should be remembered for
a lot of really good things, that the reality is
as last season unfolded, there grew this collection of players
that we talked about the Bengals kind of needing to

(01:29:24):
move on from, and in some cases players who developed
no attachment whatsoever to the city, like Sheldon Rankins, and
then players whose.

Speaker 1 (01:29:38):
Value had expired.

Speaker 2 (01:29:42):
Alex Kappa, who if you don't know, is signing with
the Raiders, he would fall under that category. Mike Hilton,
it looks like they're moving on from him. And I
think in that cluster of players, you could include the
name Sam Hubbard and had he just I had to
play football in twenty twenty five, I think we all

(01:30:02):
would have rooted for him. And had he been a
Bengal at whatever salary in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (01:30:09):
We would have rooted for him.

Speaker 2 (01:30:11):
But with each departing player who was a relatively underwhelming
part of an underwhelming team, with each departing player, there
becomes room for someone new. Now Bengal's got a lot
to figure out on the defensive line, whether it's three
technique inside edge with Trey without Trey like, they have

(01:30:37):
their work cut out for him this offseason, and it's
it's got to be in free agency, and it's got
to be in the draft. That was going to be
the case, whether or not Sam Hubbard was here. I
will admit though, to being relieved that we don't have
to talk ourselves into Sam Hubbard at this stage of
his career being a part of that mix, because and

(01:31:00):
again had a terrific career and is being celebrated today
and should be and I'm here for that. But as
we talked about the composition of the twenty twenty five team,
I didn't want Sam to be part of it. I
know today might not be the day to say that,
but like it's we're an off season mode now, like

(01:31:23):
free agency is about to start. So my first thought
when I saw this morning that Sam was leaving, he
had a really cool social media post which you should
go check out. Was really classy way to do it.
Good for him. Don't know if he was told he's
not coming back and didn't want to play elsewhere. I'm
not sure if or not if he has been told
by his doctor, Hey, look it doesn't behovie to come
back and play. Maybe he's fulfilled and happy with what

(01:31:44):
he's done and he's healthy and so he's going to
go on and do what's next. Either way, today's day
to talk about Sam, and today's the day to remember
Sam and discuss his place in the franchise is history,
and to a degree remember that group of players who
were here before Joe and before Zach Taylor. But I'll
also tell you that my second thought was okay, good,

(01:32:06):
okay good, because the overahul on the defensive line I
think needs to include players who over the last couple
of years have been better than Sam Hubbard, who have
more upside than Sam Hubbard, who are younger than Sam Hubbard.
And so the fact that, well, he's not going to
be here means we don't have to talk ourselves into well,

(01:32:27):
you know, maybe they bring him back and he's going
to be better than he was, and he'll maybe renegotiate
and they'll pay less money.

Speaker 1 (01:32:33):
Like it felt like, you know what this is, it's time.

Speaker 2 (01:32:36):
And if he goes and decides to play football somewhere else,
that's okay too. But it also seems quite plausible that
not only did you and I feel like you know
what it's time, Sam felt that way as well. And
so congratulations on a great career, on his retirement and
legitimately er a lot of players you wish well. And

(01:32:57):
then there are guys that you are genuinely interested in
what they do next. Sam Hubbard is one of those
type guys. Sixteen minutes after five o'clock, our numbers are
five point three seven four nine, fifteen thirty and eight
sixty six seven two three seven seven six Big College
Basketball Tonight you see his home for Kansas State Senior

(01:33:18):
Night at fifth third. Let's go ahead and say a
must win for the Bearcats and will apply the same
thing to the Xavier Musketeers. Although coming off a fifth
consecutive win an impressive home performance against Creighton, battling a
Butler team that from a metrics perspective is going to
be a little bit more difficult than you might believe
if you simply looked at the box score from the

(01:33:39):
first time those two teams played. More on that coming
up in just about twenty minutes at Moeger on Twitter.
Thanks to United Heartland Insurance, our poll question which, by
the way, United Heartland Insurance take care of any insurance need.
Will Jamar, Chase t Higgins, and Trey Hendrickson all be
Bengals in twenty twenty six, sixty three percent of.

Speaker 1 (01:34:01):
You say no.

Speaker 2 (01:34:02):
Vote Now at Moe Egger, we'll take some phone calls
next on ESPN fifteen thirty. Cincinnati Sports Station Cincinnati's ESPN
fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:34:14):
dot com. Eastbound Fort Washington Way, it's an accident near
US fifty. The left center lane blocked there. Eastbound State

(01:34:34):
Route one twenty nine. Another accident between Princeton Glendale and
Cincinnati Dayton Road and northbound two seventy five accident on
the ramp to westbound seventy four. I'm at ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:34:46):
These three porties.

Speaker 2 (01:34:47):
Joe Toney traded by the Chiefs to the Bears for
a fourth round pick in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (01:34:55):
You can do that.

Speaker 2 (01:34:58):
And not have people question you internally or externally when
you've got a GM with a good track record of
replacing good players and overhauling offensive lines. Worth pointing out
five point three, seven, four nine, fifteen thirty, what do
we have here? Twenty two after five, Jeff is with us.

(01:35:20):
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty, Jeff, Good afternoon.

Speaker 8 (01:35:23):
How are you happy Wednesday, Mo, welcome back.

Speaker 1 (01:35:26):
It's good to be here. What's up.

Speaker 8 (01:35:28):
I'm heading to Goodyear tomorrow. I have two quick questions
for you. I can't find any stadium information anywhere. Is
there good parking?

Speaker 2 (01:35:36):
Oh yeah, there's a There's a huge parking lot just
adjacent to the outfield wall, which is the easiest to access.
There's also a lot on the other side of the stadium,
which is a little bit more crowded because it faces
the complex. I will tell you this that going to
the game on Monday night, parking in the parking lot

(01:36:00):
Gratis didn't cost a dime.

Speaker 8 (01:36:02):
Oh good good. And is there a roof? And is
there any shade anywhere?

Speaker 2 (01:36:07):
There is shade. There's no roof, but there is shade.
A canopy kind of from from first base to third base.
I don't think it really goes quite that long, but
there's a nice canopy. And if you get a windy day,
that's where you want to be, especially if there's a
night game. I haven't looked at the schedule. If you're
going to a night game, the wind can be it
can make it feel colder than it is. And if

(01:36:28):
you're out there in the outfield, you're gonna feel it.
But if you're standing underneath and you're in the canopy,
which is where the pro shop is, which is basically
where ninety percent of the concessions are, that's that's that's
kind of that's kind of where you want to be. Now,
if it's a nice day, and if it's a day game,
there's a ticketed place in right field. And I don't

(01:36:51):
know if you have to have a minimum number of people,
but there's a ticketed place in right field with tables
set up and a full bar and beer selections that
you can't get anywhere else in the ballpark. And that's
that's worth checking out as well. If you're looking for
a covered area and it's not windy.

Speaker 5 (01:37:09):
Okay, cool.

Speaker 8 (01:37:10):
Yeah, it looks like Friday is going to be a washout.
I'm gonna have to readjust my schedule and maybe go
to the game on Saturday, go to the Grand Canyon
on Sunday. It looks like Friday it's going to rain
all day out there. So maybe there's a top golf
or something.

Speaker 1 (01:37:24):
There's a top golf in Glendale, Okay, there is. There's
a top.

Speaker 2 (01:37:29):
There's a top and there's also a lot of actual
golf courses, but then you got to bring your clubs
and pay a.

Speaker 5 (01:37:34):
Lot of money.

Speaker 8 (01:37:35):
Yeah, I'm not doing that just yet. So on the
Sam real quick. He'll be in the Ring of Honor someday, right.

Speaker 1 (01:37:43):
I don't know, Maybe you don't think no, Yeah, yeah,
I mean I did.

Speaker 2 (01:37:47):
I've always thought one of the interesting questions about the
Ring of Honor is like, where's the cutoff? Right, Like,
the players that are in the Ring of Honor now
are either in the Hall of Fame or have really
strong Haul of Fame cases. Now, not every Ring of
Honor player is going to have a Hall of Fame case.
But then when you get past like that first wave

(01:38:08):
of guys, are you like, I don't know, at who's
the cutoff? Who's the best player who's not eventually going
to be in the Ring of Honor.

Speaker 8 (01:38:16):
Yeah, that's a that's a great question. Actually, I was
just like, you know, Sam, favorite does not equate to
Ring of Honor necessarily. I guess it's the way to
put it.

Speaker 2 (01:38:25):
Yeah, I mean, look, it's it's a it's a good
seven year career, but like never a Pro Bowl, And
I hate to do this. On the day he retired,
but but never a pro bowler, uh, never an All Pro,
never won any major league award.

Speaker 1 (01:38:41):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:38:42):
I mean they're a good career. But like the Hall
of Honor, I like there, there does have to be
some standard and and it doesn't have to be the
world's highest standard, but like I want the franchises all
time greats to be there.

Speaker 1 (01:38:58):
I don't think.

Speaker 2 (01:38:59):
I don't think Sam Hubard's an all time great, and
that's that's okay. Doesn't mean he wasn't a terrific player,
doesn't He doesn't mean he's not an all time great guy.
But like Anthony Munos is an all time great, Ken
Riley's in the Hall of Fame, Chad Johnson's still the
best receiver in franchise history. Those are great. Sam Hubbard's
career to those guys and the others in the Ring
of Honor does pale in comparison.

Speaker 8 (01:39:20):
Yeah, we don't want it to end up being the
Ring of very good. I guess is what it comes
down to. You. You don't think there's any chance Trey
gets close to Crossby money, do you?

Speaker 1 (01:39:30):
No?

Speaker 8 (01:39:32):
Yeah, I think that that might have been the kiss
of death. This afternoon probably is my guess yes.

Speaker 2 (01:39:39):
I think if Trey Hendrickson is looking to make the
most money he can eventually it was great for him.
I think if he is dead set on staying in Cincinnati,
this was a bad thing for him.

Speaker 8 (01:39:48):
Yeah, okay, I was thinking the same way. And uh,
I just think that that number kind of threw me
off to the side that you know, if if there
now Jamar has another hurdle to get over to be
the highest paid non quarterback right of all things, of course,
So okay, great, Well, thanks for the infro. Hopefully I'll get.

Speaker 5 (01:40:08):
Enjoyed something while I'm out there. Yeah, definitely have a
good day.

Speaker 1 (01:40:11):
All right, you too.

Speaker 2 (01:40:12):
I the Ring of Honor thing, I know a lot
of people are going to disagree, and that's that's okay.
It's it's the fun part of having a Ring of honor.
But it can't just be every good player who played
you know, five, six, seven seasons and was a fan favorite.
And look, I know he's a Cincinnati guy and that
makes it different. And I know he played in a
Super Bowl and that makes it different. I know he
had the Hubbard yard Dash, which makes it different. But

(01:40:37):
if you look at the type of career Sam had
while very good, there's a lot of guys who had
that career.

Speaker 1 (01:40:46):
There's a lot of guys who.

Speaker 2 (01:40:48):
Had a comparable run in Cincinnati. Sam's last two years
weren't great if we lop them off and look at
the previous five really good. So we're Jesse Bates. Jesse
Bates gonna be in the Ring of Honor. It's Tyler
Boyd gonna be Like this is one of the fun
parts of any Ring of Honor discussion. Who are like,

(01:41:13):
who's gonna in ten years? Because there's gonna be a
lot of dudes who we have yet to vote on, right,
I mean, there's gonna be a j. Green, and there's
gonna be Andy Dalton. There's gonna be Andy Andrew Whitworth
and Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap and Kevin Huber. And
then if you want to go even further down the road,
you know, who knows what they do with a Trey Hendrickson.
Who knows what they do with a t Higgins? Like
a lot of guys is it gonna be just every

(01:41:36):
good player? At the end of the day, you could
certainly argue, like, what's what's the harm is? Uh is
is Sam Hubbard gonna dilute Willie Anderson's name being up there,
and no, but I do think there has to be
some exclusivity. It doesn't have to be UC basketball with
the numbers being retired, which they never do. It doesn't

(01:41:57):
have to be that. But but I do think there
should be some exclusivity. And it's not like I would
protest if they put them up there, but there does
have to be some exclusivity. Like Willie Anderson as a
Hall of Fame case, Chad Johnson has a decent Hall
of Fame case. Those are all time greats in franchise history.

(01:42:20):
Chad still owns all the good wide receiver records. Boomera
Sison was an MVP, Ken Anderson was an MVP. Anthony
Munos is maybe the best to ever play his position.
Sam Hubbard's a good player. It's from here, like is
that probably gonna be good enough for some if you

(01:42:42):
want some exclusivity as it relates to that thing, that
ring of honor. Sam for me is probably on the
outside looking at like are we putting Andre Smith in
the Ring of Honor? Like there's a lot of guys
who played six seven years, had really good careers a
lot of guys, and so I hate to do that,

(01:43:05):
but my guess is I guess is no. But I'm
sure there will be support for that to be the
case when he is eligible whenever. That is five thirty
on ESPN fifteen thirty Sports Headlines and a look at
tonight in Indy and tomorrow in Cleveland.

Speaker 3 (01:43:22):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 4 (01:43:28):
dot com. On eastbound four Washington Way near US fifty left,
two lanes blocked from an accident. A little bit of
stop and go traffic from I seventy five southbound seventy

(01:43:51):
one seventy five. It's an accident on the right shoulder
that near twelfth and US sixty eight. Has an accident
at East Mount Pleasant Road. I'm at Ezelk with traffic.

Speaker 3 (01:44:00):
This reporting s is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:44:08):
Heard it the first time.

Speaker 2 (01:44:09):
Sports headline is quickly a service of a Kelsey Chevrolet
Home of Lifetime power train protection and guaranteed credit approval
from their family to yours for life kelseyshev dot com.
Sam Hubbard announces his retirement after a seven NFL seasons,
all of them with the hometown Bengals. Bengals also today
announced the contract extension. It's the one we've all been

(01:44:31):
waiting for, the one we have been talking about for
months on end the contract of guard Jackson Kirkland one
year contract extension through the twenty twenty five season. Former
Bengal Alex Kappas set to sign with the Las Vegas
Raiders two year deal. There Reds and Rangers in goodyear.
Right now they are in the top of the sixth inning,

(01:44:52):
Texas anothery' ninth. They're in the bottom of the ninth inning.
It's five to three Texas. Hunter Green a good start
four innings, did not give up a run and struck
out six.

Speaker 1 (01:45:04):
What else do we have?

Speaker 2 (01:45:05):
College hoops and night you see versus Kansas State at
seven on seven hundred WLW Xavier at Butler at seven
on fifty five KRC. Speaking of which, Rick Browing Musketeerreport
dot Com with this part of NKU Radio as well.
En route to Cleveland for the NKU versus Cleveland State
Horizon Lead Tournament till tonight. Let's start with Xavier. Let's

(01:45:26):
go back to Saturday. What was your big takeaway from
the impressive Xavior performance in the win over Creton.

Speaker 6 (01:45:32):
Well, I think it was the fact that they won
so handily, right, I mean all year we've been talking
about this Xavior team blowing leads, and they had that
big lead. They played so well in the first half,
and you're thinking, Okay, I've seen this before, and sure enough,
Creighton did start to make a comeback, they made a
little bit of a run, but then Xavier answered right
back and then stretched that lead out to its largest
point ended up winning the game by twenty two. I mean,

(01:45:54):
they really played well from start to finishing that one.
And I think you know, from a standpoint of when
you're trying to about the at large bids and the metrics,
beating a creating team by twenty two is definitely going
to help your vetris.

Speaker 2 (01:46:07):
I think what stood out to me more than anything
for a high possession game, a team that right now
was one hundred and seventy first in turnover percentage turn
the ball over just six.

Speaker 6 (01:46:17):
Times, no question, and I mean, you got to give
a lot of credit to the guards in that case.
I mean, Ryan Conwell had three of the six turnovers himself,
but aside from him, everybody else took really good care
of the basketball. I thought Daveon McKnight, who has been
very up and down throughout this year, played one of
his better games. He was solid throughout, He was pretty

(01:46:38):
good defensively, and he had a couple of big shots
as well. So I agree with you taking care of
the basketball when you're playing at that type of pace
and scoring over eighty points is huge.

Speaker 2 (01:46:47):
I also and Ryan clck Runners statistically had a nice game.
I thought it was a quiet game, especially on the
defensive end.

Speaker 6 (01:46:53):
Yeah, I mean, he had twenty three points and it was,
you know, not terribly inefficient. He was ten for eighteen
from the field, also had twelve rebounds. But I think
he never took over the game like he did in
the first meeting between those teams, where he did whatever
he wanted. Whatever they needed a basket, they were able
to just kind of lob it up inside to him.
He got as deep as he wanted, and he scored

(01:47:13):
over the top of the Zack Freemantle that didn't happen
this time. They had a better plan for him in place.
Talking to Sean Miller after the game, he said their
entire focus was on not letting Ryan Kulkbrenner get off
for the big game. He wasn't happy with Kulkbrenner getting
twenty three the way he did, but I think they
really did do a much better job of slowing him
up and got to give some credit to John Juclei

(01:47:34):
off the bench. He had some good minutes in there
where he held his ground and didn't force Xavior to
double team and give up those wide open kickout threes
on the perimeter.

Speaker 2 (01:47:43):
I talked to a lot of Xavier fans in the
run up to the Creighton game who expressed this sentiment.
They'll beat Creighton at home and that will all be
feeling really good about their chances. And then against the
Butler team that doesn't have a lot to play for
but wants to be spoiler at Hinkle, they'll go there
and lie to a team that they beat by thirteen
points the first go around. Is that just paranoia or

(01:48:05):
is that based on something legitimate?

Speaker 6 (01:48:08):
No, I mean I think it's legitimate. I just think
it's probably like fans don't quite understand how basketball works
all that well. I mean, the fact that they beat
them by thirteen at the Centas Center is accurate, and
it was a good matchup for Xavier. But if you
look at like Ken Palm's projection for tonight's game, bev
is just a one point favorite in that game. When
you go on the road, it's much more difficult to win.

(01:48:29):
And so I don't think it's just the fact that
Digger's gonna have a letdown performance or just the fact
that Butler wants to play spoiler, although those storylines are
both true as well. It's the fact that it's going
to be much harder to beat Butler inside hankle Fieldhouse
than it is to beat them inside the Cintas Center.
So yeah, I mean, in terms of a metrics or
like a Ken Pound prediction type site, this Butler game

(01:48:50):
is just as difficult for Xavier as the home game
was against Creighton.

Speaker 5 (01:48:53):
So they certainly have their work cut out for that.

Speaker 2 (01:48:55):
All right, Let's say they beat Butler and then beat
Providence on Senior Day. That's twenty one, ten and thirteen
and seven in the Big East in the regular season.
What would they have to do, if anything in New
York to see their name called a week from Sunday.

Speaker 6 (01:49:11):
I know that's what everyone wants to talk about this
time of year. I know Zavier fans aren't gonna like
hearing this. I'm a big believer in if you go
into your conference tournament quote unquote, needing to do work,
still you're not getting into the NSEVA tournament. I think
we've seen enough cases in the last few years where
teams have racked up multiple quad one wins in their
conference tournament and then weren't rewarded for it with an

(01:49:34):
at large bid or moving up seed lines. I think
after we get past that, like Tuesday or Wednesday of
that selection week, the committee kind of already has you
slotted where you're slotted, and I don't think they do
a lot of shuffling at that point. I mean, is
it possible if you make a run and you win
the Big East Tournament, obviously you become an automatic qualifier
and that will help your seed line. If you really

(01:49:55):
make some noise, maybe it helps you a little bit.
But just going there and winning one game in the
biggiest tournament on a neutral floor, I don't think that's
enough to push Xavier over the top.

Speaker 5 (01:50:05):
So the other question is is their metrics.

Speaker 6 (01:50:09):
Is the resume good enough just with winning out the
rest of the regular season, And I think that's a
more interesting debate. I think they're right on the cut line,
and it's really going to come down to how chaotic
are these conference tournaments over the next few weeks and
are the teams on the bubble from the high major
conferences that are still finishing out the regular season. That's
really going to dictate where Zavier stands, because as it

(01:50:32):
is right now, they're right there on that cut line.
They really need some other teams to play their way
out of a large bid and for there to be
no bid Steelers because these wins that they're racking up
here late in the season. Yes, they have the chance
to go seven to zero here in the final seven games,
but none of them have been the quad one wins
that they really need to enhance their resumes.

Speaker 2 (01:50:52):
Rick Boring Musketeer Report dot Com, NKU Radio. Tomorrow night,
the Norris in Cleveland to take on Cleveland State, a
two versus seven matchup in the Horizon League Tournament. Winner
advances to the Semis in Indy on Monday. We've talked
about this all year long. The idea was to be
the Norris playing at their best going into the tournament.
They win their last four in the regular season, they

(01:51:15):
get a decisive blowout win last night. Should NKU fans
start thinking that this team can win their next three?

Speaker 6 (01:51:22):
I mean, how could you not At this point, I'm
sure the rest of the Horizon League is thinking that
exact same thing, MO, that this isn't your typical seventh
seed and that NKU is very much a factor. And
here's the biggest thing. If you look at the last
ten games, including last night's win against Detroit Mercy, KAU
might have the best guard in the conference the emergence

(01:51:42):
of Dan Grezker late in the season. Ob of these
last ten games, Nku's.

Speaker 5 (01:51:47):
Eight and two.

Speaker 6 (01:51:48):
Garrezler's averaging about sixteen points per game. He's shooting over
forty four percent from three. He's as dynamic of a
playmaker as you'll see at the mid major level, with
an athleticism and at six foot four. I mean, he
had a behind the back move at the top of
the key last night against Detroit Mercy and then a
finish at the rim that was so impressive. I think

(01:52:08):
that's what really gives NK you Fann some confidence going
into the postseason. And now I have this win over Detroit.
Is just the way Dan Grezger has kind of re
mixed this team and made everybody else more dynamic on
the offensive end.

Speaker 2 (01:52:22):
So they win tonight. They would play Monday at Corteva
Coliseum in Indianapolis. Is that a new name for the
same old bad arena.

Speaker 6 (01:52:31):
That's absolutely what it is, though various dude observation.

Speaker 5 (01:52:34):
It is the same old dump theyre out on the
fair ground.

Speaker 2 (01:52:36):
That place is beyond awful. Does Cleveland State have a
this arena different? It's it's old school.

Speaker 6 (01:52:45):
The Wolfsteine Center is like kind of a big hockey arena.
It's got a little bit of history to it, but
it's a bit cavernous.

Speaker 1 (01:52:51):
Have you given up on Facebook?

Speaker 5 (01:52:54):
No? Of course not. Of course.

Speaker 6 (01:52:56):
Not a little timing here. You know, we're just getting
into the March madness the postseason, so I didn't, you know,
I wanted to let it breathe a little bit on
your March madness topic.

Speaker 5 (01:53:05):
So all right, just.

Speaker 6 (01:53:06):
Shuffling things around. You know, we've got we've got a
lot of content right now, the workers.

Speaker 1 (01:53:10):
I certainly understand. Where are you guys? Right now?

Speaker 6 (01:53:14):
We are I don't know where we are in terms
of location, but I do know we are twenty five
minutes out from the nearest Texas roadhouse, which is what
we are all focused.

Speaker 5 (01:53:22):
On at the moment.

Speaker 7 (01:53:23):
Are you are you?

Speaker 5 (01:53:24):
Like?

Speaker 1 (01:53:25):
Are you north or south of Columbus?

Speaker 6 (01:53:28):
Are we north or south of Columbus?

Speaker 2 (01:53:30):
Well, I mean you, so you've passed through Columbus and
you didn't even notice.

Speaker 6 (01:53:35):
No, I've been on my laptop working this entire time
and then talking to you.

Speaker 5 (01:53:38):
I pay zero attention while we're driving.

Speaker 2 (01:53:40):
Oh so you're you're like is Jim's a great driver,
but you're not a very fun travel companion. That's how
it works. You just dive your nose into laptop. You
off to talk to him.

Speaker 5 (01:53:49):
No, look, we have to.

Speaker 6 (01:53:49):
We're talking, but I'm also looking at my laptop and working.
I'm just not paying attention to the road.

Speaker 1 (01:53:53):
And then you guys are going to go tear up
Cleveland tonight.

Speaker 5 (01:53:57):
Yeah, that's exactly what we're gonna do. Tear up Cleveland.

Speaker 6 (01:54:00):
Elch was making plans right now to hit some clubs
and we'll see how it works out.

Speaker 1 (01:54:04):
Very good.

Speaker 2 (01:54:04):
I can't wait to hear about that. All right, Well,
thank you as always. We'll talk next.

Speaker 5 (01:54:08):
Week, all right. Hit me up on Facebook. Thanks though.

Speaker 2 (01:54:11):
That's our guy, Rick Boring Musketeer Report dot com and
NKU Radio Norse on the road tomorrow night against Cleveland State.
Rick on the call with Jim Kelch on ESPN fifteen thirty.
Tip off at eight o'clock and he'll be covering from
a distance Xavier versus Butler tonight from Hincklefield House. That
game at seven on fifty five care see full coverage
at Musketeer Report dot com. Want to thank our friends

(01:54:32):
at Smoke Justice and Covington because they did something awesome today.
They brought me and Tarren Bergers for my money, the
best burger in the Tri state area, the Federal Burger
at Smoke Justice. You cannot beat if you haven't tried it,
if you haven't been to Smoke Justice recently, the menu
have smoked meat options is awesome. And if you haven't
been to their bourbon room, dude, no better bourbon collection.

(01:54:55):
By the way, that's where we're doing our show from
the bourbon room at Smoke Justice on opening day from
noon to three, so be there for that. Also, Smoke
Justice is a part of the Bonded Spirit Music Festival,
which is returning to Covington on Saturday. If you love bourbon,
if you love live music, this is awesome. It's really

(01:55:16):
about bluegrass and Americana and bourbon and it's a really
good time. It's happening on Sunday. It's there and Covington.
Tickets are available. They are going quickly. The gates open
at four o'clock on Saturday. The show is going to
be at five o'clock. You can learn more at Bondedspirit
dot com. That's Bondedspirit dot com. By the way, Lindseylew

(01:55:38):
is a part of that event. She is awesome bluegrass
roots and the bourbon there is going to be terrific
as well. And you could have dinner at Smoke Justice.
So check out Bondedspirit dot com. Get tickets now. It's
happening on Saturday. It is nearly sold out, but there
are tickets Bondedspirit dot com.

Speaker 1 (01:55:55):
A thought on Pete Rose next.

Speaker 3 (01:56:01):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 4 (01:56:05):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. When it comes to
multiple sclerosis, Trust the experts at UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute
for Innovative and Comprehensive Care. Learn more at UCHealth dot com.
On eastbound Fort Washington Way, it's an accident off on
the left shoulder near US fifty. Traffic is stopping go
from I seventy five southbound seventy one seventy five near twelfth.

(01:56:29):
Accident cleared off their traffic also stop and go from
seventy one f five minute delay on that ezalik with traffic.

Speaker 5 (01:56:37):
This report is sponsored by Rapidly Good Conversation.

Speaker 2 (01:56:40):
Earlier in the show with Clinton Yates. Clinton Yates does
the show on ESPN Radio that airs from a ten
am to noon every day. That timeslot used to be
occupied by Mike Greenberg, and then a long long time
ago was occupied by Colin Cowherd, and for a while
it was occupied by Dan Levittard. And so that's that's
that's an important time slot. And in recent years Mike

(01:57:03):
Greenberg has had his name on the show, but he
really hasn't been on it. Clinton Yates has taken over
the show they call it Clinton and Friends, which he
hosts it, and then they bring in a whole bunch
of sort of regular guests to talk about the issues
of the day, and Clinton's a very talented host. What
I've always liked about him in consuming his content, as
we say, is he's a big baseball guy. And it's

(01:57:26):
fun to listen to a national sports talk radio show
where they weave in some baseball talk. And Clinton and
I had a good conversation about this. We'll have the
Whole Conversation podcast at ESPN fifteen thirty dot com. I
was I was out of town and I got a
text from a friend of mine on Friday morning about

(01:57:48):
the President of the United States quote pardoning Pete Rose,
and it was interesting. I got two calls from media
outlets who wondered if I would come on and talk
about this story with them, and I I wondered, like,
is this is this really something that for most fans

(01:58:10):
is moving the meter? And don't I don't believe The
answer is yes, uh. And so what I like about
Clinton show is they briefly mentioned this and then went
on to talk about the season and pennant races and
the ball strike challenge system and some of the economic
stuff in the game. And so when I when I

(01:58:33):
say that Clinton talks about baseball, he doesn't, and I
don't know how much his bosses love this. I'm sure
he's in constant consultation with him, but they talk about
like baseball topics that aren't all about, you know, what
the game used to be and what it's not anymore,
the economic disparity between big market and small market. And
they didn't spend a lot of time on the Pete

(01:58:54):
Rose thing, at least the shows that I listened to
really quick here at the end of the show. My
take on on the pardon and the possibility of Pete
posthumously being allowed back into baseball or removed from the
ineligible list and ultimately being eligible for induction into Cooperstown

(01:59:15):
and then maybe eventually being inducted into Cooperstown is.

Speaker 1 (01:59:22):
What's the point? Now?

Speaker 2 (01:59:23):
That's easy for me to say because I'm not Pete
Rose's child, I'm not his son, his daughter, I'm not
one of his loved ones, close family member, I'm not
one of his grandkids. But I know I've brought this
up before. I watched Ken Riley going to the Hall
of Fame a couple of years ago in Canton, and
I was thrilled for Ken Riley's family and Ken Riley's

(01:59:44):
son gave an awesome induction speech. Awesome, but that entire
thing was not a celebration. And I remember watching Ron
Santo get inducted. It was the same year Barry Larkin
got inducted twousand twelve, and me being a huge Barry
Larkin guy, I couldn't wait for that day. I wanted

(02:00:04):
to go, I couldn't get there. I could not wait
for that Sunday to see Barry lark In, my favorite
all time player, get inducted into the National Baseball Hall
of Fame. But what I remember most about that day
was Ron Santo's widow giving his induction speech. He had
been eligible for years and he finally gets in after
his dad. A Hall of Fame induction is supposed to

(02:00:26):
be a celebration. If the person who's being inducted is
not there, that's not a celebration. Roy Halliday passed away
way too young and went in on the first ballot,
and unfortunately, you know, it was a different set of circumstances,
but his Hall of Fame induction was not celebratory watching it,

(02:00:48):
And so a Hall of Fame induction for Pete Rose
almost three and a half decades since his banishment. More
than three and a half decades since his banishment, that
would not be a celebration as far as I'm concerned. Now,
would the right thing be done by his legacy? Sure,
do I believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame,
of course I do. But I just I think to

(02:01:13):
do it after the fact is such a cruel twist
of the knife. No information has changed. There's been nothing new.
There's been no new no sources come forward to say, actually.

Speaker 1 (02:01:24):
Pete, I mean nothing.

Speaker 2 (02:01:25):
There's been nothing new out there that would change why
Pete Rose got banned from baseball. To think that within
less than a year of his death that there would
be significant movement enough to make the Hall of Fame
reconsider its rules and then get us to a point

(02:01:47):
where he is inducted after his death, I think would
be wrong to do. I'm not saying they shouldn't do it,
because again it's right by his legacy, But in terms
of like being excited about some.

Speaker 1 (02:02:00):
Thing I and I'm admittedly.

Speaker 2 (02:02:02):
Not the world's most hardcore Pete Rose fan, I think
that's I think that's cruel to do to his family.

Speaker 1 (02:02:09):
I think that's cruel to do to his legacy to
a degree.

Speaker 2 (02:02:13):
I think to do something that is going to trigger
a non celebration is almost pointless. There's the three minutes
I'm spending on that story. We have to go back
out of tomorrow at three ZHO five. Don't forget since
he three sixty at noon. Thanks to Taran Bland for producing,
and thanks to you for listening. This is ESPN fifteen

(02:02:34):
thirty Cincinnati sports station

All Episodes

3/5/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show

Episode Transcript

Mo Egger News

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

24/7 News: The Latest

Therapy Gecko

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

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}3/5/25 - The Mo Egger Radio Show

Episode Transcript

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

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Dateline NBC

24/7 News: The Latest

Therapy Gecko

All Episodes