6-12-26 - The Mo Egger Radio Show Hr 1

6-12-26 - The Mo Egger Radio Show Hr 1

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Five minutes after three. Exactly five minutes after three. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty Moeger, thank you for listening today,
Hope for having an awesome Friday weekend off to a
great start. We've got lots of good two between now
and six o'clock. Good guest somebody we've had in the
show before coming up in about fifteen minutes, Trisha Whittaker

(00:20):
from Apple TV. They've got the game tonight, Reds and
d Bax the Pride of Indiana University working the dugout
on the sidelines. She joins us in just a bit.
Show preview is available right now on Twitter at moegar
thanks to a share facx credit union. Become a member today.

(00:43):
Go to share facts dot org to learn about the
benefits of membership. My thanks to Chad Brendle for filling
in yesterday. I did not I did not take yesterday
off because of the way the Knicks game ended, or
the fact that the Knicks game ended the way it did,

(01:05):
or the fact that they won. Yesterday's day off. If
you listen to Wednesday's show was planned. I said at
the end of Wednesday's show, I'm not here tomorrow. Chad's
gonna be here talk to you on Friday. So I
guess some folks asked me, like, did you really not
work yesterday because of the Knixt game, And the answer
is no. I had a commitment to play in a

(01:26):
golf outing for goodwill and that was a blast, and
so that's why I was not here. Now that said,
it is probably for the best for me and more
important for you that I was not here yesterday, because
it would have been it would have been really hard

(01:47):
for me to not devote more of the show than
I should to Game four of the NBA Finals. I
try to be careful with this. I try to be
It's one of my goals and I don't often reach it,
but I try to be respectful of the audience's time.
I try to be respectful of what you're into, and
you're not into the Knicks. For the most part, I
do think most sports fans are paying some attention to

(02:09):
the NBA Finals, But I would have sounded stupid yesterday
had at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, I talked about what
was at the very very top of my list of
things on my mind. So that's not why I was here,
but it's maybe for the best that I uh I

(02:30):
was not here. I will just say this, and chances
are you know I'm a Knicks fan. The next one,
Game four, they're up three to one. Game five is tomorrow.
I feel good about it because if you would have
told me before the series they have a three to
one lead, that's better than two to two or down
three to one or getting swept. But I believe this
series is far from over. We will see. But Wednesday night.

(02:55):
Wednesday Night reminded me of twenty twenty one here in Cincinnati.
My favorite period of time as a sports fan and
as a sports fan who has a radio show was
September twenty twenty one through February of twenty twenty two.

(03:19):
My single favorite six month stretch of my life as
a sports fan and easily the single biggest stretch, most
favorite stretch of time I've had hosting this show. Loved
every second of that six month run. That was obviously
the twenty twenty one football season. The Bengals played in

(03:42):
the Super Bowl and UC Football made the College Football Playoff.
There was as far as I'm concerned, and you know, granted,
I don't root for teams that have won anything recently.
The Reds won the World Series when I was thirteen
years old, and even then, like I was too young
to really apply proper context to that. But what I

(04:05):
remember about that season, I guess there's a couple of
different things. One that that year felt like a payoff
for years of waiting for the UC football program and
the Bengals to be nationally relevant again, And it really
did invigorate me professionally. This is a fun job. It's

(04:27):
the only job I've ever wanted. It's the only job
I hope I have for a while. But like as
much as there is this narrative out there, the talk
radio is easier and better when the teams are losing
because fans are mad. I don't subscribe to that, because
I don't think it's true. More people come to the party,
there's more interest, there's a wider variety of things to

(04:50):
talk about when the teams are winning. And after a
long stretch of their not being that much, winning the
twenty twenty one football season here for me was reinvigorate.
Not that I've never gotten, not that I've ever gotten
to a point where I haven't loved coming to work,
But then I couldn't wait every single day there was
something and both you know, seasons had their ups and downs.

(05:14):
The Bengals ran the table that year. It's not like
UC didn't have some games that were a little bit problematic,
even though they won all of them. But the thing
that I think of most when I think of those
two seasons, number one, I think of UC versus Notre
Dame in South Bend. Bearcats led that entire game. It

(05:36):
was almost almost anti climactic at the end. But what
I remember about that day was being in South Bend
and hearing from people as the game was coming to
an end and in the game's immediate aftermath. And I
think this is maybe the best thing about being a
sports fan. I said earlier, like I hear all the time, well, sports,

(06:00):
you know, unites people. I'm not sure it does, And
even if it does, I wish more important things would
unite people, Like we have more sports than ever before,
and it feels like as a country we've never been
more divided. So I'm not sure I buy that, but
I do believe sports can establish and maintain and help
re establish connection. And what I remember about that night

(06:22):
was in South Bend. I stayed after the game, was
looking at my phone and hearing from friends, and hearing
from family, and also hearing from people that I had
either lost touch with or hadn't talked to in a while,
who just happened to be watching the game or kind
of saw how things went down and knew me being

(06:45):
a UC football fan, how much that game meant. And
it was really cool to hear from people. I heard
from somebody I hadn't talked to since high school that night,
who's like, you know what, I listened to your show.
I know how much you love the Bearcats. I can't
imagine how much you're enjoying this. And I'm paraphrasing the text.
And then many many months later, the Bengals beat the

(07:07):
Chiefs to go to the AFC Championship game, and I
watched that game at a bar in northern Kentucky, and
I remember the bedlam unfolding at the bar, and I
remember like people were just handing out buckets of beer
and strangers were hugging and high fiving each other. And
what I remember is that afternoon and evening unfolded was

(07:32):
the amount of text like that's one of the fun things.
Your team wins a big game, and like you hear
from everybody, and I've got people in my life that
I only hear from when things go poorly. So it's
great to be a part of something where everybody's sharing joy.
But I remember hearing from folks I hadn't talked to
in forever, the people that I hadn't spoken to, I

(07:52):
wasn't even sure how they had my number, who were like,
I know what a big Bengals fan you are, and
I know what this means, do you? And again I'm
paraphrasing here, I talked to two people that I went
to college with that I wasn't even necessarily good friends
within college, but just you know, knew this was a
big deal. And that's that's to me one of the
cool things about that night Wednesday night. Look, I know,

(08:17):
I'm kind of on an island here, and I've been asked, like,
you know, the Knicks versus say the Reds, what would
you rather have? And Red's World Series ten out of ten,
more people to share it with, greater professional possibilities. It
just I go to those games. I'm a season ticket holder,
like that would be better, but more people to party with,

(08:37):
more people to share it with. Same for the Bengals,
same for UC, so I kind of know I'm on
an island here. I have like two friends in town
who are Knicks fans, so like not as many like
I know a billion Bengals fans and a billion Reds
fans and a billion UC fans. If you root for
those teams, you do too. But the game ends the
way it did. The Knicks were down by twenty nine points.

(08:58):
They were getting curb stomp. The Spurs were awesome, and
I am not giving up on being heartbroken by San
Antonio winning the next three. The Knicks author of the
greatest comeback in one game in the history of the
NBA Finals. No team had ever come back from down
twenty nine points. They do it in this hugely dramatic

(09:21):
and improbable fashion that triggered this insane scene at Madison
Square Guard and then like, I don't really care about
celebrities and who they root for, celebrity Knicks fans, but like,
just watching people in the immediate aftermath of that game
from my backyard on the west side of Cincinnati was
awfully cool. And I had taken my phone and I

(09:44):
have for a lot of these games, and I put
it in the other room, and I put it on silent,
because I've come to realize that, like my feet is
maybe a minute or so behind some people who are
watching different feed or a different provider. So as the
comeback is unfolding, I took my phone, put it on silent,
I put it inside the house, and then the game
ends the way it does, and I go back and
my phone is blowing up. And there's people that I

(10:07):
am very good friends with, and there's people that I
work with, and none of these folks are Knicks fans,
but they're happy for me. And if you're a sports fan,
you've been there before, right, Like maybe not everybody loves
your team, but your team wins and you hear from
people who are just happy for you. But that I
heard from somebody on Wednesday that I think it would

(10:29):
have been fair to say this person hates my guts
or we have at least we've had a falling out,
and a falling out that goes back a very very
long time ago for reasons that are wholly unimportant, And like,
not everybody in your life is meant to stay forever,
so like people kind of come and go, and that's,

(10:50):
you know, just kind of comes with getting olders like
you lose touch with people, and maybe there's something that
happens and what used to be a great friendship becomes
anything but. And maybe hatred is a strong word. But
I got a text from somebody on Wednesday night, late
Wednesday night, and it just said, I'm watching the end
of this Bananas game and I'm thinking of you and

(11:12):
I can't imagine what you're doing right now. And I
just thought that was awesome. And since Wednesday night, this
person and I have exchanged maybe seven other texts, just
catching up. We're probably never gonna be best friends again.
We're probably never gonna hang out, go get beers, but
it's been nice to reconnect to somebody who had completely

(11:34):
drifted out of my life, or maybe I've drifted out
of theirs ends When we talk about why we love sports,
that's why. There's the entertainment of it. There's how heartbreaking
it could be, there's how rewarding it could be. That's
the part that I like. That's the part that I like.

(11:54):
Maybe it's the shared experience of your team winning. One
of the best nights of my life was clinch Miss
twenty ten. Walking out of the ballpark, Jay Bruce hits
the home run, we all knew they were gonna win
the division. The magic number was one with whatever it
was ten games to go. But like high fiving total strangers,
that experience is cool as hell. And you know, sharing

(12:18):
moments with people that you have the same common interest with,
whether they're lifelong friends or people you just happen to
run into at a bar, that's cool too. But if
you've ever been a fan of a team that has
had a moment like that, maybe it's not even winning
a championship. Again, the Knicks haven't won it, and they
may and I hope they do, and if they do,
I can't even tell you how I'll behave. But that's

(12:42):
what made that moment special for me, and I think
you can relate to this. I've heard from a lot
of folks on social media. I've heard from people that
I work with or people that I know who will
say like, I'm not a big NBA fan, or I'm
not a big basketball fan, or even in some cases
I don't really follow sports, but I've I've glombed onto

(13:05):
the Knicks and I'm rooting for them because of you.
And if you're a sports fan, chances are. If your
team has had any kind of success, somebody has had
that to you, and that, to me is one of
the coolest parts of being a fan of a team.
And so I am not going to go x's and
o's on the NBA Finals. That doesn't do you or

(13:28):
anybody else in the audience any good, because I know
most don't care. And we have Trisha Whitaker waiting in
the wings to talk about the Reds, and I know
that's much more important, but you know, supposed to talk
about things happening in your life. And this is a
team that I've rooted for since I was eight years old,
and they're on the cusp of a championship and they

(13:48):
may win it, but that game the other night, if
they don't win, it will end up being a very
significant footnote. But in a small window there on Wednesday
and on Thursday morning, that game help reestablish some connections.
And that's what sports can do. Nineteen minutes after three o'clock,
Reds and Diamondbacks of equal importance this weekend, Trisha Whittaker

(14:11):
Apple TV part of the broadcast crew. The Pride of
IU joins US.

Speaker 2 (14:16):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic from oh what.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
Do we got? Terror? What do we got? That's right, right,
that's right, Much like we did in the Olympics. Throughout
the course of the World Cup, which is underway, we
will break in programming with goals. Right now Bosnia is
taking on Canada, and in the twenty second minute, Bosnia

(14:45):
has scored, and so it doesn't matter who's playing. We've
got a goal and some music exclusive to the country
that just scored the goal. So right now Bosnia leads
Canada by a score of one to nothing. That game
is in Toronto. Of course, the US plays Paraguay tonight
in La My apologies for my voice allergies. One mow nothing.

(15:10):
I thought yesterday would make it better. It did not.
Apple TV has reds d bags tonight seven to fifteen.
First Pitch. Red's coming off an extraordinarily sobering road trip
getting walked off on Wednesday right after we got off
the air, so hopefully they can bounce back tonight seven
to fifteen. First pitch. Gab p Tricia Whitaker is with

(15:33):
us working the dugout tonight for Apple TV The Pride
of IU. We have not had Tricia on yet this season,
so this is the first time she's been on our
show since her beloved Indiana Hoosiers won the national championship
in college football. I would imagine you are still riding high.

Speaker 3 (15:50):
Yeah, that's the way to make me smile that I
am still on cloud nine. So I live in Bloomington, Indiana.
I teach at Indiana University. Grew up an IU fan,
and when they won the national championship, I mean, I
think I could.

Speaker 4 (16:05):
Have died happy that day.

Speaker 3 (16:06):
It was unbelieveab all unbelievable and it will never I'm
going to be insufferable about it until the end of time.
But I feel as if I have earned that as
an IU football fan for my entire life.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
So I can relate to you. And here's why. I
am a huge New York Knicks fan, right and obviously
the in Cincinnati, the Knicks are a win away from
the NBA title. I've had folks tell me like, oh, yeah,
you just jumped on board. I know you dealt with
that during IU's title run.

Speaker 3 (16:35):
Oh, everybody was like, you're such a bandwagon fan.

Speaker 4 (16:37):
You weren't a fan before this.

Speaker 3 (16:38):
I'm like, are you kidding me? Like I used to
go to games with my dad when I was ten
years old, and we'd sit there and watch them get their.

Speaker 4 (16:46):
Butt absolutely kicked by Wisconsin.

Speaker 3 (16:48):
Like sixty to nothing.

Speaker 4 (16:49):
It was insane.

Speaker 3 (16:50):
And then when I was a student reporter, my first
job was covering IU football and they went one and eleven,
one end eleven.

Speaker 4 (16:57):
It was horrible. So no, we earned it. We earned it.

Speaker 3 (16:59):
Hey, and how about this og and anobi where you.

Speaker 4 (17:03):
Go to college?

Speaker 1 (17:04):
I was going to bring that up, but I kind
of felt like you would do that for me.

Speaker 3 (17:09):
You know, you know we're on suffer. We're insufferable, you fans,
we are insufferable.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
Well you you deserve to be. I want to be
this way as a Reds fan one day. And I
feel like earlier the season, when Apple was here, you
were here, things were going better than they are right now.
Can you can you provide any hope?

Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah, well they were going better, And honestly, they were
going better when we had we had the Reds on
Apple in Pittsburgh like a month ago, and things still
weren't going this poorly. But I mean, yeah, this is
a really tough stretch for the Reds. And I'm a
big Tito fan, and so you know, I've been watching
all of his pep talk to the team, you know
where he's like when it's the hardest to believe, you

(17:47):
have to when there's doubt, You've got to believe in
each other, that.

Speaker 4 (17:50):
Type of thing.

Speaker 3 (17:50):
But you know, you really look at it, and the
bullpen is obviously a really really big issue right now.

Speaker 4 (17:55):
The injuries and a fluctuating roster.

Speaker 3 (17:57):
That certainly doesn't help for consistency in the lineup, and
the Reds are also you know, kind of finding out
to start the month of June, what we know how
how valuable Ellie day la Cruise is, duh like, But
I mean you really find it out when he's when
he's injured, which which for him, he's kind of in
the Iron Man, so that hasn't really happened. So it

(18:19):
is a very tough stretch for this team. I hope
that they can get it together later in the season.

Speaker 4 (18:25):
It's a long year. We know they're not into the
postseason last year. You know it's possible, but I.

Speaker 3 (18:30):
Really hope they get it together because.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
I mean, deep down, I'm I mean, don't tell anybody this.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
You know, but I'm kind of a closet Reds fan
because I live so close to Cincinnati, So I mean,
I'm hoping that Tito and the Reds can can get
a little bit better here in the at least in
the second half when someb of whose injuries pass him.

Speaker 1 (18:47):
So you know, typically Apple TV comes to town and
you get the Reds or you go get him in
a place like Pittsburgh. And even if things aren't going great.
You mentioned Ellie, you can spotlight Ellie de la Cruz.
I know you guys are going to talk about him tonight,
but in his absence, who you focus on?

Speaker 3 (19:02):
Yeah, one, we are going to talk about him tonight,
but you know, we also are going to talk about
McLean and and I think one of the things I'm
gonna you know, ask Tito, is I mean he I
think it's it's fair to say that McLean has looked
a little bit more like the player the Reds expected
him to be. And I think what he had a

(19:23):
couple of home runs if I'm not mistaken against.

Speaker 4 (19:25):
The Cardinals this weekend.

Speaker 3 (19:27):
So we're definitely going to be talking, you know, about
him and what he might be able to do for
this team. And I know that a lot of the
other guys in the lineup, you kind of look at
them and you're like, Okay, who who really is going
to talk about? But of course we're gonna have as
just because he's a good teammate and I know everybody
here loved them, but you know they they really have

(19:47):
to figure something out here and pick each other up
through this stretch without day La Cruz. So we'll talk
a lot about probably McLean and I'm I'm probably you
know at when Arroyo will talk about him a little
bit too. So there's gonna be a lot of good
things that we talk about and we're going to try
to provide some optimism.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
What's your take on the National League Central, which so
far has been the best division in the sport.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
It has been the best division in the sport. I'm
a big NL Central fan, and I I okay, so
this might not win me any fans in Cincinnati. I know.
You know what I'm gonna say.

Speaker 4 (20:23):
What is the thing I'm gonna say? Say it?

Speaker 1 (20:25):
You're gonna talk about the Cardinals?

Speaker 4 (20:27):
No, I no know, I know.

Speaker 3 (20:30):
I actually I grew up. I will say I grew
up with Cubs fans, but I but I think the
NL Central is an interesting and interesting division right now.
And I really enjoy covering the NL Central. Not just
because I grew up around some of these teams, you know,
growing up in the Midwest, but I really think that

(20:51):
the baseball is better when the NL Central is better
because it's kind of like the heart of America, you
know what I mean, Like those teams have that. And
I know that makes me sound so midle, but I
can't help it. I obviously I'm a big fan of
the Brewers. I've covered them a lot, great relationship with
Pat Murphy. I think that the Cardinals are a better

(21:11):
team than people give them credit for. Obviously, the Pirates
started the season on a tear.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
They've since cooled off a bit.

Speaker 3 (21:18):
But I do think that the Cubs are in my opinion,
if you're asking me down the stretch who.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
The team is to watch, I think it's the Cubs
and the Brewers.

Speaker 3 (21:26):
I hope that the Reds can make a run.

Speaker 4 (21:29):
I really hope they can.

Speaker 3 (21:31):
But if you're asking me who the teams are to watch,
I think down the stretch I would say the Cubs
and the Brewers.

Speaker 1 (21:36):
I want you to talk about the Brewers. For Metritia
Whitaker from Apple TV is with us. They have Reds
d Backs tonight at Great American Ballpark. Because I've talked
about this a lot over the last couple of weeks.
The Milwaukee Brewers, it doesn't matter who they lose, it
doesn't matter if there's a managerial change, it doesn't matter
if they trade away established players. They're always good. Won
ninety seven games last year. This year, I think a

(21:58):
lot of us were like all right at some point
to end, and yet there they are at the top
of the National League Central as somebody who's covered them
and been around them. What organization, What do they do
that I need the Reds to do here.

Speaker 3 (22:12):
I mean, they prioritize depth, and they prioritize player development.
I think over you know, some of the high priced
superstar talent, and and perhaps that's because they have to write.
You know, they're one of the low pay lower payrolls
in baseball, but they really maximize their roster and and
when you really look at it, they they outperform.

Speaker 4 (22:34):
A lot of the times.

Speaker 3 (22:35):
I know in the postseason that didn't exactly happen, but
a lot of times they outperform some of the more
expensive teams.

Speaker 4 (22:41):
But they do have, you know.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
Some pillars of success that are important. I think Pat
Murphy is definitely one.

Speaker 4 (22:46):
Of those pillars right now.

Speaker 3 (22:47):
But I think the front office does a really really
good job. You know, they acquire pitchers that have kind
of like, you know, that raw talent, and they they
kind of turned some of the diamonds into rough arms
into you know, those heart throwing guys, which I think
is a really valuable thing to do. And and they

(23:11):
consistently lead the majors defensively, and I think that's something
that is probably overlooked nowadays.

Speaker 4 (23:19):
And I think.

Speaker 3 (23:20):
Another word that comes to mind is just like how
relentless they are and the culture that they've created under
their GM and Pat Murphy, they just seem so you know,
aligned with each other, and the clubhouse environment is awesome.
And I think last year, what was their phrase, they
were just a bunch of average shows, is what Pat

(23:42):
Murphy kept saying. And you know, what could possibly appear
to appeal to people in the Midwest more than a
slogan like that, right, But I do think that that
is kind of their mo and they all buy into it.
In the front office has done some really good things
with their organizational philosophy.

Speaker 1 (24:00):
Embarrassed to say that. I've only been to Bloomington twice,
once when I was in college, which was years before
you were in college in the nineties. And then I
went five years ago for a Cincinnati I You game
and we won that one. That was before you guys
got good uh, and I was. It was awesome. We
had a great time. It was parents weekend, it was September.
Baseball was still going on, and I was trying to

(24:21):
figure out its Bloomington Reds, Cardinals or maybe it's Cubs.

Speaker 3 (24:26):
Who's it's Cubs and bloody Cubs. It's Cubs, but then
it's a little Reds, so it's not fully Cubs. But
I would say I would say for the majority of
Bloomington is Cubs. But but you know, you got some
Reds fans there too, for sure. But if I'm talking
the majority, I would say Cubs for sure.

Speaker 1 (24:46):
All Right, Sorry, whatever, w g N, I I get it. Well.
Apple TV Tonight, Reds and Diamondbacks. Trisha Whitaker on the call,
along with Alex FEUs and Ryan Spilbourg's seven to fifteen
Tonight at GABP tre. I appreciate the time.

Speaker 3 (25:02):
Yeah, anytime, good chat with you.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
You got a Trisha Whitaker, the pride of IU Reds
Dbacks Tonight, We've got some encouraging Elie Delacruz News.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the.

Speaker 5 (25:18):
UC Health Traffics furts headlines, though they are later or
a service at Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetime powertrain protection
and guaranteed credit approval from their family to yours for
life kelseyschev dot Com.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
At for an off day yesterday, Reds try to bounce
back from a disastrous road trip. First of three against
the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at GABP seven fifteen. Tonight's first
pitch the action on seven hundred WLW Cincinnati. Give the
ball to Nick Ladolo. He'll be opposed by lefty Eduardo Rodriguez.
Your starting lineup for Cincinnati tonight stand by Dame Myers

(25:53):
in center. JJ Bleda is dhing South Stewart's at first base.
Spencer Steer placed second and hits fourth, As is playing
third and batting fifth. Done in left Martean Wright Stevenson
catches Matt mcclann and shortstop and bats ninth. You will
hear in just a second Tito Francona with an update
on Ellie Dela Cruz Red's coming to the weekend nine

(26:15):
and a half games in a first place in the division.
The other four division teams play outside the division like
the Reds. Pittsburgh's hosting Florida this weekend. Sorry, Pittsburgh's hosting
Miami this weekend. Also Milwaukee hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. Cardinals
are in Minnesota, Cubs in San Franz to take on
the Giants Florence y'all's battle Gateway this weekend. Soccer Tonight,

(26:38):
World Cup opener for the US men take on Paraguay
at nine o'clock Canada and Bosnia. Right now, Bosnia leads
forty minutes in one nil. That game is being played
in Toronto. All right, Ellie Dela Cruz. MRI results out today.
Here's Terry Francona at GABP.

Speaker 6 (27:01):
He got scanned today and I'd say very good news.
He's about ninety percent healed, which is fantastic. I think
that kind of goes to show like he almost wills himself.
I think, so he's up in the activity, continue to
do that intensity and the amount of it, and then

(27:23):
we'll let him go over the weekend and then we'll
kind of put our heads together again on Sunday and
see where we think. Where he's at, and certainly he
has an opinion. We just need to try to temper
that sometimes because he wants to play so bad and
it's appreciated, but we don't want to hurt him either.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
Any kind of a timeline that will come.

Speaker 6 (27:44):
After you get your heads together, well that's why we're
gonna put our heads together on Sunday and try to
figure that out. We're not gonna make a timeline today
before we meet.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Is there a thought that he'll need rehabits so receive
the kind of guy you think you can plug right back?

Speaker 6 (28:01):
I honestly don't know. It probably is a dependent on
the amount of activity he's able to do and how
prepared we feel.

Speaker 1 (28:10):
He is all right. Tito with reporters earlier today, just
a few minutes ago, actually a gabp thanks to Trags
Mike Petrellia for letting us steal the audio from him.
So no real timeline offered, but ninety percent is good news.
Here's my plea. I got two two pleas for the Reds.
One let's be willing to tell Ellie no. Now we

(28:35):
love Ellie. And one of the reasons why we love
him is he plays every day because he wants to
play every day. But we saw last year the peril
in letting him play every day and not telling him no.
Now they would have to activate him before he could play.
So like the Reds, the Reds control this, Ellie. We

(28:56):
don't think you're one hundred percent. So, yeah, you want
to be out there, Yes you want to play, We
respect that, But no, and I don't think this is
an insignificant thing because like last year was so frustrating
for a billion different reasons. But Ellie for two months
last year offensively just didn't contribute at all. And the

(29:18):
reason was obviously he had a lower body issue and
not an injury that required a stint on the injured list.
He played every day. And I know I've talked about
this before, but we did this unending like, boy, Ellie's
really struggling, Well he's not one hundred percent, Okay, Well,
then give him a day off. Well you can't, why
because Ellie wants to play every day, Well tell him

(29:38):
he can't give him a day off because he's really struggling.
Well he's hurt. Okay, Well then put him on the
injured list. Well, you can't because they need him and
he doesn't want to go on the injury list. Well,
but he's not very good right now. And it was
just again and again and again, round and round and
round we win. Tell him no this time, Tell him
no this time, not just when he's on the injured list,

(29:59):
but tell him no once he comes back, like, yeah, man,
the Reds need him badly. They're they've won one game
without him, like two games, I'm sorry, two games without
him since he got hurt. But he's vital to this team,
and we have seen one compromised. He's not quite himself,
especially for a guy whose game is supposed to be

(30:20):
built in part on speed, also the ninety part. Look, man, yes,
the Reds are sinking fast. Yes, time is of the essence. Yes,
Ellie Delacruz is. I believe, at least without question, their
most important player. Ellie comes back. And when he's on,

(30:43):
bringing him back on a team that is not playing
very well at less than one hundred percent invites disaster.
You cannot be too careful with this. And we've seen
what this team looks like without him, But we've also
seen what Ellie looks like when he's compromised, when you
bring him back, ensure that there's nothing about him that's

(31:07):
going to compromise his play. But it is at the
very least and encouraging update. We'll see what comes out
of Sunday on Monday thirteen away from four o'clock. By
the way, our phone lines are open five point three
seven four nine fifteen thirty. Not that I have given
you anything necessarily to react to, but five point three
seven four nine fifteen thirty is our phone number. I

(31:31):
I'm not gonna lie to you, because I never do.
I have not carved out twenty two minutes to watch
the Texas Tech propaganda video, but the Brendan soaresb think
what Texas Tech is doing is comical and we've got
to spend time on it. Coming up in the four
o'clock hour on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (31:52):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the.

Speaker 7 (31:56):
UC Health Traffic Center at the UC Cancer Set Care
goes beyond cancer treatment with the region's first the primary
care clinic for cancer patients and survivors. Call five one
three five uccc.

Speaker 1 (32:10):
HU correct me if I'm wrong. I don't. I don't
know that there's the Seahawks got their rings. I know
that happened, and maybe in a year the Bengals will
be getting their rings. Beyond that, I'm not sure there's
anything of a major significance happening in the National Football League. Tonight,
at the pitch, we're going to be hanging out watching

(32:31):
the US VERSUS Paraguay game. I am very upfront like
I'm not a soccer die hard by any stretch, but
in twenty fourteen, I became an enormous fan of watching
the US play in the World Cup because that is
an extraordinarily fun communal experience. And I think on the

(32:55):
international level, like there's a lot of team sports in
the Olympics. I love hoops, right, love basketball. We're supposed
to win now. The world has caught up. I mean, heck,
you could argue that the three best players in the
NBA are not American born. It's been a while since
we've had an American born MVP. But we're supposed to win.

(33:16):
We're favored every year, and I think that sort of
cuts into for a lot of folks the I don't know,
the interest and the interest in watching it with other
people on the international stage. The US is relatively speaking
an underdog, and I think there is something about that
that is to me at least inviting, and so I

(33:39):
love watching World Cup games out tonight. Will be at
the pitch for USA VERSUS Paraguay and my friends at
michelob Ultra have a chance for you to win tickets
to a match in this year's FIFA World Cup. So
if you haven't been to the pitch, it's an awesome place.
It's directly across the street from the FC Cincinnati Stadium.

(33:59):
It's an absolute go to before or after an Orange
and Blue game. But it's a great place to watch
soccer matches. And we'll be there tonight starting at I'll
get there at eight thirty. Game begins at nine. It's
gonna be a blast. Get a nice call Mick Ultra
your chance to win in a FIFA World Cup twenty six
tickets to one of those matches, and we hope to
see you there. It's gonna be fun, gonna be a

(34:20):
blast tonight at the pitch starting at eight thirty. Brendanan
and Jones on baseball is coming up in the four
o'clock hour. More on Ellie de la Cruz and his
let's call it hoped for return to the Reds line
up sooner rather than later. It's nice to hear that
he's ninety percent back less than two weeks after suffering

(34:42):
the original injury. The Brendan Soresby thing has become an
unbelievably interesting story and I'm not gonna back off what
I said last week, which is Brendan Soresby playing college
football creates an awesome storyline this season and storylines of
the life blood of but Texas Tech has to stop.

(35:03):
What do they have to stop? They've got to stop
doing what you'll hear next on ESPN fifteen thirty Tony
Pike here for my friends at Jake Sweeney Chrysler