6/8/26 - The Mo Egger Radio Show - Mo Egger

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You found Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
In the middle of the decade. Right, we're in the
middle portion of the twenty twenties, correct, TIF decade? Actually
we're I guess we're early in the second half of
the decade, right, and the Reds are two games under
five hundred on June eighth. That's a problem. Good afternoon.
My name is Mogar. This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Thank

(00:25):
you for listening. Hopefully had an awesome weekend show. Preview
is available right now on Twitter at Moegar. It comes
your way thanks to share Facts Credit Union. You could
become a member of shareffac's credit union, swing by a
branch or, or learn about the benefits of membership online
at sharefacs dot org. A tremendous loss for anybody who

(00:50):
believes in accountability and rules that coming up here in
just a bit. Obviously that in relation to Brendan Soresby,
the former UC quarterback who a judge in Texas has
ruled eligible to play. He's going to serve a two
game suspension, But as of right now, the expectation is
that Brendan Sorosby is going to play for Texas Tech

(01:11):
this fall. I have a lot of thoughts on this.
Maybe you do as well. We'll get to that a
little bit later on. I want you to go back
three four years ago, go back to February in March
of twenty twenty two. The Reds that year chose to
be bad. Now, they lost one hundred games. Maybe they

(01:33):
didn't choose to lose one hundred games, but that season
they chose to at least not be good, and they
dismantled their team. And it's not like they dismantled a
great team. The twenty twenty one Reds were not a
playoff team, but they they said goodbye, and maybe rightfully
and justifiably so, they said goodbye to Juhaniosuarez and Sonny

(01:54):
Gray and Jesse Winker and Nick Castianos left. Then later
on that year Uist Castillo left, traded him away, They
traded away Tyler Malley. Now, maybe some of those players
you liked more than others. Maybe some of those players
you didn't like more than others, But they launched into
this period that I think we all felt like, Okay,

(02:16):
it works. If there's a payoff mid decade, right, if
what they're doing works well, then there's going to be
a payoff by the middle of the decade. The middle
of the decade is here. You could argue the middle
of the decade was twenty twenty five, I guess, but
I would expand it to like twenty four, twenty five,

(02:37):
twenty six. Here we are mid decade. We're now early
in the second half of the decade. Where are the
Reds today, Well, physically they're in San Diego getting set
to play a reeling Padres team tonight. But I guess,
more to the point of this conversation, they're thirty one
and thirty three. They're nine and a half games out

(03:00):
to first place. They currently sit with the second worst
run differential, tied with the Angels in the entire league.
I'll ask a question that I know the answer to.
Is this weird things were supposed to be four years ago.

(03:20):
I talked about this a little bit last week, and
I put this on social media, and I guess I
could update it. I did this on social media after
the gut punch of a loss on Saturday. You know,
Ellie Dela Cruz made his Big League debut three years
ago this past Saturday, three years ago, and that date

(03:40):
was significance Reds won the ball game that night, But
that felt significant because you looked at Ellie and you
looked at this stockpile of young players that the Reds had,
and I remember talking about it. It was so much fun.
It felt like that years of waiting for the Reds
to contend fly, years of waiting for the Reds to

(04:02):
be relevant, were about to pay off, and twenty twenty
three was a fun season. It was also kind of
a frustrating season because the Reds were in first place
in early August and didn't take advantage, didn't add their
team at the trade deadline in any real meaningful way,
didn't address their biggest efficiency. But that summer felt like
just a fun summer that re energized everybody God us

(04:24):
talking about baseball again. I will love that summer for
the rest of my life. But it felt like the
start of something, didn't it the summer at twenty twenty three,
Ellie's here, McLean's here, Abbots here like they were in
the hunt for one hundred and sixty one games, And
even if they didn't finish the job, that felt like
the start of something. Am I right? I think I am?

(04:47):
Since then, the Reds have played four hundred and ninety
baseball games. In those four hundred and ninety baseball games,
they are two over five hundred, two forty six and
two forty four, a winning percentage of barely over five hundred.
This is my question to you today. Do the Reds

(05:10):
today seem dramatically better than they were three years ago?
I don't think the answer is yes, you're walking the
chime in with one five point three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. I mean, think of all the stuff we
continue to do. Right, we're still reading about how well
it's it's to be determined whether or not the Reds
are buyers or sellers. God knows, we do that seemingly

(05:33):
every single year. How many today today, how many truly
foundational pieces do the Reds have? Truly foundational pieces where
you're like, that dude right there, that player right there,
he's going to be a part of this team moving forward,
and he is going to be a reason why we're

(05:54):
good again. They've got some. I don't know that they
have that many more than they did three years ago.
You know when the Reds, and again I use this
verbage and you might not like it. I don't know
that the Reds like it. But when they chose to
be bad in twenty twenty two, and again that was
a choice they made, and by the way, the result

(06:15):
of that choice was they lost a one hundred games
mission accomplished. But when they chose to be bad in
twenty twenty two, and when they chose to go in
a very clear and specific direction, Nick Krawl talked about
the need to eliminate peaks and valleys. Now, I'm a
fan of peaks, like I think peaks are good and

(06:36):
peaks don't have to be brief. I'm not a fan
of valleys. Peaks, though, how about a long peak? How
about a long, lengthy peak. But okay, eliminating peaks and valleys.
If this is what that looks like, sign me up
for something else. If this is what eliminating peaks and
valleys looks like, sign me up for anything else. The

(07:00):
sad thing is I fear that this is what eliminating
peaks and valleys looks like. Unending mediocrity, unending, flirting with
five hundred, unending, kind of being in it, but kind
of not unending, trying to figure out are we good
enough to make a trade at the deadline that makes
our team better, or do we have to go into
cell mode unending Things today do not seem dramatically better
than they did three years ago at this time. That

(07:23):
is shockingly disappointing, shockingly disappointing. And you could say, come on, man,
it was a bad weekend in Saint Louis and it
was bad bullpen work, bad defense, bad clutch hitting, bad
replay work. It was bad. You could tell you bad weekend,

(07:43):
just a bad, bad, bad week, bad week if you
fold the Royal Series into it, and a lot of
bad stuff be on the field because of all the injuries.
Oh you know what, it's just a bad month. If
you're a Cincinnati redsvan it's not a bad series. It's
not a bad week. It's not a bad month. It's
a bad last three decades. And that's the thing with
this team. We've done this with the Bengals before that.

(08:04):
Whatever contemporary issues there are, whatever the losing feels like
and looks like in the short term, it's not just
the short term losing. It's decades of waiting for a payoff.
It's years of waiting for them to be some sort
of payoff for the unending rebuilds and resets and uh
an offloading of players. This is the payoff. This is

(08:27):
what it looks like mid decade, two under five hundred
and nine and a half games out of first place
in mid June. This is what it looks like. If
this is what eliminating peaks and valleys looks like, I'm out.
Sign me up for something else, sign me up for
anything else. I'll take peaks and valleys. I don't want this.

(08:51):
Our phone numbers five one, three, seven, four nine, fifteen
thirty and eight sixty six, seven oh two three seven
seven six. And I think the real frustrating thing is
is I asked this last week and I never got
an answer, and I'll ask it again today. I don't
know how this gets fixed. I mean, you can go
big picture if you want to talk about who gets fired,
what should happen with Nick Krawl, what to makeup of

(09:13):
the front office should be moving forward. That's the conversation
that's really focused on beyond twenty twenty six. How does
this this year get fixed? This team this year get
fixed in a way that's meaningful, get fixed in a
way that could help them vault back into contention. How
does this get fixed? The bullpen issues are what they are.

(09:35):
They're well established, probably not getting better anytime soon. And yeah, man,
not having Elie Delacruz stinks, and it's worth mentioning they're
one and five without him. He is truly and clearly
their most indispensable player. He is their best player. But
you know what, man like you still have to figure
out a way. And when you are associated with decades
of not winning, you're kind of out of excuses. So

(09:58):
you could play the hey we don't have Ellie card,
and hey we don't have the Hunter Green card, and well,
I got come on, man, we haven't had our clothes
or Amelia Pagan and all those things hurt. All those
things are limiting, All those things are frustrating. All those
things are hard to work around, especially when you lump
them all with each other. But when you're a franchise
that has exhausted everybody's patience and everybody's goodwill, and you

(10:23):
feel and look the same every single year, nobody wants
to hear about your bad luck. Nobody wants to hear
about your injury. Nobody wants to hear excuses. And I
don't ever claim to speak for anybody or any group
of people, But I think I could say this, and

(10:44):
I believe most would agree. This franchise is out of excuses.
Nobody wants to hear them anymore. And so I guess
there's two different ways of talking about it. There's UH
focusing on how this gets fixed in the short term,
and then there's wondering what sort of fallout is there

(11:10):
going to be if two under five hundred and frankly
not realistically close to the playoffs results in a season
where the Reds don't make the postseason, a year where
the losses outweigh the wins, and a year where you
have to tell fans, we know you've been waiting for
a long time, but you got to wait even longer.

(11:31):
What does the fallout from that look like? At Moegger
on Twitter Thanks to Delta Dental, Delta Dental is building healthy, smart,
vibrant communities for all good at Delta Dental oh dot com.
And yeah, you know what, yesterday was a series of
bad events in the eighth inning, and you know, maybe
the same thing on Saturday Friday was one of the

(11:51):
most sobering Reds games in a stretch full of sobering
Reds games. And I know why we'll have folks who
point at the calendar and point at the schedule talk
about how many games left. I just I want to
know what about the Reds feels different today than three
years ago than four years ago. How many foundational pieces
do they have? And why should anybody believe that this

(12:14):
is going to get better when for a long period
of time they've just kind of waited in mediocrity, yes,
avoiding valleys, but also never really peaking. Seventeen minutes after three,
Scott Sadderfield's good to join us in eighteen minutes. U
see football season tickets went on sale today. We'll talk

(12:36):
about the upcoming season. The Brendan Soresby thing is not
a University of Cincinnati story anymore. The Brendan Soresby story
is now a story about an organization that can enforce
its own rules. We'll do that next.

Speaker 1 (12:51):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 2 (12:57):
It's a three twenty three. This is ESPN fIF team
thirty molegs. By the way it looks gnarly out thunderstorms.
I don't like it. Brendan Soresby has been granted a
temporary injunction against the NCAA that should clear the way
for him to play for Texas Tech in twenty twenty six.
I'm reading here from ESPN. Even after the transfer quarterback

(13:21):
was declared ineligible for wagering on college sports, A Texas
judge granted Sowersby a preliminary injunction that prevents the NCAA
from punishing him for violating its rules on sports gambling.
Judge Ken Curry ruled that Sowersby's attorneys demonstrated that he
will suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury if he's
unable to play for the Red Raiders in twenty twenty six,

(13:42):
and enjoying the NCAA from prohibiting Sowersby from practicing or
playing this fall, he will miss Texas Tech's first two games,
which was a penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys.
This is it for the NCUABLE, because if an organization

(14:03):
isn't allowed to enforce its own rules, then what's the
point of the organization? And the rules here are very
very very clearly defined and articulated. By the way, this
is not conjecture as to whether or not Brendan Sorosby
bet on college football games involving a team that he

(14:25):
was a part of. It's something he is admitted to like.
This isn't like Well, he's being accused, but he hasn't
had his say in lawsuits he has filed. He has
admitted to doing something that very clearly breaks NCAA rules.
I've seen it suggested, including in statements made by Texas Tech,

(14:48):
that Brendan Soresby is somehow a victim here. This is
from Cody Campbell, the Texas Tech booster and board chair.
This unfortunate situation is the outcome of a broken system.
I'm doing everything I can to fix it, but until
there's a permanent solution, Texas Tech and it's student athletes
have to do the best they can to navigate and
compete him in the chaos that exists in the reality
of the world we live in. That suggests that Brendan

(15:12):
Soresby has somehow been victimized. This unfortunate situation is the
outcome of someone knowingly, knowing, knowingly and willingly breaking very
clearly established rules. That's why he is in the situation
he has been in. That is the reason for this
situation's outcome. Brendan Soresby had the rules explained to him

(15:37):
and he knowingly and willingly broke them. That's a statement
of fact, Like that's inarguable. You may believe there's some
deep seated hypocrisy there because of the NCAA's relationship to
legal gambling. To the best of my knowledge, the NCAA
does not have partnerships with online wagering companies. You may

(15:59):
believe that athletes should be allowed to bet on their games,
or should at least be allowed to bet on their teams.
I would disagree. But what is inarguable here is Brendan
Soresby broke a rule, and I think it strains all
credibility to suggest that he wasn't aware of the rules
he was breaking. So what has happened here is the NCAA,

(16:23):
which has already taken a million losses in court. It's
now been determined they can't even enforce their own basic
and very clearly established rules. So we could argue about
Brendan Soresby. You can get mad at me because you
think my motivations are of a jilted uc fan. I

(16:44):
could assure you that's not the case. How do you
have an organization if that organization can enforce its own rules,
By the way, like this rule isn't some weird rule
that's exclusive to college sports, like in the NFL, you're
not allowed to bet on NFL games. In Major League Baseball,

(17:08):
we know this year as well as anybody. You're not
allowed to bet on Major League Baseball games. I have
seen folks on social media go back and forth about, well,
you know, just let athletes bet on the games that
are involved in if you believe that way. I don't,
but that's that's totally cool. But that has nothing to
do with what happened here. The n CNUBLA had rules,

(17:28):
Brendan Soresby broke them. There's consequences for breaking the rule,
and a and a and a home hometown judge here
down in Lubbock says, actually, no, you can't enforce your
own rules. So why then does the NCUBLEA exist, Like, well,
why an organization has to have rules, regulations, et cetera.

(17:51):
The NCNBLA has been told you can't have any I
there's also and you can't help but ask this. If
the NCNULA cannot enforce its own rules on players betting
on their own team, which Brendan Soarsby did, why should

(18:12):
any college football or basketball player then not feel like
they can make wagers on programs they're a part of.
It's a simple white right, Like if if you're a
college athlete and it's been explained to you you can't

(18:32):
wager on games involving a team that you're a part of,
and a court just said, actually no, Brendan did that,
but he's still be allowed to play. He's going to
suffer a two game penalty. If you're an active student athlete,
why then should you be at all concerned about the
consequences that could come with you wagering on the team

(18:56):
you're a part of. Knowing all you have to do
is get a favorable judge who's sympathetic to your cause,
who maybe went to the school that you play for,
is maybe a big fan of the team that you
play for. Why should a college athlete now not wager.
Folks have talked about like opening the can of worms

(19:18):
and how hard it must be to be a college
athlete when you have all this gambling, advertising and wagering
that is so easily accessible. Good conversations to be had, now, though,
if you're not really going to suffer any major consequence,
why should he not do it? It's remarkable It's one
of the most remarkable things I've ever seen an organization,

(19:40):
not a great organization most of us hate the NCAA,
but an organization with clearly established rules that has been
told they can't enforce them. Staggering today is an enormous
loss for the NCAA. But more than anything for me,
it's an enormous loss for anybody who believes in accountability.
Brendan Soresby. He is not entirely being held accountable for

(20:02):
breaking a rule that had with it very very clearly
established consequences for breaking. This is a loss for accountability.
It's a loss for the NCAA. Maybe it's a win
for student athletes who want to wager on games their
team is involved in, But more than anything, it is
an enormous loss for accountability. Speaking of losses, the Reds
have gotten good at doing that. Swept this weekend in

(20:24):
Saint Louis. More on them. I am searching for like
foundational pieces. We'll spend some time on that a little
bit later on Scott Sadafield's joining us. I'll just get
this part out of the way. The Brandan Soorsby story
is no longer a UC story, and It's not been
a UC story now for a while, So Scott Sadafield's
going to join me to talk about his program, his players,
and the upcoming season.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from the.

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Speaker 4 (21:06):
There isn't in fifteen thirty, Cincinnati's sports station.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Twenty five away from four o'clock. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
I'm oeggar. The University of Cincinnati has put its season
tickets on sale for the upcoming home football slate six
games at Knippert Stadium, including Big twelve opponents Texas Tech, Utah,
and Colorado for the first time ever. A busy time
at U see and always cool to get a chance

(21:31):
to catch up with the head coach at the University
of Cincinnati. Scott Staddlefield is with US coach. Good afternoon,
How are you good afternoon?

Speaker 5 (21:39):
Doing great?

Speaker 6 (21:39):
How you doing?

Speaker 7 (21:40):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Doing well? You We're still weeks away from fall camp
and so you know, I know you have the guys
on campus right now, give me an idea what those
workouts now are, like.

Speaker 5 (21:51):
Yeah, right, you know they've been here now. I think
this is a fourth week that they've been back, so
there's a lot of work that's been put in, you know,
when they first get back, kind of gradual, you know,
build up throughout those weeks, and this week's kind of
the first I think hard week.

Speaker 4 (22:04):
I would say.

Speaker 5 (22:06):
You know, they're they're in the weight room, they're on
the field, they're running, they're doing individual drills and and
just trying to enhance them themselves as individuals depending on
what position they play. You know, the wide receivers and
quarterbacks and running backs, tight ends are all throwing and catching. So,
you know, I think more and more each year, you know,
they allow us to do more and more with the guys,
and so we try to take advantage of that. So

(22:27):
but it's very busy and it's all good here in
our new facility. It's been awesome this summer.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
When when we get to fall camp, give me an
idea of two or three things you're going to be
looking forward to learning about your team.

Speaker 5 (22:41):
Oh yeah, you know, I think number one, you know,
hiring coach Woodie to run our defense. You know, veteran
coach who I was with at Appalaizas State. Had had
great success with him and he's had a lot of
success throughout his coaching career, so it's great to have
him back. So so I think really just honing in
on the our defense about you know, what can it
guys do and what do they do well? You know,

(23:02):
how can we help them and put them in the
right positions to make plays? You know, as we all know,
you know, last year defensively we needed to improve especially
on the habit plays as far as getting to the
quarterback creating some sacks and tackles for loss, but but
been more importantly creating some turnovers. And that's the things
we're gonna be focusing on this camp.

Speaker 8 (23:21):
You know.

Speaker 5 (23:21):
I think secondly, you know, how well can the can
the new quarterback j C. French mess with these these
wide receivers. I think that those are those are probably
the two most important things that that we need to
be able to see, you know, feel good about our
offensive line. We got a lot of veterans coming back
offensive line wise and tight end wise, so you know,
excited about that that piece of it. But you know,
just really just getting all these new guys and get

(23:42):
them coached up and and being able to make place
with this.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
Guys you mentioned J. C. French. What are the characteristics
about him you like the most.

Speaker 5 (23:52):
Well, I love his experience, you know, this is the
this is the guy who's all time leading pastor in
Georgia Southern history where he just came from. So he
sees play a lot of ball. He plays with great poise.
He he throws a great ball. He like the ball
comes off his hand like it's supposed to look, you know,
great spiral.

Speaker 6 (24:08):
He's very accurate.

Speaker 5 (24:10):
Throws a great deep ball down the sideline, which is
awesome when you know, when you're trying to take shots,
you know. And there's a lot I like about him.
I think he can run. He you know, he's not
a blazer, but he he can move the sticks.

Speaker 8 (24:22):
You know.

Speaker 5 (24:22):
But I love more than anything, he just just his
presence that's out there. And the guys that really gravitates
for him, you know, they they like being around him.
I think he's a confident guy but very humble, and
I think they like that. And you know, he's proven
to be a great leader.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
For us, how is the implementation of a new defense going.
It's going good.

Speaker 5 (24:42):
I think it's you know, it's slow. I think you know,
when you think about spring practice, there are fifteen opportunities there.
And in coach Wood and the staff, they're they're learning
the new players and trying to figure out what they
can do can't do. You know, as we go to
the summer, we're gonna we're starting an install, back over
and and really just kind of repeat that. And then
when we get to the fall camp, we'll do the
same thing, kind of start over and reinstall that as well.

(25:06):
You know, to be able to do a lot of
different things. I think there's gonna be a lot of variety.
You're gonna be able to see, you know, different coverages,
a lot of different blipz packages.

Speaker 6 (25:14):
You know, mixing things up.

Speaker 5 (25:15):
You know, these big twelve quarterbacks are so talented nowadays
that that you just can't sit in the same defense.
You gotta be able to mix it up against those guys.
But you know, one thing I think that stands out
defensively is we did get a lot bigger at the
back end. You know, with our our dbs. Both corners
have great length and really good size. The safeties are
very impressive with what they can do with their size.

(25:38):
M J. Cannon is a guy that came in. I'm
he's close to six four, about two fifteen, and he
can move and has great lengths. We're taking an Antoine
peak and kind of putting them closer to the ball.

Speaker 6 (25:47):
You know, guys that's right here from.

Speaker 5 (25:48):
Cincinnati that does some really good things, you know, so
that's kind of exciting. I mean, it's doing some different
things with some of these guys. I mean, I'm really
anxious to look and see how these guys will be
this fall.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
Scott Sadafield is joining us US season Season tickets for
the upcoming UC football season on sale right now, six
home games at Knippert Stadium. You you talked about the
defense and a new unit and a new defensive coordinator
in Nate Woody, and a new overall system. Like what
is what were you able to get done in that

(26:19):
regard during the spring. Give me an idea how that
process worked out?

Speaker 9 (26:23):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (26:24):
I think you know, first of all, you're just kind
of trying to put.

Speaker 6 (26:26):
A base defense in.

Speaker 5 (26:28):
Let's just see guys line up, Let's look at their skill,
Let's see how they move, how they cover, how they
flip their hips, you know, how how instinctual are they.
And then as you go through spring, well, obviously you
got to put in some defense, so then you start
looking at some different coverages, you know, cover two, cover three,
some man demand, you know, and then you're looking at, uh,
trying to put guys at some different positions. That's the

(26:49):
other thing, you know. So you don't have a ton
of time, so you maybe work you know, six or
seven days at this position. Then you're going to switch
and go look at another position, because we want the
guys to be able to be able to play a
couple of different positions in case you have some injuries,
you know. So it's really just kind of a slow process,
you know, and I think we have to be patient
as coaches initially putting this in and then now this summer,
you know, kind of going back and revisiting some of

(27:10):
those things, especially now because you've got a good feel
about what they can do and how well they run.
And you know, some guys are you know, play man
to man better than others. Some plays all better. So
whoever's going to be out there, then you can kind
of dictate what you're going to be calling defensively, So
it's pretty interesting. You know, how are these guys really
dissect and break it all down?

Speaker 2 (27:30):
Continuity anywhere in this day and age of college football
is is unique and it's coveted, and you have it
on the offensive line, though maybe not nearly to the
same degree you had a year ago, but still with
Cott and Tyo and Tega's Doll coming back, there's there's
great continuity there. How much of an asset is that
going to be to your offense and your program?

Speaker 10 (27:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (27:51):
I think you know, certainly to be able to have
some guys in the trenches that have played at a
high level, but not only play you have played at
a really, really good good level. You know, Evan is
an all Big twelve type performer. You know Arren TiO
is a guy that can play center guard. I mean
he's he's very versatile upfront, very strong. You know, Joe
Cotton's a guy who certainly would get a great look
at the next level. He's almost six seven three twenty

(28:13):
five and can move. So, you know, really excited about
those guys coming back. And then Xavier les Whiskey is
a guy who can play guard. Or tackle. I think
he's he's man. He's looked really good this spring and summer,
you know, so he's got some good ability. Then you
got Judeah Milan who hasn't played a ton for us,
but but man, he can move and he's another guy
I thought I had an outstanding spring. You know, you'd

(28:36):
love to have about seven or eight guys that you
can kind of rotate and play, especially this big twelve level,
because you know guys are gonna get dinged up. You
want it's a long season, you know, to be able
to rotate some of those guys and you know, and
then we had some true freshmen that came in here,
Lou Grover, I thought he had an outstanding spring, a
kid from run up the road in Columbus that that
came in and he'll he'll give us some good depth

(28:56):
as a true freshman. So we're excited about the boys upfront.
I think, you know, that's certainly one of our strengths
of our team, being able to protect the quarterback but
also run the football. So these guys can do it all.

Speaker 2 (29:07):
You have freshmen who are on a college campus for
the first time as college football players, going through all
season workouts for their first time as college football players.
What's the most difficult adjustment that they have to make
going from high school ball to college ball. What is
this period of time like for them that right now?

Speaker 5 (29:25):
Yeah, I mean I think number one just just learning
what time I need to show up.

Speaker 6 (29:31):
It sounds pretty simple.

Speaker 5 (29:32):
But you know there is Obviously it's the first time
away from home. They're on their own, and they're in
their apartments, and they got to get up on their
own to come over here. You know, we're asking them
to be over here thirty minutes early before workout. So
if you're a six thirty workout guy, I got to
be here no later than six am to get some
food in my billy so I can go in there
and not pass out when I'm working out, you know.
And I think just the adjustment of that I didn't

(29:54):
normally takes them about two weeks to get in the
flow of things, and then you know, they throw. They
worked hard at their high school, but it's not a
college workout. I mean, you're you're coming in here where
we've got grown men. They're twenty three years old that's
been working out for four and five years in college.
I mean you know, and all of a sudden the
freshman comes in and sees it. Their eyes are really big.
I mean, they're like, what in the world's going on here?

(30:15):
And then just trying to get the routine of a workout.
You know, the workouts are hard, they're difficult. They've never
had to work this hard. That's why I say after
about two weeks they kind of get their legs underneath
them and they starting to get the gist of it.
I think it's a huge difference. We brought fourteen freshmen
in January, you know, and they went through that whole semester,
and then they came back this summer. They were ready
to go, compared to the ten fresh true freshmen that

(30:39):
just showed up this summer and they're like, man, what
in the world's going on. So it's just a huge
difference there between the two. And I think nowadays you're
seeing more and more of the early enrolled leagues because
of you know, they just get behind when they don't
show up in January.

Speaker 2 (30:54):
Well said, excuse me. I appreciate the time as always, coach,
and I know we'll do it again as fall camp
gets closed. Sorry, appreciate the time.

Speaker 5 (31:02):
Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, we startaly want guys go
out and buy tickets. I think it's got it. We've
got a great slate. But go Bearcats dot com slash
tickets man, and we'd love to see you. Got to
have your appreciation.

Speaker 2 (31:12):
You got it. Scott Sadafield, the head coach of the
UC Bearcat Cincinnati opens up the season three point thirty
game against Boston College. They have three Big twelve teams
who will become at a Nippert Stadium for the first
time Texas Tech, Colorado and Utah. Season tickets available right now,
Go Bearcats dot com slash tickets. Quarter to four Sports

(31:33):
headlines our service to Kelsey chevro Ly home of lifetime
power train protection, guaranteed credit approval from their family to
yours for life Kelsey chev dot Com. Reds and Padres.
Tonight it's the first of a three game series. Cincinnati
is still looking for a their first win on this
current road trip. Andrew Abbott will get the ball for
Cincinnati tonight. He'll be opposed by Walker Bueller. The Padres

(31:56):
come into this series scuffling about as much as the
Reds have. San Diego has lost eleven of thirteen nine
to forty tonight nine forty tomorrow on a four o'clock
game on Wednesday. Ah, excuse me. Brendan Sorosby is apparently
going to be allowed to play college football this year,
a Texas judge granting him a preliminary injunction that prevents

(32:19):
the NCAA from punishing him for violating its rules on
sports wagering. He will still miss Texas Tech's first two games,
a penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys. The
NCAA reportedly plans to appeal NBA Finals Tonight at Madison
Square Garden, Game three, Knicks and Spurs, New York is
up two games to none. Now, chances are, if you've

(32:42):
listened to this show at all, you know I'm a
pretty big Knicks fan. This today, today, really, since the
end of Game two, this playoff run has been amazing.
It's been something to behold. It's been insanely fun. Now

(33:02):
is when I feel real anxiety. Now is when I
feel legitimate nervousness. You know, them making the finals, it was, hey,
get to watch them play in the finals. That'll be cool.
And they won game one. It's like, all right, they
won an NBA Finals game that's like, now, it's this close.

(33:22):
It's this close. And as a sports fan, a Cincinnati
sports fan who also loves the Knicks, I've been hurt
so many times now if they lose, it would be
a gag job and I'm I'm apprehensive because of that.
I also like, I think there's been so much talk

(33:43):
about the atmosphere tonight, what New York City is gonna be, Like, like,
I have a weird feeling that's only going to elevate
the San Antonio Spurs, who are this close to have
even the series on Friday. This is like now is
when the anxiety I feel the same way I did.
And I said this to Brendle, who filled in for

(34:04):
Tony and Austin on SINCY three sixty today. The twenty
twelve Reds were obviously just in the first round against
San Francisco, and they won the first game, which was awesome,
they won the second and then I remember, for me,
for about forty eight hours leading up to Game three,
I just felt tremendous uneasy. And I remember we did

(34:26):
the show on Monday, the Monday Show at the time
it was obviously football season, was with Archroll Hawkins, and
then I did a one hour show on that Tuesday
before maybe a two hour show. I can't remember if
Game three was either A four or five, but it was.
It was late afternoon, and I did an abbreviated show
and I said, like, I feel like we're a little

(34:49):
too overconfident, Like we're folks were making plans for either
playing the Nationals or Cardinals, and I'm like, you know,
talking about what the environment was going to be like
if they advanced on the season, which then it was
it had been seventeen years since nineteen ninety five, and
I remember saying, like, I just I feel like we're
a tad over confident, and I feel like that's where

(35:10):
not all. I feel like that's where a lot of
Knicks fans are. It's like, I'm just now is when
the anxiety starts. And I will admit this. I have
felt this since Friday night. Like it was great that
they won that game the way they did, improbable, they
blew a fourteen point lead, probably should have lost. But
now it's like real, they're expected to win the NBA title.

(35:34):
They're prohibitive favorites by a lot to win the NBA title,
and I don't believe in emotional hedging. But I will
admit that I have flirted with betting on the Spurs
just to offset any just crushing heartbreak if they actually
lose the series. I haven't done it. I'm not gonna

(35:54):
do it. I really don't believe in that, but I will.
I'll admit to having looked at the specific odds for
Spurs and six and Spurs and seven. Obviously they can
only win the series now in six or seven. And
I didn't do it, but I considered it.

Speaker 1 (36:14):
This is.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
It's even like in ninety four they had a three
two lead they won the OJ Simpson Bronco Chase Game.
They had a three two lead, they were going on
the road. I think if I recalled, it was basically
even money whether or not they would win it. And
it was devastating that they lost the two. They'd been
so good on the road all year long. But like tonight,
this is different. Now, this I feel now that I

(36:38):
feel though I did at halftime at the Super Bowl,
Like the Bengals in the Super Bowl in twenty twenty one,
it was it was awesome until halftime. Then it's like, okay,
there may be a parade in Cincinnati. But I can't
let myself think about that. Let's just you know, I'm
the same way with the Knicks. We'll see.

Speaker 4 (36:53):
We could be celebrating Friday.

Speaker 7 (36:57):
We.

Speaker 2 (36:59):
Could the possibility exists. I'm off on Thursday and Game
four is Wednesday, So whatever the vibe, I just let's
just win tonight. I can't. I cannot even let my
cause even my wife is like, well, a clinching game,

(37:19):
how would you watch it?

Speaker 8 (37:20):
Where?

Speaker 2 (37:20):
Where would you watch it? Would you want to watch it?
And I'm like, clinching game, Like they're not there yet, Like,
let's you cannot advance the conversation. So I have been
supremely confident this entire playoff run. Even when they took
leads two oh then three to zero against Philly and Cleveland.
You know, I felt good and was just enjoying the ride.

(37:45):
Now it's if they lose, they blow it. If you
lose to San Antonio and you don't take a two
ozho lead, you losing six, losing seven, losing five, like okay, fine,
but you have a two oh lead after winning the
first two on the road. There's no other acceptable I'll come.
So I'm extraordinarily nervous. So there's there's the Nick segment,

(38:07):
promise not to do that manymore, seven away, eight away
from four o'clock five one, three, seven, four nine, fifteen thirty.
I think there's an important part of this Reds conversation
that we have to have when we look back to
three years ago. I'll make that make sense. At four
oh five on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic from the UC Health.

Speaker 4 (38:34):
Traffic fifteen thirty Cincinnati's Sports.

Speaker 8 (38:36):
All.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
Right, there we go. It's five minutes after four. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty. Mo Wager, thanks so much for listening.
Hopefully your week is off to an unbelievable start. Brendaman
and Jones on baseball is coming up later on this hour,
and which hat with UC offensive lineman Evan Tengestal coming
up in thirty minutes, and more on the Brendan Sorosby thing.

(38:57):
Because the judge who ruled on his eligibility, he completely
misses the point of punishment that in fifteen minutes we
started the show by discussing the weekend series in Saint Louis,
which could not have gone more poorly for the Reds.
They're now two under five hundred. This season has felt
for two weeks or so like it has been circling

(39:19):
the drain, and they've done nothing to change that narrative.
Maybe that'll change slightly tonight. I feel like, for the
first time since he became the Reds President of Baseball Operations,
this is the first time that Nick Kral has seriously
been in the public's crosshairs. And you know, when they

(39:40):
were really, really, really bad in twenty twenty two, it
felt like, Okay, this is the franchise hitting the reset.
Once we hit reset, and you know, you give Nick
a chance to get some players in exchange for the
guys they trade away. Within three or four years, it'll
be time to judge him by the results he achieves.

(40:02):
So far, the results he is achieving aren't great. I
keep coming back to this, the elied Dela Cruz night,
the night he made his big league debut, that felt
like the beginning of something. Certainly didn't feel like it
was the beginning of something that was guaranteed. The beauty
of sports is nothing is guaranteed. But it felt like

(40:22):
the beginning of something. Felt like the beginning of the
Reds being able to have a stockpile of players of
core foundational pieces that they could maybe win with, that
they could get to a point where they're at least
getting to the postseason on a somewhat consistent basis with
and maybe they still do. It's just startling to me,

(40:44):
relative to how excited everybody was about the direction of
the Reds three years ago, it's kind of startling how
few foundational pieces the Reds actually have. It's deeply frustrating.
I also feel like you can't help, but like, look
at a lot of things that Nick Krawl has done,
and a lot of things that he has done have

(41:05):
just they haven't made much sense. And maybe he continues
to get the meat shield of ownership that is still
very unpopular. But I can't help but do this. I
go back to the summer of twenty twenty three. The
Reads in mid June win twelve consecutive games, and they
go from a team that was like seven hunder five
hundred to one that was leading the National League Central

(41:26):
for a chunk of the summer. And I remember this
well because it was a fun summer. Folks were energized
about the Reds. People were engaging with the product. I
said often that year that it was fun when we
talked about baseball to actually be talking about baseball instead
of why you're not going to games or how much
you hate Bob or Phil Castelini. Instead it was about

(41:48):
the team, the games, the players, the strategies, and maybe
what could be done to make the team's chances even better.
And there was this like summer long convertation that year
about the trade deadline, and there was a lot of
pushback to the idea that the Reds needed to go
get help with the deadline. I never understood the pushback

(42:09):
to me, it was, you don't pick when to contend.
Contention sometimes picks you. The Reds clearly were in contention
that year. Clearly were in contention that year, but they
were in contention with a horrific pitching staff. I did
not understand then, and I don't understand three years later

(42:29):
the arguments against making a trade. They had a horrific staff,
and Nick Krawl did nothing to make it any better.
And the explanation that you heard many make for the
Reds was, well, see, they're ahead of schedule. They're ahead
of schedule, so don't do anything rash. They're really not
supposed to be in my counter to that was like, dude,

(42:51):
you have a chance to win, now, go in now.
They didn't, and they paid for it. And you know,
remember it was, well, Hunter Green's hurt, he's going to back,
and Nicko lodolo'll he's heard, he'll come back. And they
missed the postseason. They missed the postseason by two games.
Who knows what a deadline acquisition would have gotten, but

(43:12):
it made no sense as far as I'm concerned, at
least for them to not go and address their biggest deficiency.
They handicapped that team, They handicapped that manager. And yeah, man,
there were folks trying to sell the narrative that will
not making a trade was the right thing to do
because the clubhouse is so happy, and it's like, okay, man, whatever,
So the guys in the clubhouse didn't want a better

(43:34):
chance to win, but yeah, whatever, whatever you want to say, Dude,
that's fine. Not getting help for a clearly deficient starting
staff made no sense. Then it's more regrettable now because
at the very least then you could say, well, we
want to keep what we have intact because we're going
to be really good in the coming years. Were they
really good? The next season, No, were they really good

(43:56):
last year? No? Are they really good now? Well the
answer is yes. Your definition of really good is different
than mine. The next season, twenty twenty four, the Reds
add Frankie Montas and that was kind of it right,
And I again might have been the minority. I'm certainly
not the only one who said this, though, but I

(44:17):
remember going, well, wait a minute, are are we sure
that this team is ready made and good enough to
kind of not really do anything to it to contend?
And what happened that season? The Reds were bad, David
Bell lost his job, a team that wasn't made any better,
ended up trading away it's opening to a pitcher at

(44:38):
the deadline, making not making moves to make that team
in twenty twenty four better than the twenty twenty three
team didn't make any sense. That team that year was
getting dudes like Mike Ford early in the season just
to try to get something out of them last year
at the trade deadline, last year, a year ago, not

(45:00):
even a year ago. The Reds last season had major
offensive deficiencies. Now, they did go get Miguel Andu Harr,
but the big acquisition, at least among position players was
for key Brian Hayes. Key, Brian Hayes is a bad
major league hitter. It didn't make any sense. So, like

(45:22):
you just you add up these things that just continued
to not make sense. Now, there are some things that
have happened to this year's team that I don't really
believe you can blame anybody for. I was among those,
and by the way, dead wrong, it turns out. But
I was among those who thought Nick Crawl's did a
decent job with the bullpen this offseason. Now, as it's
turned out, a lot of guys that we thought were
gonna be better haven't been very good. The bullpen has

(45:44):
been historically bad, and nobody could throw strikes. Nobody can
be counted on late in games. It totally hamstrings and
handicaps the manager. Like it's it's got to be hard.
It's got to be hard to look at a game
like yesterday where Rhet Louder gives you three and you go, okay,
I've got to get maybe six as many as six
outs or six innings worth of outs from this group

(46:04):
of relievers. It's really really hard. But there were still
some things this offseason that didn't make a ton of sense,
the seemingly half hearted pursuit of Kyle Schwarber leaving holes
in the outfield that subjected the Reds to using a
guy in right field who had barely played the position,

(46:25):
the backup behind him being a guy who started the
season in Louisville, having JJ Bleday, who was terrific in
the spring not begin the season in Cincinnati. It's like
there's just individually a whole bunch of things that you
look in Nick Crawl and go, this doesn't make sense.
And you could excuse it because maybe not every decision
is going to work out, maybe not every move is
one that you agree with or understand the thinking behind.

(46:48):
But when you start stacking them, you start stacking the
things that just don't make a lot of sense. At
some point you have to ask, how much longer are
we going to go with the dude who's running a
baseball operations department, who continues to do things that don't
make much sense, Like, okay, fine, this year's team is

(47:09):
not great. Okay fine, this year's team has been sort
of unlucky. Okay fine, this year's team doesn't have maybe
it's best starting pitcher, it's starting shortstop, it's closer, But
when you look at how it was constructed and you
wondered about the things that went into roster construction, like
not getting a more established player to play at corner

(47:31):
Ralph field position, like not having a plan, be a
good plan, be at second base in case Matt McClain
fell flat on his face, Like having a guy in
Kei Brian Hayes who's got a back issue and can't hit.
On top of all of those other things I just
talked about, can you really have that much faith and
a dude running your baseball operations department who continues to

(47:53):
do things that are really kind of hard to understand,
especially when the result of him doing all those things
that are kind of hard to under stand is a
team that in mid June is two games under five
hundred and nine and a half games at of first place.
Five point three, seven four nine fifteen thirty is our
phone number. It is exasperating. It is completely and totally exasperating.

(48:17):
And this is not an overreaction to a bad weekend
in Saint Louis. It's not a bad reaction to a
few bad weeks. It's a reaction to a team that,
no matter what the year is no matter who the
manager is, the team on the field, the roster itself
feels the same year in and year out. The ceiling

(48:37):
is always low, the results are always basically mediocre. Right now.
That is what has come to define the Cincinnati Reds
as a franchise. Yes, Ellie Dela Cruz is fun to
watch and immensely likable. Yes they have some decent players. Yes,

(48:58):
in many respects, they're better than they were in twenty
twenty two, better than they were during that long stretch
twenty fifteen through twenty nineteen. But over it the last
three years, and again, this is supposed to be when
the getting is good. Over it the last three years,
from the beginning of what felt like the start of
something really good to now, the results are the same.
Not awful, not great either, no peaking, no valleying, And

(49:27):
so you can't help but ask, how does this cycle end?
How does this cycle of just unending, having the same
themes every year? Are we buyers? Are we not buyers?
How long is it going to take to get some
of these dudes who are hurt back like after so
much time of the same themes and the same types
of teams, When do you make a change in the

(49:51):
front office. I hate to say that, man, but when
do you make a change in the front office. It's
not just this weekend, it's not just this season. It's years,
it's it's year, it's decades, and man, maybe the Reds
today are in a better place than they were four
years ago. Maybe they have a better baseball team than

(50:13):
they did in twenty twenty three. Maybe they have a
better baseball team than they did in all those post
Dusty Baker years in the twenty tens. They're still two
hundred five hundred, seemingly going nowhere. No fixes are in
the offing. There's not a prospect or too in Louisville

(50:34):
right now that you're thinking they can give this team
a little jolt, they can maybe be a savior. It's
and I know you agree, incredibly frustrating. And it's not
just frustrating because the play on the field is not great.
It's frustrating because it feels like there's no fix in

(50:54):
the offing via trade, via call up, even via coming
somebody coming off the entry list. By the way, I
fully expect when some of the guys who are hurt
get back for this team to perform better. How huge
of a hole would they be taking out of? By
the time that happens seventeen minutes after four o'clock, your

(51:17):
phone calls are coming up five point three seven, four nine,
fifteen thirty eight sixty six, seven oh two three seven
seven six At moegar on Twitter, the Brendan Soresby judge
totally misses the point of punishment. We'll do that next.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.

Speaker 3 (51:39):
From the UC Health Traffic Center.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
All right, it's me twenty two after four o'clock. This
is ESPN fifteen thirty. Mowger, Brennan and Jones on Baseball
is about thirty minutes away. If you miss anything on
this show, you could go listen to it on the
iHeartRadio app podcast of this show. A service of Long
Neck Sports Grill, an awesome place to watch Red's games,

(52:04):
or NBA Finals games, or NHL Stanley Cup Final games
which that series has been awesome the World Cup. Obviously.
Long Necks has three locations in Northern Kentucky, Wilder, Hebron,
and rich Wood. Long Neck Sports Grill, Stay long, come often.
I was reading here that the Brendan Soresby thing that

(52:26):
the judge ruled that Soresby's attorneys demonstrated that he will
suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury if he's unable
to play for the Red Raiders. Isn't that the point
of punishment. If I violate some sort of FCC rule

(52:50):
and I say something that I shouldn't, I will be punished.
That punishment would probably make me incur probable imminent and
irreparable injury. If I break an iHeartMedia workplace rule that

(53:11):
would subject me to termination. Yes, I will suffer probable,
imminent and irreparable injury, because that's what punishments do. If
you go out and commit a crime and you get
caught and you end up having to go to court
and you get convicted and there's jail time involved, well,

(53:36):
that is probable, imminent and irreparable injury. That's what punishment is.
Punishment is the forfeiture of things. For Brendan Sourersby. Had
he been declared ineligible, which the NCAA did, that probably
I would imagine would have meant the forfeiture of five

(53:56):
to six million dollars he was due in nil money
from Texas Tech. Because that's what a punishment is. Punishment
takes away earning potential, can take away freedom. Punishment causes harm,
which is why we don't want to break rules, because

(54:16):
we understand that punishment causes harm. What a just absolutely
stupid statement. He will suffer probable, imminent and irreparable injury
if he can't play college football for the Red Raiders
in twenty twenty six, right, because the punishment is designed

(54:39):
to cause probable, imminent and irreparable injury. Yes, you are correct,
These things will happen. I am a big believer in accountability.
If you do something that you're not supposed to do
and there's a a very clearly established rule against what

(55:03):
you're doing, and violation of rule carries with it unambiguous
and very clear punishments, and you steer clear of them,
there's no accountability here. And like, there are certainly court
cases where somebody is acquitted and they've pled not guilty,

(55:26):
and you might wonder, we'll wait a minute, the evidence
seems stacked against him, and yet they were found not guilty,
and so there's going to be no punishment here, and
so there's maybe a lack of accountability. Okay, those things
happen here, nobody is questioning Brendan Sorosby's attorneys aren't questioning
whether or not he actually wagered on college football games,

(55:47):
Like it's well established that he did in his own
lawsuits that he has filed, or that his lawyers have
filed on his behalf. There is an acknowledgment I did this,
This broke a rule. Breaking the rule can trigger this
punishment lack of accountability. And so Brendan Sorosby is gonna

(56:12):
play college football against this year. He's gonna make the
money that comes with being able to play college football
this year. I have no reason to wish him any
ill will at all. And I do think there's something
noble about getting help when you have an addiction problem.
And I hope he's gotten the help that he needs,
and I hope he benefits from it. But oh boy, Like,

(56:33):
why should he not gamble again? I don't know if
there are specific terms prohibiting him from doing that, as
outlined by this injunction being granted. But let's say he
gambles again, Well if he gets punished and the incident alize, like,
all right, well you gambled. You gambled on a game
involving a team that you're a part of, So we're

(56:55):
gonna punish you. Is that not going to cause probable
imminent and he operable injury? Like when does the accountability begin?
And I don't know, Like maybe Brendan Soresby. People are arguing,
well he uh, you know, he's it's gonna hurt his
draft stock, Like there's there's some accountability there, and I
don't know it Just this misses the point of what

(57:19):
rules are supposed to do, established guidelines for you to
behave within and if you don't, there's the threat of punishment,
and the punishment does cause harm, causes injury. Unbelievable. It
is such a sad day for accountability and it is

(57:43):
maybe the final death blow to the NCAA. By the way,
you might argue that the NCAA sucks so hard that
it's a good thing to have something that provides a
just a fatal blow to that organization, But come on, man,
this there is no purpose in having rules if there's

(58:06):
no punishment for violating them, and if an organization can't
enforce its own rules, that organization can't continue to exist.
This is as black and white to me as the
rules that prohibit sports wagering by college athletes. I do
wonder like, if you're a college athlete, now, why not wager?

(58:29):
Twenty nine minutes after five o'clock. Evan tankes Doll is
one of the foundational members of the UC Bearcats. He
joins US.

Speaker 1 (58:35):
Next Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 2 (58:46):
Station twenty six away from five o'clock. This is ESPN
fifteen thirty on Moeger. We'll do sports headlines in just
a few minutes. I don't want to make our guest
wait you see. Football season tickets went on sale today
Go Bearcats dot slash tickets. And for a while now,
a strength of this team, a strength of this football

(59:07):
program has been the offensive line. They have enjoyed great
continuity there and that is going to continue in twenty
twenty six, where back for another season with the Bearcats.
As a player who is a third AP third team
All American. He was on the Pro Football Focus All
Big twelve team. He was an All Big twelve second
team performer from Dayton, Ohio. One of the anchors in

(59:28):
the offensive line. Evan Tekes Doahal is with US. Evan
it's great to have you. Good afternoon. How are you.

Speaker 6 (59:34):
I'll great. I appreciate you having me on.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
I appreciate you joining us. What you know the offensive line,
I know you and I have talked about this for years.
There have been mainstays like Gavin Gerhardt, Luke Candre, yourself,
you bring back Taran Tayo, Joe Cotton, this unit this year,
the continuity with you three guys. What has it been
like preparing for the season.

Speaker 6 (59:57):
Yeah, it's been amazing, just kind of getting a line
unit together, getting guys that were back of last year
stepping up into new roles, kind of get them on
the same page with us, kind of meshing as a group,
building that same connections we had the previous years, and
so try to keep keep that that big twelve standard,
keep keep it going. Mentioning with all the new guys

(01:00:17):
coming on the team, the new transfers, it's been it's
been an amazing experience helping with my leadership and all
the other two as well. We feel like we've been
leading this team very well and just we're really getting
ready for this season. We feel really good about Boston College.

Speaker 2 (01:00:31):
What is it like building on the sort of season
that you as an individual had last year.

Speaker 6 (01:00:37):
Yeah, so I had an amazing year last year. Blessed,
blessed to be able to keep playing. It looked look
to have the same year, if not better. I have
my mistakes I made last year, and I know the
things I need to work on, so kind of just
building on and stacking days on what I what I've
been working on last year. Got coached a ton from
a lot of different people, a lot of different coaches

(01:00:58):
and things like that, So I's been training on the
things that people told me I need to work on
to get to get to the NFL and just get
better as a player as a whole. So I'll just
kind of been working on the little things and just
kind of lead and be a captain for my team.

Speaker 2 (01:01:10):
The players who come from other programs. We can apply
this to the offensive line, we can apply it to
the team as a whole. I'm sure you were paying
very close attention to what was going on in the
transfer portal, But what are the new guys bring to
your program?

Speaker 10 (01:01:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:01:25):
The new guys bring a ton, including coach Woody bringing
in all the new defensive guys. We have a whole
new scheme and added a dog position, basically a whole
new defense brought back a lot of different d linemen
and linebackers, but all these new guys are tremendous. We're
seeing defensive guys make plays that we haven't seen in years.
So it's just been a tremendous to watch. And these

(01:01:47):
guys on both sides of the ball are making tons
of huge plays. A lot of all the wide receivers
are bought in a great, big, big wide, different variety
of running backs that all can do a bunch of
different things. So they've been really us to watch and
tremendous the lead and show them the standard we have
that you see, yeah, with the quarterback play and the
running back play on the offensive side of the ball.

(01:02:08):
It's just been amazing to watch him to think click
and how smooth everything has been.

Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
We've heard and read a lot about J. C. French.
What do you like most about him?

Speaker 6 (01:02:17):
Oh, seeing him coming and we were recruiting him to
seeing his film, that quick release and how he can
make plays on his feet and with his arm. He
has everything you need to be to be a really
good quarterback. He's made a lot of tremendous plays. He's
already has that that day leadership voice and the role
on the team. A lot of guys are already looking
up to him, seeing him as a captain as a leader.

(01:02:38):
So he's played a big role. He's helping all the
guys on offense click. He's done a great job getting
extra work with the wide receivers, making sure everybody's on
the same page. He's done a great He's just done
a tremendous job helping leave this offense alongside of us
US alignment.

Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
Do you do you think there are things you guys
will will be able to do offensively that maybe you
and you guys offensively did a lot of really good
things last year year, but do you believe there'll be
some things you guys could do better offensively that that
you weren't as as capable of doing last season.

Speaker 8 (01:03:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:03:08):
I feel like we had an amazing offense last year,
just sometimes towards the end we didn't always close out
a game. And I feel like we're still going to
have an amazing offense and we're gonna come back this
year and so that we can close out games and
do the same things we did not did last year,
but do them better. I feel like we have a
great a great group of guys. We're all rallying around
JC and the line, and I feel it's gonna be

(01:03:30):
a great year. But yeah, we're gonna definitely fix with
some of the mistakes and things we lacked on last year.
I feel like we kind of filled those gaps. So yeah,
we're gonna have a great second half of the season
and great first half of the season, just kind of
build on the things we need to needed to improve
on last year.

Speaker 2 (01:03:45):
So yeah, you you referenced the season that you had
last year, and individually, you're right, it was terrific. What
has it been like getting some of the accolades that
have come your way?

Speaker 6 (01:03:56):
It's been It's been really a blessing. Then didn't know
I can get those things going into the season, just
kind of my first year starting. I wanted to just
go out there, played ball to the best of my ability,
and it just happened to all those things came out way.
I just kept building on those things, just had to
stay humble with all the guys on the team.

Speaker 2 (01:04:14):
My coach kept me.

Speaker 6 (01:04:15):
Humble, just kept working and building all those things. You
can't get satisfied with those type of things but it's
been an amazing, been a blessing to be how all
these different titles and people see me how I am.
So it's been really, really an amazing to have these titles.

Speaker 2 (01:04:29):
And along with that, I mean, you played with Gavin
Gerhard and toward the end of the season last year,
you know, listening to people unprompted talk about you know,
not just what he did on the field, but his
leadership qualities. It's got to be really cool that people
talk about you now in the same vein, isn't it.

Speaker 6 (01:04:48):
Yeah, it's amazing to be compared to Gavin. Cavin was
a tremendous leader, and to even be near his leadership
means you're a great leader. He was the best leader
you could have on the team. He was finished up
leadership and the captain. He there doesn't get no benefit Gavin.
To be to be in the same conversation as him
is really a blessing. And yeah, he's taught me a

(01:05:08):
lot of different things that I'm gonna keep throughout my
whole life. And in this game of football.

Speaker 2 (01:05:12):
Now, beyond preparing for the season, you're gonna get some downtime,
I guess before a fall camp begins What sort of
things do you do with your offseason downtime.

Speaker 6 (01:05:22):
Yeah, so I love. I love to go out and
golf with the guys. Definitely, cook at home with my girlfriend,
go hang out with family. But yeah, but me and
the guys go do a lot of different things. He
we I definitely trained. We we went and trained a
little bit in the off season time. But besides that,
outside of training, just kind of going to golf a bunch,
going a lot of different places down here in Cincinnati.
There's a lot of good, good golf spots and country clubs,

(01:05:44):
so golfing, bowling, finishing, kind of all those outdoorsy sports
you can do. I kind of do a lot of
those with the guys.

Speaker 2 (01:05:51):
Who's the best golfer that you play with?

Speaker 6 (01:05:54):
I think it's gonna be our kicker, Steve. He's definitely
the best guy on the team for sure.

Speaker 4 (01:06:00):
All Right.

Speaker 2 (01:06:00):
What about among the offensive linemen.

Speaker 6 (01:06:04):
I like to put myself up there, but it's definitely
me or Grant edgartona guy a walk on that I
came in with my freshmany. He earned his way up
to a scholarship, So definitely, definitely he's probably up up
the top of the line and then I for a second.

Speaker 2 (01:06:18):
All right, Well, I hope you get a lot of
good rounds in between now in fall camps. It's a
big year for the Bearcats. Great opportunity for yourself. You
had an awesome year last year, and watching you come
into your own not just as a starter but an
all big twelve player. Seeing you get written about and
talked about around the country was awfully cool. Continued success,
best of luck this season, and enjoy enjoy the golf

(01:06:40):
courses in the downtime. You do get this summer man,
Thanks so much.

Speaker 6 (01:06:44):
I really appreciate you having me on. Appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (01:06:46):
You got it anytime. That's Evan Tengstahl from Dayton, Ohio.
What are the anchors on the UC offensive line? Bearcats
season tickets on sale today, Go Bearcats dot Com slash tickets.
Sports headlines are a service of Kelsey Chevrolet Home of
lifetime powertrain protection, guaranteed credit approval from their family, two

(01:07:06):
yours for life, kelseyshev dot Comrades and Padres Tonight, first
of three in San Diego. Reds are struggling, Padres are struggling.
Something's got to give. Andrew Abbott pitches against Walker Bueller nine.
Excuse Me is tonight's first pitch on seven hundred wl
W College football. Former UC quarterback Brendan Soresby, a Texas

(01:07:28):
judge has granted his preliminary injunction that presents I'm sorry,
prevents the NCAA from punishing him for violating that organization's
rules on sports gambling. He is going to serve a
two game suspension and then as of right now, eligible
to play for the Red Raiders this upcoming season. Tonight
at Madison Square Garden, it's a Game three of the

(01:07:50):
NBA Finals. New York is going to be an absolute zoo.
Tip off a little bit after eight point thirty. Next
lead the series two games to none, MSG hosting its
first NBA Finals game since Game five of the nineteen
ninety nine NBA Finals one on an Avery Johnson jumpird
that gave these Spurs the NBA crown. There you go,

(01:08:11):
seventeen away from five o'clock. We are guessed free for
a while. There's been a lot going on today. The
Reds frustration is real, and I think the frustration is
I think more than anything, has to do with the
fact that there's just seemingly nothing that's really going to
be done right. And then I say that not to
be critical, it's I don't know how you fix this.

(01:08:33):
I don't know if you're Tito, if you're Terry Francona,
what you can do to fix this. And in the
short term, I don't know if you're Nick Crawl, what
you can do to fix this. And I don't know
how until the offseason the franchise can get out of
this just unending cycle, hamster wheel of mediocrity that I

(01:08:57):
think has come to define this franchise. More on that
coming up in the five o'clock hour sixteen from five
Brenniman and Jones on Baseball ten minutes away. This He's
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (01:09:08):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic from.

Speaker 3 (01:09:14):
The UC Health Traffic Center, and.

Speaker 2 (01:09:21):
It's Game three makes have a two oh series lead.
I do wonder this about the crowd tonight. And this
is not a political statement, but when the President of
the United States shows up anywhere, it creates complications. Creates
complications in terms of what people can bring to events,
creates complications in terms of you know, people going through

(01:09:44):
security and all that sort of stuff, and so Donald
Trump is going to attend Game three tonight, which is fine.
I don't talk about politics on this show, and I'm
never going to, but I do wonder this. I wonder
if the weirdness, the unevenness, the security around the venue

(01:10:05):
is going to compromise everybody's enthusiasm or if it's going
to ratchet the environment up just a little bit. I
think that's going to be an interesting factor. I think
it's going to be extraordinarily loud the first five to
six minutes, and I think if you've watched the NBA
playoffs over the last couple of years, you've seen the

(01:10:26):
Knicks lose some absolutely crushing games at home where I
feel like that atmosphere has amplified some of the visiting players,
Tyrese Halliburton, Andrew Nemhard the last year obviously most notably,
and so we will see that environment is going to
be extraordinarily unique tonight.

Speaker 11 (01:10:45):
My question is when does he enter? Does he at
the beginning of the game, or like, does the game
already start?

Speaker 2 (01:10:50):
Well that I don't know, and I also don't know,
like you know, people make a big deal about the
celebrities on court side, I don't know if he's going
to sit courtside or if he's going to be sitting
in a suite some like. I have no idea, but like,
what was already going to be an extraordinarily call it
volatile atmosphere is going to be made even more volatile.

(01:11:11):
I care about one thing. Does it help the home
team or hurt the home team? I have no idea,
but it's a dynamic that makes an already interesting venue
and setting all the more interesting. And again, if it
plays to their favor, then I'm all for it. If
it plays maybe against him a little bit, and I

(01:11:32):
could see both sides of it. I think just the
environment tonight. It has been talked about for a while
what would msg be like if the Knicks got to
the NBA Finals, And then once they did, it kind
of felt like folks were glossing over the first two
games in San Antonio, which, by the way, seemed raucous.
Now there were a lot of Knicks fans there, but
there's been a lot of focus on like, what is

(01:11:54):
it going to be like? And then you add to
it the fact that they won the first two games.
There's not going to be any watch parties outside Madison
Square garden, which I think is maybe makes the overall
environment a little bit less festive, a little bit less fun.
But inside the arena itself, I'm fascinated to see what
it's like. And I'm fascinated to see if the Knicks
are a little bit too amped up. I'm fascinated to

(01:12:16):
see if the Spurs are at all intimidated. I don't
think they will be. I think maybe more than anything
with this game, Look, san Antonio came back down from
fourteen and was in a position to win the game
on Friday night. But there have been times where it's
been very easy to tell the difference between one team
that's really rested and another team that's not so much.
There's an extra day between games two and three. How

(01:12:38):
much does that help san Antonio? And I guess the
other one for me tonight is the Knicks are up two. Oh,
Jalen Brunson has had one good quarter. At some point,
don't his shots have to start falling? We will see.

Speaker 4 (01:12:50):
Have you seen outside of the arena?

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
What's that?

Speaker 4 (01:12:52):
Have you seen photos of outside the arena?

Speaker 2 (01:12:54):
Yeah, it's like a cage. Yes, they've put up so
much security and like this is what happens and it
decides to go somewhere, lots of extra security measures are taken.
I do I feel bad for those folks who have
been going to those outdoor garden parties or watch parties
outside the garden, because that looks like a lot of
fun and they're not gonna be able to have those
And that's understandable.

Speaker 11 (01:13:14):
That's when the night case coming down. This is coming down.

Speaker 2 (01:13:18):
Is he going to Game four? I doubt it because
if he's just going to Game three and they win
Game three, if they're lucky enough to win game three,
then you know, I guess all bets are off. We'll see.
I don't know it's gonna be fast three that.

Speaker 4 (01:13:33):
They win tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:13:34):
Uh well, if they do, there's probably gonna be people
with uh with guns waiting to see him and waiting
for him. So I don't know it's gonna be h.
I've seen the ticket prices. Somebody asked me what's the
most that I would spend? And I can't even wrap
my brain around that those whole question. Yeah, I don't know.

(01:13:58):
I don't Here's the thing, like number one, I could
stay with people that I know. Number two, I know
the cheaper places to eat in New York City. But
as much as I would love to be there, I
love the idea of sending my kid to college more

(01:14:21):
got I don't know, Like if I was single, like
all right, fine, I'll borrow or I'll I don't know
that I could go to my wife and say, hey, work,
I'm gonna I'm gonna slide over. I'm looking at it
right now. There's you can get in for eight k.

Speaker 4 (01:14:36):
Their payment plans.

Speaker 2 (01:14:40):
Like eight thousand dollars. I'd never paid unless it was
for a car. I've never paid eight dollars down payment
of my house eight thousand dollars for it. Now I
just I got like my car this like last month.
My car is six years old. I want to get
into ten years. So I did all like you know,

(01:15:01):
maintenance and got some stuff. It cost me thirty five
hundred dollars. I hated putting my card in the machine
for that. I cannot imagine paying more than double that
for a ticket to a game, although and if I was,
if I was single, I'd probably justify it with myself
and then not eat for six months.

Speaker 11 (01:15:22):
And does an outcome like way like way, how your
reaction if they lose, so you spent that money.

Speaker 2 (01:15:28):
Yeah, yes, percent, a hundred percent. It's also like not
a clinching game. So it's like, you know, let's say
they were to win tonight, Game four could be a
clincher that changes things. Or if it were to get
to a game six and they have three wins, that
could change things. I don't know. I've had a dozen
or so people ask me like, are you going to
try to get to New York? And I've I've never

(01:15:49):
even considered it. I haven't just it has seemed so
otherworldly expensive that, like, I have people in my life
who could afford that, none of them have stepped up
to say, you know what, Mo, we'll send you to MSG.

Speaker 4 (01:16:03):
So I have a clip where you fulfill a promise.

Speaker 11 (01:16:06):
If something happens, I won't play it too on Friday
or whenever the next clinch.

Speaker 4 (01:16:12):
You made a promise on this radio station. I have
the clip.

Speaker 2 (01:16:15):
I can't wait to find out what that was. Where
late Brennan and Jones on Baseball this next birthday? What's up?
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm a linger. Thank you
so much for listening. Hopefully you've had an awesome Monday
We've got a nice weekend. We're a guest for you
this hour for lock around the cover. There's a must

(01:16:35):
see game later on this fall and the NCAA took
a beating again, another beating in court. This applies to
Brendan Soaresby. More on that a little bit later on.
Red gets swept in Saint Louis. Bad defense, bad bullpen pitching,
just top to bottom, bad weekend, not very timely hitting.

(01:16:57):
Just if it could go wrong, it did. It could
go wrong for this team over the last couple of weeks.
It has and the results is a team that's two
hunderd five hundred and nine and a half games at
a first place less than two weeks into June. Nick
Krawl said this in March of twenty twenty two. Quote,

(01:17:23):
we're trying to eliminate peaks and valleys. That is a
direct quote from a little bit more than four years ago.
We're trying to eliminate peaks and valleys. Take away the
twenty twenty two season. He said that before twenty twenty two,
after the lockout and right when they were trading away

(01:17:45):
dudes like Sonny Gray and Auhanio Suarez. We're trying to
eliminate peaks and valleys. Since then, well, there was the
twenty twenty three season. Lots of fun, lots of fun,
rejuvenated the fanse re energize people when it comes to
the Reds. The Reds that season finished two over five hundred.

(01:18:06):
The following season, didn't make the playoffs, didn't come close.
Last year four over five hundred, today two under five hundred.
I brought this up on social media This week. June sixth,
twenty twenty three felt like an extraordinarily significant day in
the history and evolution of the Cincinnati Reds. Ellie deller
Cruz made his big league debut that night three years

(01:18:28):
ago this past Saturday. The Reds won the game that
night in walk off fashion. Fun night at the ballpark
that night felt significant. It felt significant because it felt
like Ellie, along with this nice stockpile of young players,
were on the verge of something big, on the verge
of something maybe sustainable, on the verge of something that

(01:18:52):
could pay off by the middle of the decade, like
it did go back. I remembered that time vividly. It
felt like if you're a Reds fan, that years of waiting,
years of waiting for the Reds to contend we're finally
going to payoff. Maybe not in the instant immediate future,
maybe not in twenty twenty three, but certainly by the

(01:19:16):
middle of the decade. Right since then, the Reds have
played four hundred and ninety games, including that night against
the Dodgers. They're two over five hundred. We keep doing
the same. Are they in it or are they not
in it? Are they buyers or are they sellers? Right
now it's hard to argue that they're going to be buyers.

(01:19:37):
One good week could change that, I guess, but that's
become an annual thing. The number of foundational pieces that
the Reds have, truly established, players who could be considered
like mainstays, guys that you look at and go there
are core cogs, not just for this year, but for

(01:19:57):
moving forward. The number of players who fit that description
extraordinarily small, shockingly small, quite frankly, if you compare today
to how we felt about the direction the Reds were
going in three years ago. So I go back to
March of twenty twenty two when Nick Krawl said, we're

(01:20:19):
trying to eliminate peaks and valleys. Is this what it
looks like? Is this what that looks like. There are
no peaks peak last year was finished with eighty three wins.
Make the postseason get swept by the Dodgers. Valley would
be I don't know the way they've played over the
last month or so. If this is what eliminating peaks

(01:20:41):
and valleys looks like, I can only speak for myself.
I would imagine, though I'm speaking for most dude, sign
me up for something else. I'm out on no peaks
and valleys. If this is what it looks like, NonStop
running on a hamster wheel, NonStop running on a treadmill,

(01:21:01):
non stop waiting in mediocrity, non stop flirting with or
barely being above five hundred, non stop debating whether they're
buyers or sellers, non stop not in first place, non
stop at the very best, trying to sneak into the postseason.
Non stop watching guys get millions of chances to continue

(01:21:21):
to prove there's something that they haven't been. If this
is what eliminating peaks and valleys looks like, give me
something else, Give me peaks and valleys, because then I
at least get peaks. Not whatever this is, this is
unending and like you can get mad at me for
saying it, But the Reds don't feel appreciably better or

(01:21:43):
different than they did three years ago? Do they? I
don't think the answer is yes, there are some nice players.
Chase Burns wasn't here three years ago. Glad that dude's
with the Reds right now. Salth Stewart wasn't with the
Reds three years ago. Glad he's here right now. But overall,
do they feel demonstratively better than they did three years ago?

(01:22:05):
I'm not even talking about twenty twenty two. That team stunk,
but remember that year the Reds chose to stink, and
the thinking behind it, the rationale behind it, was gonna
stink right now, just wait a few years. And for me,
that was middle of the decade. The payoff is this,

(01:22:29):
The payoff for losing one hundred games was spending about
ten minutes in the postseason last year being chumped for
the LA Dodgers, then this season spending the summer flirting
with five hundred, and you know what we'll do. They'll
they'll go on a little bit of a run here
and they'll be within a you know, a few games
of that last wildcard spot, and folks will talk themselves

(01:22:52):
into it. Maybe maybe that happens. I hope it does.
I'm not sure how Vis gets that much better, not
with the car and makeup, with the team, not with
the current efficiencies. And I was listening to Marty and
Tracy talk about the team as a whole getting healthier,
getting Hunter Green back, getting Ellie Dela Cruz back, awesome,
could use those guys. This team without Elie dela Cruz

(01:23:12):
is significantly worse than when they have Elie Delacruz. He is,
I think, almost unquestionably their best player, their most indispensable guy.
By the way, if I was Elie Dela Cruz, whatever
the long term asking price would be just went up.
See this is what it looks like when I'm not here.
But man, the bigger thing for me is just the

(01:23:36):
fact that this franchise things have changed. There's a Hall
of Fame manager in the manager's office right now, They've
promoted a lot of players. The composition of the team
is obviously not the same, and yet things still feel
remarkably similar year after year after year. I know they
made the playoffs last year, Let's be honest, man, did

(01:23:58):
last year's team feel like it was significantly different or
better than anything the Reds have put on the field
in recent years. Did it feels significantly different or better
than the team the Reds have right now? Does this
year's team feel significantly worse than what the Reds had
in twenty twenty three, which, by the way, that year
they did spend some time in first place. It is remarkable,

(01:24:20):
remarkable how little things have changed over the course of
the last three seasons. And man, maybe things do get
better here. I just I don't know mechanically what you
can do to make things any better besides hoping that
players play better. For lack of a better way of
putting it, I'm not sure there's anything more frustrating in

(01:24:43):
recent Cincinnati sports than this. And again it's it's about
like delivering a payoff and you could throw at me
while the injuries or they thought this guy would be good,
and like, there are some things that have gone south
that I didn't think would go south. The first to admit, man,
I didn't think this bullpen was going to be terrible.

(01:25:03):
Might not have been as good as it showed in
the first two or three weeks. It is really surprising
how bad this bullpen has been. Injuries have been a factor,
but you are exhausted of excuses if you're a Reds fan,
which means the Reds can't make any like you could

(01:25:24):
tell me, well, this is, you know, just a bad
couple of months and when we tried and our best
laid plans didn't necessarily work out. Cool when you have
been asking fans to wait and wait and wait for
decades and you're incapable of delivering a payoff more than
a neat September that resulted in their eighty third victory

(01:25:46):
in two postseason games where they got clobbered, good luck.
Good luck getting people to buy in, good luck getting
people to continue to be patient, good luck getting people
to continue to give you the benefit of the doubt.
Good luck luck getting people to not react harshly to
when your team plays the way it did this weekend
in Saint Louis, and to looking at a team that's

(01:26:08):
two hunder five hundred here in the middle of June.
Is this what not having peaks and valleys looks like?
If so, see ya, I'd sign me up for peaks,
because just NonStop hamster wheel, eighty wins, eighty two wins,
seventy seven wins, whatever, this year's win total ends up

(01:26:30):
being probably not going to be ninety hard pass, hard pass.
Quarter after five. We'll take some phone calls five one, three, seven, four, nine,
fifteen thirty. I've asked for weeks, how does this get better?
And I haven't heard an answer because there isn't one
beyond just like, some guys just got to play better.
Some dudes in the bullpen who have not been very

(01:26:50):
good are going to have to start pitching effectively. I
don't know what there is. This is extraordinarily frustrating. This
the fact that we are in twenty twenty and something
that seems so promising three years ago. This is the payoff.
This is it. This is the reward for years of
watching the Reds not be very good. This is how

(01:27:11):
it how it peaks. Oh that's right, there are no peaks. Well,
as many of us concluded in twenty twenty two, when
there are no peaks and there are no valleys, you're
kind of stuck, kind of in the middle, which is
exactly where the Reds are today. And being in the
middle ain't gonna put you in a position to win

(01:27:32):
a championship. Sixteen minutes after five, five one, three, fifteen thirty.
We've been busy with guests and other stuff, so we
haven't had a chance to work many folks in, but
there's room for you if you want to chime in
at muegger on. Twitter works too, but we'd rather hear
from you Twitter feeds. The service of UH Delta Dental.

(01:27:53):
Delta Dental is building healthy, smart, vibrant communities for all.
Good to Delta Dental, OAH dot com.

Speaker 12 (01:27:58):
UH.

Speaker 2 (01:28:00):
If you're running an organization and you're not allowed to
enforce your own rules, than what's the point of your organization?
That is the question confronting the NCAA today. Because of
the Brendan Sowersby ruling, he's going to be eligible to
play college football for the Red Raiders this year at
Texas Tech. We'll spend a little bit of time on
that and an absolute must see game this fall coming
up on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (01:28:24):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center.

Speaker 2 (01:28:31):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. They are stuck. Reds are
There are no quick fixes in the offing. None could
pine for the trade deadline. Okay, well that's the trade deadline.
Seven and a half weeks away. That's good cool. And
by the way, their dudes who are hurt ain't like
this team was running away and hiding before those guys

(01:28:52):
got hurt. More on that in just a bit. Echoing
some of the stuff I've said today about the Brendan
Soresby thing, I want to be clear about this, the
Brendan Soorsby thing. Where he's been his injunction has been granted,
so he's going to be allowed to play college football

(01:29:12):
this year. When Brendan Soorsby decided to leave Uce, that
didn't bother me in the least as a sports fan.
When players reach free agency, they've earned that and they
go and choose to play somewhere awesome doesn't bother me.
It never has, Never has. Player decides to not sign

(01:29:33):
here doesn't bother me, never has. You could complain about
the fact that college football players or college basketball players
have the freedom of movement that they do. But Brendan Soresby,
I don't know about the ins and outs of his contract,
and whether or not he owes UC money, I don't know.
But as a general rule, like him leaving to go

(01:29:53):
chase money at Texas Tech, cool, go do it, I
would have had no reason to root against him from
when they play UC. I view Brendan Soresby is a
little bit different than a lot of people. Certainly there's potential.
I have not understood a lot of the draft chatter.
I've not understood a lot of the chatter about him
being a Heisman trophy. By the way, those odds are

(01:30:15):
back on the board. I saw a player who played
very unevenly, especially against really good teams. I watched him
hang sixty nine yards passing against Nebraska. I watched him
complete eleven passes against Utah, playing behind a very good
offensive line and with skill guys who are good enough
to get drafted, like Cyrus Allen and like Joe Royer.

(01:30:36):
I referred to him as the Andy Dalton of college football.
There's certainly a case that can be made that you
sees quarterback after Brendan Soreersby will be worse, but you
also felt like, man, we could do a lot better.
So I don't come off. I don't come I'm not
coming at this from the perspective of jilted fan who's
mad that Brandon left. I just I think it's comical

(01:30:59):
that you have an organization that has established rules that
has just been told in court the most definitive time
compared to all these other instances where players have sued
for eligibility. You can enforce your own rules. One of
the smartest people when it comes to a covering college
football is ESPN's Heather Dinich. Here's Heather talking about the

(01:31:23):
Brendan Soorsby case. What it means for the NCAA.

Speaker 13 (01:31:29):
College sports reached a new low today. A judge in
Lubbock County, Texas, ruled that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Soorsby
is eligible to play this year.

Speaker 14 (01:31:41):
That means that judge took away the NCAA's power to
enforce its own rules that athletes cannot bet and they
can't bet on their own teams. This should have been
an open and shutcase.

Speaker 13 (01:31:57):
Brendan Soorsby broke the rules on his own team when
he was in Indiana, and the nc Double A ruled
him ineligible. If there's one thing that could make Congress act,
maybe this is it. If the NC DOUBLEA cannot enforce
its own rules on players betting and betting on their

(01:32:20):
own teams, this is a whole new door that just
opened in terms of betting and corruption in college sports.

Speaker 2 (01:32:33):
Well said, it sounds like she was doing a talkback
on since he three sixty. Also, was she driving a
car while she was recording that or somebody else?

Speaker 4 (01:32:40):
Somebody else?

Speaker 2 (01:32:41):
Okay, Heather Dinnis, It's true. I'm not huge into government
intervention in anything, but if there's if there's one thing
that they can maybe accomplish, it's helping the nc DOUBLEA
enforce its own rules. And I've seen people on social
media argue, well, you should be allowed to bet on
your own team. Could not disagree more. But that's not

(01:33:03):
what this is about. There was a rule against betting
on your own team. He did it. There's no real
punishment for it. Got to be able to enforce your
own rules. All right, we have folks waiting. Let's talk
to other people. Five point three seven four nine, fifteen thirty. Mike,
of course, has been waiting forever. Hi, Mike, I'm good, Mike.

(01:33:25):
What's going on?

Speaker 9 (01:33:27):
Well? Uh, brandons fore he's got some dance flood lawyers.
I'll tell you that much.

Speaker 6 (01:33:33):
I would hire them, suckers. If I needed a lawyer,
that'd be the first guy i'd go through.

Speaker 9 (01:33:37):
Or guys good job, good job at a Larwriors. Not
that I care about the outcome, but you know, the
way we've beenbellished sports and glamorized gambling on sports in
this country in the last five for ten years, nothing
surprises me. And it will do nothing but get worse,
mister Edgar, and you can bank on that.

Speaker 2 (01:33:57):
What's gonna get worse? I mean, inege, will it get
worse if you can get away with betting on your
own team? Yeah, that'll get worse in Major League Baseball,
in the NFL and the NBA and the NHL and
professional sports. We have we have rules, uh that that
stay very clearly you can't bet on pro sports. And yeah,
there have been some some wagering scandals, but there's been

(01:34:18):
nothing like this, Like there are punishments in pro sports
that come with making wagers on your own team. In
college now there's none.

Speaker 8 (01:34:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:34:28):
Well, okay, I'm done with that because I don't know
how tired of it really, But anyway.

Speaker 2 (01:34:31):
I'm sorry about you.

Speaker 7 (01:34:33):
Did you get the money order? No, I sent it
on June the third. I'm looking at it right here.
I'm looking at the receive.

Speaker 3 (01:34:43):
US.

Speaker 2 (01:34:45):
Did you uh did you use the United States Postal Service.

Speaker 7 (01:34:49):
Yeah, I sure I did.

Speaker 2 (01:34:51):
My My mom lives in Nevada and send something to
my daughter using the United States Postal Service and it
took two and a half weeks. So I'm not sweating
it yet, Mike.

Speaker 7 (01:35:04):
Mis See, I sometimes I have my one of my
sisters lives in Pahoa, Hawaii on the Big Island, and
I sent her stuff sometimes and gets there in four
or five days.

Speaker 2 (01:35:15):
I don't know.

Speaker 7 (01:35:15):
You know who knows, I don't know, But anyway, I
just wanted to keep checking with you.

Speaker 2 (01:35:19):
As soon as it arrives, I will make sure you're aware.

Speaker 7 (01:35:25):
Thanks. And Trump going in there tonight, Oh you know what,
that's gonna only cost a lot more traffic than they
already got. So that's not gonna help matters for those folks.
I feel sorry for him. I think before I get
to the game tonight, if you allow me, I.

Speaker 2 (01:35:42):
Don't have a ton of time. I got a lot
of folks waiting, so let's be quick.

Speaker 7 (01:35:46):
Yeah, I'm trying. I really wish the Reds, instead of
fiddling around with all these other clowns, would have just
bit the bullet and tried to get all this shopping
at the beginning of the year. But the essence of
the problem I think with the is not developing talent,
identifying talent. I think that is their biggest problem, identifying talent. Okay,

(01:36:08):
now we'll go to the NBA tonight. I sure I've
heard a lot of guys talking about it, and it
looks like the consensus is they're gonna go small. In
other words, Harper will start, Sam Pagnan won't. They're gonna
go small, and Lemby better be aggressive from the jump.
He'd better get down on that post, and he'd better

(01:36:30):
get talent in foul trouble. Otherwise they don't have a shot.

Speaker 2 (01:36:34):
Yeah, I would agree with that. I think Dylan Harper
has to be a larger part of what they do
on the offensive end. He is a star in the making.
Wenby has to play better. I don't think he has
played poorly. He was obviously, you know, really bad down
the last minute and a half of Game two. But
he's he is the best player in this series. He

(01:36:54):
has to be the best player in these games for
San Antonio to win. And I think you could have
said that prior to this series. I think it holds
true now. I think while he has been good, I
don't think he has been as good as they need
him to be, But I do feel like making Dylan
Harper a larger focal point of what they want to

(01:37:14):
do offensively would would play to their favor.

Speaker 7 (01:37:18):
Do you think, and I know you've gotta go one
last question, do you think that in the next few
years when they beef probably beef weemby up or he
just naturally beats up more, that he'll be more of
a low post presence.

Speaker 2 (01:37:32):
Maybe you know, modern modern big step out and play
you know, away from the basket more than ever, And
I think that's what makes him unique. But yeah, I
think it's I think it's a fair observation because he
is so slender that he could use some beefing up
that would make him a better low post player. But

(01:37:56):
you know, I mean, there's a lot of modern bigs
out there who aren't necessar barely playing with their back
to the basket anymore. And I think his skillset certainly invites,
you know, him being able to play in a lot
of different spots. But could he use a little bit
more girth?

Speaker 7 (01:38:09):
Absolutely, Dirk, nowhiskey started all this a'ture. He started all
this stuff with it well not really. I can go
back further, but I know you gotta go. Thank you all.

Speaker 2 (01:38:20):
I will do my best. Thanks very much. Uh five
point three seven four nine fifteen thirty will do sports
head lines and talk to more folks. ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (01:38:30):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 2 (01:38:37):
Minz our service at Kelsey Chevalley, home of lifetime power training,
protection and guaranteed credit approval from their family of Yours
for life KELSEYSHEV dot Com, Reds and Padres. Tonight in
San Diego, Red's got swept by the Cardinals Pods. The
Friars have lost eleven out of thirteen. Should be a
great game tonight. Andre Rabbit will throw against Walker Buelllert

(01:38:59):
nine forty tonight it's for his pitch in San Diego.
The game live on seven hundred WLW. Brendan Soresby's injunction
has been granted he could play college football this year.
You see and Texas Tech are gonna play. It is
going to be the homecoming game for the University of
Cincinnati and from a storyline perspective, from the perspective a

(01:39:23):
game of a game having a little bit more juice.
I don't know that U se versus Texas Tech. I
think there would have been a little bit more juice
on that game because there's I guess this sense that
you see did Brendan soresby dirty while he was here
by some Texas Tech fans. I don't necessarily believe that,
but him coming back to play in Nippert Stadium is

(01:39:44):
going to make that game a little bit more fun. Saturday,
October the twenty fourth, and tonight in New York Game
three NBA Finals, Nixon Spurs New York up two games. Tonight.
We have folks, So we have folks who have been
waiting patiently. It's like, wait till the end of the
show to call. I'll try to get to as many
as we can. I'm sure calling to gloat about his

(01:40:05):
Cardinals sweeping the reds Our friend, Bob, Bob, you're on
ESPN fifteen thirty. Congratulations Bob.

Speaker 8 (01:40:12):
For what.

Speaker 2 (01:40:12):
No, I'm sorry, Well, your Cardinals behind Jordan Walker, who
we can never get out, swept the Rads.

Speaker 12 (01:40:19):
Oh, I'm god, you know what. I didn't even pay attention.
Thanks for letting me know.

Speaker 2 (01:40:23):
Very welcome.

Speaker 12 (01:40:25):
Yeah, there was an interesting thing that happened MO. Over
the weekend. However, the Cardinals picked up a guy and
you may know the name, probably better than I do.
I think his last name is Sinja. He's a amma
dexterous pitcher from Seattle.

Speaker 2 (01:40:46):
Javier's Sonoja.

Speaker 6 (01:40:50):
Is that it.

Speaker 12 (01:40:52):
He was a first round pick of the Mariners, I
think two years ago, I believe. Okay, anyway, I think
he's naturally a right hander, but he can also pitch
and has done so with his left arm. And I

(01:41:12):
was just sitting here wandering what would happen, MO if
a switch hitter comes to the plate.

Speaker 2 (01:41:24):
I think the umpire would then have the discretion to
say that once you know, the pitcher has established the
hand that he the arm that he's going to throw.
With that, the hitter then has an opportunity to establish
from which side of the batter's box he's going to
hit on, and then, with the pitch clock in particular,
tell the pitcher to deliver the ball.

Speaker 12 (01:41:48):
You know what, I never I never thought about the
pitch clock thing until you just said it. But the
other part I was kind of curious about, if you know,
if the umpire would even have the ability to do that,
uh yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:42:03):
So, like you're you're talking about a situation where pitcher
has the ball on his left hand, hitter de size
he's going to bat righty, So the pitcher then switches
hands the hitter. I mean, I think the umpire would
have the ability to say, all right, you're gonna throw
with your right arm and you're gonna path from the
left side. Let's go.

Speaker 8 (01:42:24):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 12 (01:42:25):
It just seems to me, it just seems so I
don't know, so so final that the umpire could say
this is what's gonna happen. But you know they're there
for a reason.

Speaker 2 (01:42:35):
Right, Yeah. So, actually, as I look this up, it's
it's the the patn Van Ditti rule. Who is a
guy who began pitching in the minor leagues in two
thousand and eight, and so the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation,
which I've never heard of, created a new rule which
has been adapted into the official Baseball rules that states

(01:42:58):
a pitcher must visually into k to the umpire batter
and runners which way he will be pitching to the batter,
and then once he does that play proceeds as normal
and the you know, the the guy you're talking about here,
that the Cardinals have acquired. Is Jerangelo's SINGENTI Yeah, who

(01:43:19):
was the fifteenth overall pick by the Mariners in twenty
twenty four?

Speaker 12 (01:43:23):
Yeah, and the and the the guy you said the
rules made after what's his name?

Speaker 2 (01:43:28):
Uh, Pat ven Diddy.

Speaker 12 (01:43:32):
So so, I guess people have to ask the question,
what would Ben Diddy do?

Speaker 4 (01:43:39):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (01:43:41):
Yes, hey Mo.

Speaker 12 (01:43:43):
By the way, Trump is going to be in Dulan
sweet tonight.

Speaker 4 (01:43:46):
Oh way.

Speaker 2 (01:43:47):
Is he always watching the game?

Speaker 4 (01:43:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:43:50):
Yeah, cool? Yeah. I hope he sees a win by
his favorite team.

Speaker 6 (01:43:59):
Well, he needs to win.

Speaker 12 (01:44:01):
He's not had many of them. Ley, So, and I
think there is a rumor out there that if San
Antonio wins, he made declare war on them.

Speaker 8 (01:44:11):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:44:12):
So, Bob, thank you, Yes, sir, it is sixteen from
six Mike and Toledo. You're on ESPN. That was that
was a bad job by me with that call from
Bob's Mike from Toledo. You're onesp fifteen thirty.

Speaker 8 (01:44:30):
Hey, well, thanks for flipping Bob in there too, because
I didn't want to Mike from Tinciltown to Mike Glass City.
You know, I mean, I'm just that's a lot of
pressure like that. You know what.

Speaker 2 (01:44:42):
I mean a lot of Mike.

Speaker 8 (01:44:43):
But yeah, anyways, it's what I told Arn on the screen. Oh,
it's exactly what you said. You sprung my old engineering
mind into you said, what are they different from three
years ago? They're not. They're they're the epitome. Those statistics,
they're the epitome. The reds are standard deviation, three sigma up,

(01:45:06):
three sigma down, three sigma up, three sigma down. They've
been that way for not just three years. I went
to Game two MO of the World Series in nineties,
so they've been that way for thirty years. So you
see them at three games. I called Lance last year
and told him and he said, you know what that
is eighty one wins bow. If you're a betting man,

(01:45:27):
they're three up, three down. They'll get you, they'll get
you excited. But you know what when we told the boss, hey,
that was that was a hydraulic machine. Great for a
baseball team. You're exactly right. You don't want that.

Speaker 2 (01:45:42):
Yeah, it's running in place. I mean it's it's it's
operating on treadmill, and you know, and.

Speaker 8 (01:45:46):
Everybody in the bosses saying, hey, great, oh man, that
thing is running. Boy, it's humming Man. Look at that
three up, three down up three Yeah, been that way
more for thirty years.

Speaker 2 (01:45:57):
Well, but but I don't I don't know that an
entire only has because if you look at like, you know,
fifteen through eighteen, they lost ninety four plus every single season.
I mean they're I think they're they're they better down,
better baseball team than they have been for many of
those thirty years. But they're not good enough to be
taken seriously as a contender, and at the end of
the day, that's all that matters.

Speaker 8 (01:46:20):
I would agree with that. But the point you said
earlier about the Dodgers last year, we got we got
no hit. I granted it's Doc holiday, but we get
sucked in both re up redoun always think of that.
We're right on the meme eighty one wins, we're three up,
we're three down. We're not, And why why would we move?
The boss is happy, people are coming in, everything, everything's good.

(01:46:44):
So when you when you said the three years, that's like, what, hey, wait,
that's exactly right. We're no different than we were three
years ago, and unfortunately more we probably ain't going to
be no different than we are three years from now.
If you think about it, what's the US said it,
what's in sight where we bring it up?

Speaker 2 (01:47:03):
Yeah, that's the thing. And in fact, I think there's
a case that can be made that they're going to
be worse because there's they might right, like you know,
this this year was supposed to be the I don't
know the result of getting all those guys through this system,
like Ellie and like Matt McClain and like you know,
even they acquired him from outside, Noelve Martin, all the

(01:47:24):
pitchers they have, and then it was all supposed to
come together in twenty twenty six. And so now you
look at the minor league system and yeah, granted Edwinner
Royo is here, and it's it's not totally tapped, but
there's there's no Ellie Della Cruz waiting in the wings.
There's no Hunter Green waiting in the rings, there's no
Chase Burns waiting in the wings. And so that's you.

(01:47:45):
You look at the team as currently constructed, and it's
who's who's pushing at the minor league level to replace
some of the guys they have right now. And I
don't know that the answer is anybody absolutely done.

Speaker 8 (01:47:57):
I mean, you're right, we have what Alfredo Dunald and
I mean who else?

Speaker 5 (01:48:02):
Who else do we really have?

Speaker 8 (01:48:04):
That? You look, I mean look at the top one
hundred and the sad part is mo you said it,
everybody has said it.

Speaker 5 (01:48:09):
Look and then you look at this.

Speaker 8 (01:48:11):
Year the Brewers, Who's who's drafted at the top and
every year, I mean it's it's not. I mean, I
don't know. I don't know. If you you looked at it,
you said, okay, you're firing Nick krawl I mean, but oh,
it's it's the whole organization. Brother, I mean I would
I would you know, you hear that the bench start cut?

(01:48:32):
I mean in the medical staff. I mean it has
been it's been you know, I've been since seventy six,
so it's been it's been longer that seventy five seventy six.

Speaker 7 (01:48:43):
But it's been a long it's been a long road.

Speaker 8 (01:48:46):
And I don't I just don't see it. We don't
think you give it to Nick Crawley. He found Chase Burns,
he found Red Louder.

Speaker 2 (01:48:54):
I guess not but like not not not exactly turning
over rocks to find you know, hidden.

Speaker 8 (01:49:01):
That's that is correct. I say that those the pitching
those were not. I won't say no brainers, but tell me,
besides Sal Stewart, who do we have I mean, and
who is Nick Crawl drafted a position player outside of
South Stewart.

Speaker 4 (01:49:15):
Who's here?

Speaker 8 (01:49:17):
I mean Spencer Steer, He's.

Speaker 7 (01:49:19):
Everybody's from outside the organization?

Speaker 8 (01:49:20):
Who we drafted organizationally in a position player not only
just an outfielder outfielders?

Speaker 2 (01:49:27):
Huh?

Speaker 5 (01:49:27):
Come on?

Speaker 8 (01:49:28):
I mean right, I mean you look at it. I
mean Matt McLean, Okay, why is Edwin Urara? Yeah?

Speaker 6 (01:49:35):
So?

Speaker 8 (01:49:36):
I mean, ma, I wish it was different, brother, but
always think of it the standard deviation brother, Three up,
three down, and the boss is happy.

Speaker 2 (01:49:45):
It's a good way to put it, Mike. Nice to
hear from you, all right again, see, I hope. So
we'll stay north of town before we get out of here.
Finley John, you're on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 10 (01:49:55):
Hey, Mo, just one thing real quick here. I think
both you and I can take blame for the Reds
recent transgressions. And here's why. As we know, we only
have so much sports karma in our lives that I
think your knicks havept pretty much eating that everything on

(01:50:17):
your side. I'm an Indiana football fan all suffering, and
you can imagine how much how much sports karma that
took up. So I think I think we might be
onto something there, because as we all know, not all
of our sports teams can be great at the same time.
That never happened.

Speaker 2 (01:50:35):
Uh not, not unless you lived in Boston for a
large chunk of the twenty first century. And I feel
like you're correct.

Speaker 10 (01:50:43):
Yeah, that's all I got.

Speaker 8 (01:50:44):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:50:45):
Yeah, I would look, it's it's it's frustrating, and I
it's it's one thing when they're not winning. I think
it's something else about just the disappointment over buying in
three years ago that better times were ahead. And maybe
they are, but it doesn't feel like it. And again, man,

(01:51:07):
if I would have said during the summer of twenty
twenty three that we'll be in the middle of the
summer of twenty twenty six, the Reds will be under
five hundred and we'll still be waiting for them to
win a playoff game, much less advanced than the postseason
for the first time, you would have said, then that's
not gonna work. And that's where we are. It hasn't worked.
Gotta go, uh tomorrow, Danner's gonna join us actually on

(01:51:30):
Wednesday because there's Bengals media availability Tomorrow, Red's padres whatever's
going on down there at Pey Corps Stadium, and maybe
do some NBA Finals Game three reaction. We will see.
Have a great night. Thank you for listening. Thanks to
Tarren Bland for producing. We'll talk to you tomorrow at
three oh five on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports.

Speaker 1 (01:51:48):
Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health
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