The Mo Egger Radio Show -- 7/16/25

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Yeah, do that. What's up? Muager, ESPN. Fifteen thirty Thanks
for joining us Bengals fans who voted got it right.
If you are among the Bengals season ticket holders who
were given an opportunity to vote on the Class of
twenty twenty five Bengals Ring of Honor Class of twenty
twenty five, and you voted for Dave Lapham and Lamar Parrish,

(00:24):
take a bow because you got it right. Those two
men will go into the Ring of Honor on October
the twenty six. We're gonna spend some time on that.
This afternoon show preview is available on Twitter at Moeger.
The show preview is a service of my friends and
yours at Emory Federal Credit Union, your credit Union with
Heart since nineteen thirty nine. Go to EMORYFCU dot Oregon.

(00:48):
While you're there, make sure you sign up for the
Emory Federal Credit Union Golf Outing, which is happening on
August eighteenth at four Bridges Country Club benefiting Cincinnati Children's Charities.
A little bit later on, we're going to be joined
by our buddy Aaron Latham, who is or Aaron Layton,
who's going to tell us about the Reds draft class.
We spent some time on the draft earlier this week.

(01:09):
Aaron's going to join us at five twenty and Danny
Higginbotham in about fifteen minutes. He has got the call
tonight massive tilt on the West end of Cincinnati. FC
Cincinnati hosting Miami Lionel Messi is in town that match
at seven thirty tonight. Danny has the call for Apple
TV on or for MLS. He's in pass on Apple
TV of course, of course, yes, you can listen to

(01:31):
the match live on ESPN fifteen thirty. Congratulations to Dave
Lapham and Lamar Parrish. This is something we have talked
about now for a while. How the the obvious call.
The obvious call was, was Dave Lapham A no brainer?
A no brainer? You know. My take last year was

(01:54):
that it was an embarrassment to the people who voted
that Dave Lapham didn't get in. But there is something
about a nice round number. This will be Dave Lapham's
fiftieth season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Fiftieth season with the team,
Dave Lapham was very good as a player, as versatile
an offensive lineman as has played for the Cincinnati Bengals,

(02:15):
a starter on the eighty one Super Bowl team, twenty
seventh in franchise history in approximate value, played all five positions.
A very good player, Let's be honest. Most of us,
or many of his least many of us at least
know him more for his work as a broadcaster, getting

(02:35):
set for his fourth decade in the Bengals radio booth.
He and Dan Horde makeup is good of a pair
of broadcasters as you will find. And like we know,
we know the Lapham isms, and you've heard the highlights
of like losing his mind behind Dan Horde before. If
you ever listened to a Bengals radio broadcast, and I

(02:59):
know you might watch on TV. If you do, you
should match up the radio broadcast, which is not that
difficult to do. But if you ever just listen to
the ins and outs of the radio broadcast, Dave Lapham
is a terrific broadcaster. I think better than he is
being given credit for, or has been given credit for.
He is somebody who has been an ambassador of this franchise,

(03:19):
a face of this franchise, a commentator for this franchise.
Mister Bengal himself, as Alan Cutler used to call him
and frankly for what it's worth, which should go at
least a ways. Dave Lapham is as nice of a
human being as you will ever meet. He has always
been kind to us on this show. He is somebody
who I am thrilled for. I'm thrilled for his family.

(03:41):
This is so overdue. Here's Dave Lapham earlier today.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Shocking, really, just just to be here really is. It's
mind boggling. When you first start playing the game of
football as a young young kid, you hope you might
be able to make it to the National Football League,
and then if you can make it there, you hope
you can survive a final cut and play, you know,
and then if you can play for a number of years,

(04:08):
that's that's the ultimate dream. And I was very fortunate
to be able to live that ultimate dream as a
as a player with some great football teams. Man we had,
we had a lot of success, uh, and to be
part of that was just just a remarkable experience, something
I'll never forget. And then to be able to be
allowed to broadcast uh National Football League games for the

(04:32):
Cincinnati Bengals in the in the radio broadcast booth is
is like Are you kidding me? That's another dream, two
separate dreams, and to be able to fulfill and live
them both with the Cincinnati Bengals organization is uh is
just incredible in my mind, something I never ever expected

(04:53):
or anticipated. I hoped, certainly hope for it, and now
to be able to, you know, to fulfill that hope.
And I can't thank the Bengals organization enough. The Brown family,
the Blackburn family have been nothing but class to work
with and have given me opportunities that you know are

(05:16):
not given to people in a normal, a normal course
of a career. To be able to work every Sunday
with these guys doing Bengals football, I don't know. I
don't think there's any anybody more fortunate than me. I
think I've got it better than anybody, There's no doubt
about it. Nobody ever be able to convince me otherwise.

(05:39):
And doing exactly what I want to do, who I
want to do it with, and where I want to do.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
It, as humble as you would expect. Dave Lapham earlier
today going into the Bengals Ring of Honor. By the way,
they'll do this at halftime of the Bengals Jets game
on October the twenty sixth. This was an absolute no brainer.
I'll admit to you that I don't know that Lamar
Parris will as a no brainer. I made my second
choice on my ballot. I made it about either Lamar

(06:05):
or Bob Trumpy, and nothing against the other seven men.
I went with the two oldest guys and then I
split hairs. Had Bob Trumpy gotten in, that would have
been awesome. Bob Trumpy is one of my heroes in life.
Lamar Parish, though, I think, was slightly the better player,
an accomplished player. If you look at football references, approximate value,
which is a flawed metric, but it's a metric that

(06:28):
attempts to assign a number to every player that I
think better helps you compare players who played different positions.
Lamar Parrish's approximate value number was higher than everybody on
the ballot, with the exception of Reggie Williams. And again,
Reggie Williams deserves his place in the Ring of Honor
as well. I went with Lamar because he is slightly older.

(06:49):
Lamar Parrish was a remarkable football player, and I think
I heard someone in the office say this today and
I very quickly corrected him. Lamar Parish didn't toil for
a bunch of bad You know, the Bengals didn't make
a Super Bowl until nineteen eighty one. They had some
very good teams in the seventies, made it in their
third seedon made the playoffs in their third season as

(07:09):
a franchise in seventy back to the postseason in seventy
three as a division titleist, back to the postseason, and
seventy five on a team that had an eleven and
three record. Lamar Parris was a big part of those teams.
Six time Pro Bowl selection, owns a number of Bengals records.
Here's Lamar talking earlier today.

Speaker 3 (07:29):
It means the world took me. In fact, hey, this
is a dream.

Speaker 4 (07:36):
I had a dream as a little boy of becoming
the greatest c A player in the world. I had
big dreams as a kid. I came in calls sitting
on the couch with my mother telling her that I

(07:56):
was gonna play football. I was gonna take care of her,
and this honor me is the world to me. I
put in a lot of work by the time, a
lot of fear I'm not producing and not being the
best that I was capable man, so to have been

(08:18):
chosen me, it's the world to me, and I'm great.
But I'm thankful for this committee for recognizing to things
that have done.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
Leaping Lamar Parrish, six time pro bowler in the Bengals
Ring of Honor with Dave Lapham October the twenty sixth.
If you voted and you voted for those two, you
got it right. If you voted and didn't vote for
those two, you obviously are voting for players who were
deserving for my money. Dave Lapham was a no brainer
and Lamar Parrish pretty damn close. Congratulations to both. It

(08:49):
is awesome. It is awesome the Bengals do this. If
for no other reason, then you're gonna have fans. Look,
I'm not old enough to have watched Lamar Parrish. I
am enough of a Bengles history nerd that I am
intimately familiar with his career. But what I like about this,
and I think this has happened with some of the
guys who have already gotten in, is you will have
younger fans who go out of their way to learn

(09:10):
about a player like Lamar Parish. And that can't be
anything but good. So we talk a lot about the
Bengals Ring of Honor and what it should look like,
and what the voting should be and who should be
on the ballot, and how can they make it better
and why did it takes so long? All very reasonably
fair discussions to have Dave Lapham and Lamar Parrish belong in.

(09:33):
Dave Lapham again, no brainer. I'm thrilled for him. Lamar
Parish pretty damn close to a no brainer, thrilled for him.
Those two men will get their moment on October the
twenty sixth. I could not be happier, like personally for
Dave Lapham, like legitimately among the top five nicest people
I've ever met in this profession. I think we did

(09:54):
that topic one day right, First team all nice person,
Dave Lapham first teamer without question in the Joe Sunderman
wing of nice people I've met in this industry, and
I've never had the pleasure of meeting Lamar Parrish. But
I'm thrilled for him and thrilled, thrilled for that era
of Bengals football. The next step is next year. This

(10:16):
is very very simple. Take the other seven guys put
him in next year, I get pushed back to that
every time I bring it up. I do not care.
It's your ring of honor if you run, if you
own the Bengals, it's your ring of honor. It's awesome
these two guys get in. It's silly that we're making
Bob Trumpy wait, he's eighty years old. It's ridiculous. We're

(10:37):
making Jim breechway. It's ridiculous. We're making James Brooks wait.
And it will be even more ridiculous if we start
to put those guys on the same ballot as players
like Geno Atkins, AJ Green and Andrew Whitworth, among others.
Do the right thing. Take those seven guys, put him
in next year, start fresh in twenty twenty seven. RecA,

(11:00):
celebrate your criteria, change how you do the voting, Shrink
the ballot, put some coaches on. Whatever you do. Those
seven men who have been on the ballot now since
twenty twenty one each deserving. They deserve a chance to
go in, and they deserve to go in next year

(11:20):
without going on any more ballots and having to wait
even further. Dave Lapham a no brainer. Lamar Parrish pretty
damn close at least on this ballot. It is a
no brainer. Next year put in the other seven. Then
let's start fresh in twenty twenty seven. Our phone numbers
are five one, three, seven, four, nine, fifteen thirty at
eight sixty six, seven oh two, three, seven, seven six.

(11:42):
Calls on this week's show have been awesome. Speaking of awesome, Leonoi,
it's going to be a bluout tonight downtown or on
the West end of Cincinnati is FC Cincinnati hosts Lionel
Messi and Enter Miami. This is a huge match and
FC Cincinnati trying to bounce back after the breaking loss
on Saturday night. Calling the match on MLS Season Pass

(12:04):
on Apple TV. As somebody who always answers whenever we
ask him to come on, he has a big call tonight,
kind enough to give us a few minutes, the great
Danny Higginbotham. It's good, Hey Danny, how are you?

Speaker 5 (12:15):
I'm very well.

Speaker 6 (12:16):
Thanks Mo. How are you doing?

Speaker 1 (12:17):
I'm doing well.

Speaker 6 (12:18):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
The the air, I will admit for me, has come
out of the balloon a little bit in all the
excitement for this match because of what happened in the
second half on Saturday Night.

Speaker 5 (12:28):
Yeah, the good things can happen. I remember we were
we were actually covering Saint Louis on Sunday, so I
was able to see the game and I was having
some food and I was I was watching the scores
as they were coming in and to find Cincinnati tun
look after what six or seven minutes, it was like, wow,
it was incredible.

Speaker 6 (12:45):
It was an unbelievable start.

Speaker 5 (12:46):
But you know, we know that Columbus, obviously great rivals
of Cincinnati, are a very very good team. And I
just think that Cincinnati, to a sinness then probably went
away from their game plan.

Speaker 6 (12:57):
And when we went to and looked for you know what,
not saying.

Speaker 5 (13:00):
They thought it was going to be EAI, but they thought,
you know, let's hold on to the lead instead of
really trying to extend it. And you know, I think
you look back at these situations and I'm not saying
that any Cincinnati plan we're looking at now obviously with
with the defeat coming to you know, the rivals in Columbus,
but this could be sort of a blessing disguise later

(13:20):
on in the season, maybe just maybe just a little
reminder of you know, things aren't going to be easy,
because you know, Cincinnati had been in a really good run,
so you expect to see a response, and I think
there will be a response. You know, I think Pat
Newnan's an amazing manager. I think he's got a really
good group of players, and you know, they'll hopefully from

(13:41):
their side of things, they able to put that behind them.

Speaker 1 (13:43):
Tonight, Lionel Messi comes in with a league record five
consecutives multiple goal games. Evander has been a godsend for
FC Cincinnati. If you if you want star power for
a broadcast, Dany, You've got it tonight.

Speaker 5 (13:58):
Yeah, we have, you know, arguable the two best number
tens in MLS, without question, the greatest even number ten
I think in world football in Messi, and he's just
gone up on the level. I think, you know, we've
covered Miami a lot this season, and he just he
just grabbed. He just grabs games, grabs him and then
just takes them where he wants to take them. And

(14:18):
you know, I've been asked many times, how do you
stop a player like Messi. The answer is you cannot
stop him. You have to cut the supply line off
to him. It's a simple dap because when he gets
the ball then it's big trouble. And I think for
a Vander, I think he's he's proven to be everything
and more. You know, since he signed, he's got thirteen
goals and eight assists, including six goals in glass four games,

(14:39):
and he's just he's been a difference making. You know,
for so long, we know since Anatty with a Coster
as the number ten and what he did for the club,
and I think there's there's no reason whatsoever why Evander
can't be that player as long. I think he's shown
already this season that you know, when the big games
come around, he's the player that turns up, whether it
different goals inside the bottom, the records that he's scoring

(15:01):
with goals outside the box. Is just an incredible talent.
And I think the hope for Pat noon and everybody
it's cin tonat is he takes this team to the
next level.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
What is your assessment of FC Cincinnati season today.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
I think obviously there's a little bit of a slow star,
a little bit of slow burn. I think you know,
when you lose a player like a cost it and
take a little bit of adjustment. I think the fact
that Vand has come in and he's hit the ground running.
Den K has come in.

Speaker 6 (15:28):
You know, you've got you've got a few new.

Speaker 5 (15:29):
Plays, you've got injuries and some key positions as well.
I think Wolverardo has been has been.

Speaker 7 (15:33):
A huge miss.

Speaker 5 (15:34):
I think in football in general, we talk about the
goal scorers, we talk about the goal the goal creators.
We don't necessarily talk about defense in midfielders. But for me,
they're one of the most important players in any team
in any league in the world, and they thinking in
roverdo He in my opinion, is one of the best
defense in midfielders in the league. And I think that
he's missed great because of what he brings to the

(15:55):
team and he does. He does a lot of the
dirty work that I guess goes unnoticed by people who
may just want to see the really flamboyant side of
the game, if that makes sense. And you know, but
what I would say about cincinnat is just off a
look at the league table. I think the Eastern Conference
this season, in my opinion, is going to be the
most competitive that I've ever known it. I think there's

(16:17):
an argument for probably five or six seams by dating
that they could finish at the top. And that's why
I think games like tonight are so big because the
gap is so small between these five or six teams
at the top of the league.

Speaker 1 (16:29):
From your perspective, and when Lionel Messi went to Miami,
we talked about how huge this was going to be
for Major League Soccer. Now that we have a large
sample size of him playing for Miami, has he had
the expected effect.

Speaker 6 (16:43):
All and more?

Speaker 5 (16:44):
Without question, without question and more. People anybody that thought
that he was coming here for, you know, a way
to finish off his career and relax, couldn't be couldn't
be more wrong if they tried. Like I say, I've
covered him on numerous occasions this season, and I remember
one game they got de by Orlando three erlo at
home and after the meeting, sorry, after the game, Messi

(17:07):
and Suarez they call the meeting players only, and if
you look for the results, since that Orlando lost, they
took that personally because they're run. Since then, has been
incredible defensively, they got stronger. Attacking wise, they are so efficient,
and that is partly down or largely down to Messi.

Speaker 7 (17:24):
He's just incredible.

Speaker 5 (17:25):
And you always think to yourself, and you're covering a
team a lot, you're thinking yourself, right, Okay, Well, I'm
gonna have to think of something different to say this week,
and you're not gonna have to look at it from
another angle this week. You never have to, because he
without fail, produces every single game, whether it be goals,
whether it be assists, whether it be skills, he's just

(17:45):
he is just everything and more than I would have
thought anybody expected when he came to this league, because
he's just been it's been absolutely phenomenal. As you quite
rightly said. You know, he's got eleven goals in his
last six m the less games, which is including two
goals and eat of his last five games. That in
itself is incredible, and you know there's there's so many

(18:06):
more records that he's probably going to break this season
as well. He's just he's a player that you just
you run out of words to talk about because you've
used every word.

Speaker 6 (18:16):
You've used every word.

Speaker 5 (18:17):
He's just he's he's a sensational playing The one thing
that I would say about him this evening, if anybody
is watching the game, whether you're at the stadium, whether
you're watching it on TV, I know he's unbelievable when
he's on the ball, but just watch what he does
off the ball, because, in my opinion, when I look
at him when he gets hold of the ball, that

(18:38):
the easiest part of the game to him. That's the
twenty percent. It's the eighty percent that he's done before
when three or four players are trying to mark him,
when teams are sitting deep against him, how he somehow
manages to find space on such a crowded pit, in
such a crowded area, He's like, first ten to fifty
minutes of games, it's like he has a fat man.

Speaker 7 (19:00):
Just in his brain.

Speaker 5 (19:01):
He's a genius, and it's like, Okay, he's mapping out
where the areas are in the pitch, where he can
find freedom, where he can find space. And every time
he receives the ball, you look at him, you think, wow,
he's found himself in five to ten y out of space.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
How is that?

Speaker 6 (19:17):
That's because of what he was doing fifteen seconds before
he received the ball.

Speaker 5 (19:20):
He's he's just an unbelievable, phenomenal one off football. He's
in my opinion, it was never a debate for me,
but when I've seen him up close in person now,
even at the age that he's at, he's the greatest
ever football I've seen.

Speaker 1 (19:37):
If I wasn't already going to watch tonight, you just
convinced me it's going to be a lot of fun time.
That's the idea. That's why you join us. The great
Danny Higgabotham FC Cincinnati hosting inter Miami tonight seven thirty
MLS Season pass. I know you have a broadcast to
prep for. I cannot thank you enough. We love having
you on, Danny.

Speaker 7 (19:57):
Thanks so much, my pleasure, most thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
Stake that night one of the absolute best. Danny Higgobotham
MLS Season Pass, Apple TV and of course you could
listen to the match on ESPN fifteen thirty three thirty
on ESPN fifteen thirty. Is that is that really? Andy
Furman online?

Speaker 6 (20:14):
One?

Speaker 2 (20:16):
I think it is.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
I have to get a break in. Will Andy get
mad if we do the break and then take his
phone call? He's been hanging around throughout the entire interview.

Speaker 7 (20:27):
It's one of these why not, It's.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
One of we talk about, like my one of my
heroes in the business is calling this. I hope I'm
not going about to get yelled at. Sports headlines are next.
ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati Sports station. Sports Headlines are a
service at Kelsey chevrod Lay, home of lifetime powertrain protection
and guarantee credit approval from their family to yours for
life at Kelsey chef dot com. Dave Lapham and Lamar

(20:50):
Parrish will be added to the Bengals Ring of Honor
when the Bengals host the Jets on October the twenty
sixth at the venue originally known as Paul Brown Stadium.
Bengals training camp starts a week from today, so does
the Tonian Mode Training Camp Show Live from Bengals Training Camp,
starting at ten am, the All Star Break rolls on
for the Reds. They're off to New York tomorrow to

(21:11):
start a three game series against the Mets that begins
on Friday night. And you just heard our chat with
Danny higginbotam FC Cincinnati hosting Inner Miami Tonight. Pregame coverage
on ESPN fifteen thirty begins at seven o'clock. I can't
believe he waited to the break, Andy Furman, what's up?

Speaker 8 (21:30):
What else am I gonna do? I love listening to you.
I'm so happy to hear your voice. You know I
love you, But I had a call. I had a couples.
I am so happy for Dave Laplam. He's been so
unhelded fromout his career. He just does his job. He's
the nicest guy in the world. I love it to death.
But you, you Moager, are spot on when you say
about those seven guys for next year, because if the

(21:52):
Bengals learned anything about the Dave park of passing, because
he can't get into the gates of Cooperstown because he passed,
he needs to get those guys in next year.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
You know, Ken Riley went in and it was deserved
and it was great, but he wasn't there for it.
And he went into cant a few years ago and
his son gave a great, eloquent, moving speech and it
was I was thrilled for his family. It was heartbreaking
that Ken Riley wasn't there. I watched when Ron Santo
got inducted into Cooperstown same year as Barry Larkin. His wife,
his widow, gave a great moving speech. It wasn't the

(22:23):
same because he wasn't there. Dave Parker next Sunday is
going to go into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
I am relieved that he died knowing that he was
going to get in. It is sad beyond belief that
he's not going to be there for it. I hate
the idea of making people wait to the point that
when they finally do get honored, they're not there. I
don't want that to happen with any of these other guys.

(22:45):
God love him. I hope he lives forever. Bob Trump,
he is eighty years old. Some of these guys are
in their seventies. Lamar Parrish seventy seven. Why are we
making them wait?

Speaker 8 (22:55):
You're thousand percent correct, and he is the deloso if
Pete Rose mayivest at Peace told me this, when you're
on the ballot, any ballot, any hall of fame, and
you don't get in, that's it.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
You're off.

Speaker 8 (23:06):
Of course, you don't get any better as the ballats continue.
That's the name of the game. The guys on the
ballot pull an end.

Speaker 5 (23:12):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (23:12):
Well, and let's face that most many people, if not most,
who are voting are younger, and so when they start
to put on Geno Atkins and Andrew Whitworth and AJ
Green and some of the more contemporary players, just it's
it's natural that a lot of those folks who saw
those guys play, they're gonna vote for them ahead of
Jim Reach or David Fulcher or James Brooks or or

(23:34):
or players they didn't see. It is it is irrational.
It is unfair to put some of these players from
the seventies and eighties on a ballot against guys who
just played a few years ago that fans naturally are
going to default to because they remember them playing.

Speaker 8 (23:49):
There's no doubt about that. As speaking on another term,
Ronald to him moving to another lane, if I may,
when I talk about these mount Rushmore and this is
the time of year when people am like yourself, but
people in this business get a little lazy and they
just want to throw something out there, like who's better,
you know, Lebron or MJ and things like that, and
they say the most dominant player. They don't realize that
Kareem basically was a scoring champion before Lebron, all right,

(24:13):
and I can't it. You know, he played more years
Lebron did. But you know, let's face it, these guys
who talk about them now haven't done that homework. They
probably never saw or heard of Will Chamberlain, who I
though was the most dominant player in basketball because he
did average fifty plus a game one year.

Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, you know, I think there are a lot of
folks who act like a particular league began when they
started following it, and that's something we've tried to avoid
that here, right, I'm not going to go in great
detail about players who played in the seventies, but I'm
also not going to be ignorant of them. And so
I'm glad fans got it right here with Lamar Parrish.

(24:50):
I certainly believe they got it right with Dave Lapham.
But yeah, I mean, you and I both know there
are people who you know, they'll they're They're likely to
default to players they have seen, or players they follow
on social media and not even give the time of
day to players that they never saw, and that's unfortunate.

Speaker 8 (25:08):
Well, I appreciate the time. I don't want to know
you anymore. I'm in the showroom right now that sales
is coming over to me. I'm getting a price on
a batmobile, so I'll see. I'll keep you later on,
all right, God bless you you great advice.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
Hell love, I can't I can't believe this is awesome.
Andy Furman, Thank you very much. One do you talk
about like hero in life? That is it's you're not
supposed to be speechless when you do sports talk radio.
Somebody who has done it at the level that he
has and continues to do it calling this show. Are
you kidding me? Are you kidding me? That was pretty awesome?

(25:44):
More of your phone calls here in just a bit.
We have spent no time on the All Star Game
so far. The All Star Game, I take it for
what it is. It's just supposed to be a fun
night celebrating baseball. And last night baseball and Fox did
that look as critical of the home run derby. The
home run Derby was poorly presented. It was too confusing,

(26:06):
it wasn't shot well. The All Star Game itself, I
thought was a really good night for Major League Baseball.
It was a compelling game. Right we had a tie
after nine innings. You had a great comeback by the
American League. Andrew Abbott was terrific last night, or as
Joe Davis on Fox called him, this Abbot guy. The
presentation was fun. You know, they mike up players and

(26:30):
they interview him and that's kind of hit or miss.
But you really can't control how good that's gonna be.
The Hank Aaron tribute was absolutely awesome, and the Kyle
Schwarber three home runs in the swing off performance was terrific.
The swing off itself was great. Good night for Major
League Baseball, and I think more than anything, and I

(26:50):
mentioned this as critical as a lot of us were
about the home run derby, both that event and the
game last night, I think should illustrate for all of
baseball's ills. It's in a really healthy place. From a
player perspective, there are so many interesting, fun and really
really fun to watch players, either in their prime or

(27:12):
just entering their prime. Like I heard Jeff Passen say this,
I was listening to the ESPN Radio MLB All Star
Game pregame show and he was talking about show, Hey
Otani and Aaron Judge. I look, man, I know those
are big market players. A lot of people don't like
the Yankees, a lot of people don't like the Dodgers,
But like, we're talking about transcending dudes. Here, We're talking

(27:32):
about like two of the biggest stars in the sport
in twenty five years. And then you just go down
the line and look at all the really young players
who are just entering their own who are all stars,
some of whom are doing historically great things. Like cal
Raley plays in Seattle, and so maybe you don't watch him,
maybe you know the nickname. He's a great catcher and
awesome player, a prodigious home run hitter. This sport's in

(27:55):
a really good place now. One thing we do have
to address. The swing off was a blast. We do
not need it in the regular season. We don't need
regular season games being decided by the swing off. First

(28:16):
of all, Like on an annual basis, anywhere from nine
to eleven percent of Major League Baseball games go to
extra innings on a given night. So on Friday night,
we're gonna have fifteen games, right, thirty teams, fifteen games.
The odds are there's gonna be an extra innings game
on Friday night, and then odds are there's gonna be

(28:38):
an extra innings game on Saturday. Then we're gonna have
probably an extra inning game on Sunday. The novelty of
the swing off would wear off by the end of
this weekend. If Major League Baseball today said, you know what,
at the end of nine innings, we're doing a swing
off by the end of the weekend, the novelty would

(28:58):
wear off. Also, do we want regular season baseball games
decided by how good the first base coach is at
throwing batting practice like that last night in the All
Star Game and exhibition was a lot of fun. We
don't need baseball's version of a shootout deciding regular season games.

(29:22):
I mean, first of all, as dumb as I think
it is that we have the silly extra inning rule
where the guy starts on second base like the Reds.
This year, their longest game has been eleven innings. Now,
let's be honest, and a lot of folks will shake
their heads at this. Prior to the magic Runner rule,
we didn't exactly have an epidemic of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen
eighteen inning games. Most extra inning games were still ending

(29:45):
before the twelfth inning. But I'll grant you the magic
Runner rule has increased the likelihood the game is gonna
end early. We don't need the swing off to ensure
that we're not having games go teen seventeen eighteen innings,
because now they're not. They really weren't before. It was fun,

(30:05):
but what made it fun is it was different. Keep
it in the All Star Game. Let's not make that
happen in the regular season. Part of it is the
component here, right, Do we want Colin Cowgill, the Reds
first base coach, helping to determine or whoever throws batting
practice helping to determine big regular season games? We do not.

Speaker 6 (30:28):
Now.

Speaker 1 (30:28):
The one thing from last night I'll be happy to
steal is and not steal, just implement is the ABS
system for balls and strikes. As a general rule, Whenever
I hear someone suggests in any sport that we should
expand replay, I typically shake my head. I'm a human
element guy more than anything, I don't want any more interruptions.

(30:52):
Replay to me, is too intrusive. College basketball is the worst.
The number of times we've got to go to them
and there's the two officials looking at the monitor, and
now we've got to go bring the third guy in
and talk to him and the referee. He's got his
finger on the wheelie thing, so we can go to
the exact tenth of a second and look at the
exact frame where a ball may or may not have

(31:13):
hit there is like, for the love of God, let's
go The NFL is nearly as bad. Baseball interruptions aren't
as bad, but they're still intrusive. The ABS system is
not intrusive. There is no reason that Lee Camp Lee
can't be implemented asap, maybe as soon as Friday. It's
just like tennis, and I was glad we got it

(31:35):
in the first inning last night. There was the ABS.
It was called for. They showed the pitch, the call
was made. It took fifteen seconds. I'll sign up for
anything that gets the calls correct that isn't intrusive. The
ABS system is not intrusive. Twelve minutes away from four o'clock,

(31:56):
I need I need help as it relates to a
theme from yesterday's show. I'll explain what it is coming
up in the four o'clock hour on ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station six. From four, this is ESPN fifteen thirty.
I'm oegar. If you missed Paul Dayner Junior on our

(32:17):
show yesterday, you should go listen to him because we
talked about the franchise survey that he does every year.
In a few minutes on Shamar Stewart in some training
camp storylines and quarterback and so much more and if
you missed it, I'm not going to be mad at
you for not listening, but I will be upset if
you don't go listen to it on the podcast page
at ESPN fifteen thirty dot com, or better yet, why

(32:38):
don't you go to the iHeartRadio app and look for
ESPN fifteen thirty look for me punch in my Name
said both as presets, and listen to the interview, Listen
to the entire conversation, and so much more. Podcasts of
this show are a service of long necks with three
locations and Wilder, Hebrin and Richwood an awesome place to
post up on a beautiful summer night, even if we

(33:00):
are expecting some rain. According to the official meteorologist of
this show, Jennifer Ketchmark, who by the way, is asking
for video submissions so she could do like personal life forecasts.
And I submitted a video for her to give me
a personalized forecast for last night, and she never gave
me one. What's up with that? There is something about

(33:24):
one of yesterday's themes that I want to touch on.
I did not get a chance to talk about this yesterday,
even though I was gonna our buddy Jason Williams, the
sports columnist esteemed sports columnists for The Inquirer, writes that
the Reds are boring. Go read it if you want.

(33:44):
Here's my take on that the Reds baseball team is
not boring. I don't know how any team with Ellie
de la Cruz could be considered boring. I think they
play a pretty entertaining style of ball. I think they
have a lot of players who are easy to root for.
I think their games are mostly interesting. I think the

(34:05):
year in and year out theme of are they buyers
or are they sellers? Or is ownership really gonna do
everything it can to win? I think those topics get exhausting.
If that means being a Reds fan equals boredom, then fine.
I think there's two different things here. I think the

(34:27):
Reds baseball team is actually the opposite of boring. I
think some of the same themes presenting themselves every single
year are exhausting, and exhaustion can lead to boredom. Coming
up on four o'clock on ESPN fifteen thirty. Thanks for
doing that. It's three minutes after four ESPN fifteen to thirty. Moeger,

(34:49):
thanks so much for listening. Today. We've had a busy
first hour this show. Aaron Layton a little bit later
on on the baseball draft, so you can have informed
of opinions about the draft that you may or may
not be happy about. Also more on the Bengals ring
of Honter and I have a I have a question
for some who took a stance yesterday that I don't

(35:12):
necessarily agree with. That here in a bit and uh
also Wes Miller later on this hour. West talked earlier today.
The best of that is he kind of gives an
off season primer on all things you see basketball as
we inch closer to a season that I cannot wait for.
Speaking of waiting, I'm not going to make him wait anymore. Mike.
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty. Mike, what's up?

Speaker 8 (35:35):
Well?

Speaker 5 (35:36):
I tell you what.

Speaker 6 (35:37):
That was the coolest thing that Andy called Andy your show.
I almost crafted. I almost went my pants.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
I'm glad you. I'm glad you maintained your continence.

Speaker 6 (35:51):
We that guy. First of all, what a wonderful human being.
More than he and his wife. Wendy's a beautiful woman,
school teacher. I'm sure she's retired by now, but way
back in the day. I used to, you know, listen
to Cincinnati sports talk like I do you And it

(36:13):
was first Trumpy and then it was found with Andy.
Andy turned sports talk into entertainments. Yes, in a big way.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
I've always said that. Yeah, no, you're right. I mean
as a radio host, and I was lucky enough to
work closely with Andy just a little tiny bit. I
think he is one of the greatest showmen in the
history of this business. And I think he and Dan
Patrick are and I've said this to Andy's face, I

(36:47):
think he and Dan Patrick are the best two interviewers
I've ever heard, the best two interviewers I have ever heard.
Could interview anybody and make them come off as interesting,
could interview anybody and get something out of them that
benefited the audience the best. And I hope he's listening,

(37:08):
and I hope he heard me say that.

Speaker 6 (37:10):
Boy, that is some big accolades, but you know he
deserves it. And so it's Dan Cincinnati and Dan's and
the Cincinnati guy too.

Speaker 3 (37:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (37:19):
I mean Andy's not from here, obviously, but he's been
here for I don't know, fifty years now or something
like forty years. But yeah, I used to start listening
to him, and and I had you on, and I was,
you know, hoping to get on, and then I heard
you say Andy Farman, and I thought, well, you were
just making a comment about Andy Farnman for sum reason,

(37:40):
and then you said you were having him on. I oh,
my god. It was so cool because I listened to
him sometimes watch Fox. But Andy and I got really tight,
and uh, uh, there there's a family. Uh there was
a family. Well, there's so around called the the warm Brothers,

(38:01):
who were big real estate developers in and around Cincinnati,
and Andy was close to them, and they were big
fans of Andy. So they wanted to open a sports
sports bar restaurant bar over in Norwood at the corner
of Montgomery and I can't remember the name of the
cross street, but right there, right in the heart of Norwood.

(38:25):
And so Andy and I had gotten to be friends,
and he knew I had a background in food and beverage,
and so if they asked me if I wanted to
manage the restaurant, and so yeah, yeah, So we had
a grand and you can verify this with a phone
called Andy. We had a grand opening, and I never
worked so hard in my life for a couple of years,

(38:49):
a lot of hours and stuff, but it was just
so it was just so much fun because it was
a sports talk environment and guys, a lot of guys
would come in like Collins work and you and yours
and different guys it And of course I was in
the back mostly doing doing the management stuff. But I
just thank you so much for I know what you

(39:10):
didn't plan it, but just wonderful. But he thinks enough
for you to call see that's what's beautiful about this.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
Well that's you know, for me, that's the neat part. Uh,
you know, And whenever a broadcaster of that stature tells
me that they have listened to this show for even
a couple of minutes, it it doesn't make any sense
to me. Sometimes And when you have somebody wants to
call him be a participant. Well, and that's that's the
absolute best.

Speaker 6 (39:35):
That was.

Speaker 1 (39:35):
That was that was a treat that made that that
made my day.

Speaker 6 (39:40):
I can tell it cuts off guard a little bit.
And of course he did you know you're thinking it
was was it Andy Ferman did a call or hank
eron you know.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
Well it's not gonna be hank but yes, I understand.

Speaker 6 (39:53):
The point I got you. I thought the All Star
Game last night, I gave it five stars, three and
a half hours of really good entertainment. We can nitpick
it all day long, but it was innovative, it was entertaining,
The game was good, the players were having fun. Everything
about it, though, was just awesome.

Speaker 1 (40:14):
It was a really nice It was a really nice
display of what baseball can be. It was a competitive game.
It's a fun game. The players were having a lot
of fun. You know. Fox did some things that brought
the viewer closer, uh and tried some things that didn't work,
but that's okay. You got a sort of a novelty
ending that a lot of people talked about. That was

(40:37):
a that was a good night of As much as
I thought they screwed up the home run derby, what
baseball and what Fox did last night, I thought was
that was a really good TV product.

Speaker 6 (40:47):
I thought the exact same thing. And I know there
was a lot of controversy about Kershaw on whether he
deserves is uh commemoration whatever, But but his interactions the
catcher was so cool because he kept saying, Okay, I'm
gonna throw some cheese.

Speaker 9 (41:03):
Though.

Speaker 1 (41:06):
Yeah, it was really he.

Speaker 6 (41:07):
Goes no, no, no, no, cheese gonna be a slider
if it wasn't that fun. Yeah, it was really fun.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Yeah, it's it's why that All Star Game. And I
think most who just love all sports would agree. It's
why baseball has the best All Star game because it
can let its hair down and it could subject itself
to things that you're not gonna have during the regular season.
But at the end of the day, the guys compete.
It still resembles the regular season product. The NBA does not,

(41:34):
the NFL doesn't even try to play football anymore. Baseball
it looks like a regular season baseball game, but with
its hair down a little bit. And I think that's
why it's a good product, and it helps, like you know,
baseball fans and I can fall into this trap. Baseball
fans love to complain about things at a given time,
no matter what they are. Financial, inequity, the way the

(41:58):
game is presented, rule changes, all these different things. Baseball
has a lot of problems. Its biggest problem is not
baseball players, because there's a ton of them that are interesting,
fun to root for, and that I think they I
think they've got to do a better job of marketing
some of those players. I think they've got to do

(42:18):
a better job of presenting more of those players to
the public. But this sport is really really healthy when
it comes to interesting and fun talent to watch.

Speaker 6 (42:27):
And all I can say is I've been really blessed
to be privileged enough to listen to guys like Andy
Furman and you over all these years.

Speaker 1 (42:36):
So well, I don't I'm not in that category by
any stretch.

Speaker 6 (42:41):
Yeah, sure, you're really good. And Andy, if you're listening,
I'm gonna give you a call.

Speaker 1 (42:46):
I bet you he would like that. Mike, Thanks, Thanks
very much. Andy Furman calling this show was cool. I
don't think that's the first time he's done that, but
that was Uh, that was unexpected and it was neat
My favorite. My favorite moments with Andy when he worked
here was when I started doing this, I would produce

(43:12):
remote broadcasts, so if a show went out somewhere. I
did this for Lance and for Bob Trumpy, and I
did a lot of these for Andy. Every year they
would make him broadcast from the Hunting and Fishing show. Now,
if you love hunting and fishing, that's awesome doing a
show from the Hunting and fishing shows has built in

(43:34):
limitations if you're trying to appeal to a massive sports
talk radio audience. But he would broadcast from there. And
while I have certainly no issue with anybody who likes
to hunt or fish, neither are a pastime that I
would choose to pursue. And so we would do a
show from out there, and I'm like, all right, three
hours of hunting and fishing talk. The content's not going

(43:54):
to be for me. And it turned into absolutely every
single year in January every year my favorite broadcast to
be a part of, because Andy would make it so
fun and he would figure out a way to make
that broadcast work and include people in the audience that
weren't necessarily into hunting and fishing. And it was always

(44:16):
like the one show that I would like demand that
I get a chance to be a part of. I
could not do that Andy could, and it was awesome.
Thirteen after four five point three seven four nine fifteen
thirty is our our phone number. We've talked a lot
about Dave Lapham and Lamar Parish today. Both deserved, both deserving,

(44:38):
both having their name put up at uh the Stadium
down on the River this year. The venue formerly known
as Paul Brown Stadium as members of the Bengals Ring
of Honor, and it's awesome, And so you don't want
the conversation to drift too far from those two guys,
because I think it's awesome today that Lamar Parrish is

(44:59):
being talked, and I think it's awesome today that Dave
Lapham's contribution to the Bengals is being talked about, quality
of work as a broadcaster, Lamar Parrish playing in six
Pro Bowls, Dave Lapham's playing career, and two of those men,
both those men long overdue for Ring of Honor induction.

(45:19):
I'm thrilled for them. I think it's fascinating to see
what the Bengals do next. You know, we had somebody
who called this show a month ago, maybe a little
bit more than a month ago, who just thought like
the idea of just putting all these guys in the
Bengals Ring of Honor watered it down. So what Pittsburgh
Steelers have fifty four people in their Hall of Honor,

(45:40):
half of them aren't in canon, Like it's there does
have to be some level of accomplishment. Not everybody who
had a couple of good games not everybody who had
a couple of good seasons is going to be given
Ring of Honor status. I don't know though, if you
look at the men who are on the ballot who

(46:01):
haven't gotten in yet, I don't know how you tell them.
Number one, you have to keep waiting, like you had
to wait for decades to get on the ballot because
we didn't have a ring of hotter. Now you've been
on the ballot, we're acknowledging your Ring of Honor worthy.
We're gonna make those guys wait even longer? Why and

(46:28):
if you and the Bengals They sent out a survey
to season ticket holders a few weeks ago, kind of
asking for input like how should this look moving forward?
And one of the things they asked was what names
would you like to see on the ballot? Putting James
Brooks on the same ballot as AJ Green is not
fair to James Brooks. Not because James Brooks wasn't an

(46:49):
awesome player. And by the way, you talk about somebody
that I would love to watch in twenty twenty five offenses,
it's James Brooks. Fans under forty I just I know
how this works. Going to be more likely to vote
for aj Green because they watched them, or they're gonna
be more likely to vote for Geno Atkins instead of
Jim Breach, or they're gonna be more likely to vote

(47:09):
for Andrew Whitworth instead of Bob Trumpy. So the right
thing to do here is acknowledge we've made these men
wait long enough. We're putting them up there. Putting up
some of those names is not gonna dilute the field
of names that's already up there. It's not gonna lessen
the honor. It's a ring of honor. It's not ring

(47:32):
of Hall of Fame player, it's not Ring of NFL Greatness.
It's people who have brought honor to the franchise, made
significant contributions, have have had an impact in the city.
Like lots of different criteria here, we're gonna do Dave
Parker in Cooperstown a week from Sunday, and as a

(47:56):
huge Dave Parker fan, I'm excited to watch the ceremony.
My understanding is his wife Kelly, is going to give
the induction speech. I think it's awesome that Dave Parker
knew when he passed I'm in Cooperstown. I think it
sucked beyond belief that he had to wait so long
that he had Parkinson's and passed before he could actually

(48:18):
get on stage and get his plaque. And I've used
this episode. I've used this example many times. Ken Riley
and Canton a few years ago. His son's speech was
poignant and thorough and touching, and he did an awesome job.
It was sad beyond belief that Ken Riley wasn't there.

(48:42):
Pete Rose may Or may not get to Cooperstown. I
hate to say this. My guess is he doesn't. But
if he does, I think that's gonna be a sad occasion.
Why because he ain't gonna be there for it. So
I can't help but wonder what's the point. I just
I don't want to repeat of that here. I don't

(49:04):
want to repeat of that with any of these guys.
Some are older than others. Bob Trumpy is eighty. Reggie
Williams has had, you know, different health issues. I don't
know about the health status of any of these other guys,
or talking about guys in their sixties, We're talking about
guys in their seventies. We're talking about a guy in
Bob Trumpy who's eighty. Let's do the right thing by
these guys. Put them all in next year and have

(49:25):
them join names like Dave Lapham and Lamar Parrish. Those
two guys get October twenty sixth, and it's deserved. Dave
Lapham was an absolute no brainer. I put my ballot.
I put a picture of my ballad on Twitter, because
you know, you can find anybody who believes something on Twitter,
like you you can find people who believe the Earth
is flat on Twitter. I got pushed back from some

(49:47):
not a lot, like, really, fifty years of the organization
is not good enough, Dave Lapham, Really, of course it is.
He's deserving. Lamar Parrish, Hell yeah, put those two men
in next year. Let's do the right thing. Don't make
Bob Trumpy be on the same ballot as AJ Green,
Don't have Andrew Whitworth on the same ballot as Chris

(50:09):
collins Worth. It's not fair. So let's do right by
these guys, all of whom have been determined to be
at least deserving of consideration. Let's not let one of
these men pass with their name still on the ballot,
and let's not make them go up against players that
fans have more recent memories of this is pretty simple.

(50:34):
You're gonna hear Wes Miller coming up in about fifteen minutes.
Brendanman and Jones on baseball as well. We brought up
Shamar Stewart yesterday, and my take on Shamar Stewart now
is number one. I can't help but wonder if you
really don't want to be here Number two at this point.
If you're a fan of the team and you're watching

(50:54):
this unfold and you understand how the Bengals are likely
to operate because of their track record, why on earth
don't you just want Chamar Stewart to go fine? I'll
sign I got pushed back to that. I don't get it.
Perhaps someone can explain, maybe you On ESPN fifteen thirty
Cincinnati Sports Station Wells Training Camp starts a week from today.

(51:17):
We have the Tonyan Mode Training Camp show from Bengals
training camp starting at ten am on the first day,
and it's gonna be a blast, and I think it's
gonna be really good too. We've I've always wanted a
broadcast from Bengals training camp and for years, I will
admit I've had some fomo because the practices have been
going on while we're on the air in the afternoon.
They've obviously adjusted the schedule this year and the Bengals

(51:40):
are allowing us to broadcast from camp and there's gonna
be no interruption to the normal schedule, which is, you know,
obviously since He three sixty noon to three are show
three to six. We're just adding to it two shows
in the same day, a five hour continuous shift for
Tony with three hours in between for me training camp show.

(52:01):
And we're doing it ten different days, and we'll make
sure you're aware of when they are. But first one
is going to be on the twenty third, Tony and
I from camp from ten to noon, and then Tony
stays to do since He three sixty noon to three,
and then I'll be on my show in the afternoon
from here in studio from three to six twenty five

(52:21):
after four o'clock. More of your phone calls are coming
up in just a few so the Schamar Stewart thing
yesterday kind of took on a life of its own,
and we we had a lot of different perspectives yesterday.
What kicked off the conversation was the Cover three podcast
discussion about him, where it was suggested that he might

(52:42):
go back and play college football. I find that unlikely.
I don't discount the possibility because this thing has been
so absurd that when you reach a certain level of absurdity,
you don't discount anything. And so my general take now is,
while I think the Bengals doing this is almost purposeless,

(53:05):
you know, them digging in and making him sign the
kind of contract that nobody else has ever signed in
the history of the franchise, I think the fact that
we have gotten to this point and the Bengals haven't budged.
I think Schamar, at least as of now, refusing to
kind of throw his hands in the air and go, okay, fine,
you beat me, makes me wonder does the guy really

(53:26):
want to play here. I don't think that's an unreasonable question,
because I just I try to put myself in his shoes.
If I had this huge, burning desire to really play
in Cincinnati, I would go, all right, screw it, let
me sign, let me get my career started, let me
get to training camp all in time, and let me
start to prove to people that I was worth taking

(53:48):
with the seventeenth overall pick. What's interesting to me is
this doing the show yesterday taking phone calls and we
had a lot of really good ones. Looking at social media,
even checking email, I see a lot of people or
I hear a lot of people who don't think that
Shamar Stewart should cave. That think it's silly that he

(54:13):
should be the one to stand down. And my counter
to that is, look, at some point, you just have
to admit, like you won. Like what we know about
the Bengals is they don't just cave. They don't cave
to public pressure. They will dig in. You can criticize
them for that if you want. You could credit them
for that if you want. It's just their track record

(54:34):
is they stand their ground. If they want this, they
they hold the They hold their position until they get
what they're looking for. If you know that, and if
you root for the team, how do you not look
at Shamar and go, dude, you lost, admit defeat, sign
the contract, stay out of trouble, come to training camp,

(54:55):
have a great rookie season, have a great Bengals career.
If you care at all about the team, how do
you disagree with that? Because I see it like Shamar
Stewart should tell the Bengals to stick it Chamar Stewart
should not back down. Okay, so then you don't want

(55:16):
him to play for the team this year? Like, what
what does that accomplish? As a fan of the team,
don't you really just want the guy to be in camp?
Does it really matter to you what language is in
the contract? It does not to me. What matters to
me is do the Bengals have the best chance to
get off to a good start this season and enhance

(55:37):
their chances of making a deep playoff run. They obviously
think Shamar Stewart can help them. They obviously think Shamar
Stewart can help them this year. Are they undermining that
possibility by having their this particular position as it relates
to contract language. Sure, but you know what, Like the
Bengals stand toe to toe with you and they don't

(55:57):
back down the other side. Sometimes you just got to
admit defeat. Sometimes you know you're bluffing. You know your
cards aren't gonna win. Don't you just fold? You know
what I'll get you next time? You know what I
tried didn't work. I don't know what rooting for Shamar

(56:21):
Stewart to hold his ground accomplishes. I don't know what
him holding his ground accomplishes Again. If you know how
the Bengals operate, here's their position. They don't budge. You
could hope the Bengals are gonna budge. Good luck with
that again, you might say, hey, they're gonna budge in
early September. Fine. Is it better for Shamar Stewart and

(56:45):
thus better for the Bengals if Schamar Stewart joins the
team in September or if he joins the team on Saturday,
the day the rookies report. If you root for the team,
how are you not rooting for him? Him to say,
all right, you got me. Put the contract in front
of me. I don't love it, but I'm gonna sign it.

(57:09):
You know, we say, like the Bengals, Shamar Stewart said it.
The Bengals are more interested in winning negotiations. If you're
a fan of the team, why do you care who
wins the negotiation? I want the Bengals to win football
games if that means they win the negotiation. Shamar Stewart
Admids defeat shows up starts to play. It can help we,

(57:30):
It can help week one. Aren't we all in favor
of that? Five point three, seven, four nine fifteen thirty.
Your phone calls are coming up here in just a
few we'll hear from Wes Miller. Two on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, The Bengals Ring of Honor, FC
Cincinnati host enter Miami tonight at seven point thirty on
ESPN fifteen thirty Sports Headlines of service of Kelsey Chevrolet

(57:53):
Home of lifetime powertrain protection and guaranteed credit approval from
their family to yours for life kelseyshev dot Com. Wes
Miller talked today kind of a mid off season primer.
This is a massive season for UC basketball. It's one
that I think a lot of us have high expectations for,

(58:14):
but there's a bit of apprehension because of how last
year unfolded. Here is the head coach of the Bearcats
talking about learning what is essentially a new team.

Speaker 7 (58:24):
In some ways it is, some ways it's not.

Speaker 10 (58:26):
I mean again, I think there's a huge premium on
connecting this group as a group. So can we do
that in our training? Can we do it on the floor.
Can we do that with experiences outside of basketball? Can
we do that with just making individual efforts to spend

(58:46):
time in one on one situations or small groups. That's
something we've been very intentional about and been very clear
to the players about that. We all have to be
invested in that. I think that's important always, but with
new faces, that's maybe he feels more important.

Speaker 1 (59:01):
Wes Miller talking about having a new team, and obviously
there are some holdovers from last year. Here he is
on the transfer portal period.

Speaker 7 (59:10):
You know, college basketball's changed.

Speaker 10 (59:13):
It's it's changed in significant significant ways over the last
three or four years. And one of the things that's
changed significantly is is the spring is the period after
the season ends. It's a it's just a completely different
time period than it was three or four years ago.

Speaker 1 (59:35):
For us.

Speaker 10 (59:36):
It's it's not about evaluating what it is or what
it's not. It's about figuring out how to win that
period in time. You know, I thought our staff did
an excellent job of identifying they're the right types of
players to put a roster together, and recruiting those players
and finding a way to piece it together. And I

(59:58):
just get talent in Big twelve talent with the piece together,
a group that makes sense on paper. And then now
the fun part for coaching is giving them out here
together and making that all come to life.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Wes Miller talking earlier today, kind of a mid off
season primer on UC basketball. The Bearcats badly could use
a healthy Tyler McKinley last year after he didn't play
it all last season because of a knee injury. Here
is Wes on Tyler's recovery.

Speaker 10 (01:00:25):
It was great, you know, he had about his good
of a recovery from an injury like that as I've seen,
and I haven't been around a lot of those, thank goodness.
But like Bob Mannging, our trainer, one of the best
I've ever seen in this business. You know, he just
kept praising how far ahead of schedule he was and
how well his body was reacting. And I think we

(01:00:47):
saw that from a coaching staff perspective because as we
were getting to the end of last season, he was
starting to jump into skill work and do some stuff
full speed, even if he wasn't live.

Speaker 1 (01:01:00):
It's Wes Miller earlier today, off season primer on UC basketball.
We will get in a break and try to get
to as many phone calls as we can. Plus our
poll question next poll questions on Twitter come your way
thanks to United Heartland Insurance. Should MLB implement the swing
off to determine the outcome of regular season games that
are tied after nine innings. I got three choices for you.

(01:01:24):
Vote now at Maleager. Thanks to everybody who has waited patiently. John,
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty. Good afternoon, John, How are
you good?

Speaker 3 (01:01:33):
Mo?

Speaker 1 (01:01:33):
How are you this appter doing wonderful? What's up?

Speaker 3 (01:01:36):
Okay?

Speaker 5 (01:01:37):
Well?

Speaker 11 (01:01:37):
As far as the Shamash Stewart and Cincinnati Bengals fiasco,
which it seems to be, I know you quoted our
reference President Jimmy Quieter early. I'm going to quote President
Ronald Reagan who said that in negotiations, if you get
eighty percent of what you want, that's called a win.
So I think the Bengals and Stewart should sit down,
get this thing done, get him at the camp, and
move on and try to win a Super Bowl. But

(01:02:00):
a bunch of March Stewarts. This has happened before in
the NFL. You go back to nineteen seventy nine. Tom
Cruzino was the first overall pick out of Ohio State
by the Buffalo Bills. He didn't sign with them. He
went to the Montreal Alouettes for three years wanted back
in the NFL, and the Bills traded him to Cleveland
for a haul and one first round pick turned out
to be Jim Kelly. And then seven years later Bo Jackson,

(01:02:20):
only the greatest athlete this country's ever produced, was drafted
by Tampa first overall. Didn't want to play there, had
baseball to fall back on, and then eventually been drafted
by the Raiders the following year.

Speaker 6 (01:02:30):
The seventh round.

Speaker 11 (01:02:30):
My point being, those guys are the first overall pick,
they had a lot of value. Shamar Stewart in three
years of Texas A and M from what I recall,
had four and a half more sacks than I had
the last three years, and I'm sixty years old, So
I don't know why they drafted him. It doesn't appear
like he wants to play here. They may have been
better off taking Balaka Stocks the safety out of Georgia

(01:02:51):
now with Baltimore, because I think they need help there
to at least create a bend don't break defense instead
of a bend and break defense. So again, this is
going to be a fiasco trading camp. Not to mention
what happens with Trey Hendrickson.

Speaker 1 (01:03:04):
Well, yeah, by the way they're talking in Baltimore already
about Malachi Starks being a team captain as a rookie,
which would be something that the Chamar Stewart thing, it
makes you wonder, like you ask why they draft him.
My question is did they really do their homework? Did
they really do the requisite homework to make the decision

(01:03:24):
about a guy who from a productivity standpoint that was
already a red flag. Now he was disruptive and he
pressured the quarterback a bunch, But it just it feels
to me like they made an ill informed decision here
regarding Shamar Stewart. You can't go back in time, right,
You can't go back and say, well, we got it wrong.
What you can do is try to be more reasonable

(01:03:45):
as it relates to the contract and get the guy
to come here. Except the Bengals aren't going to do that.
So now the ball is kind of in Schamar's court.
And again, I until I see something different, I can't
help but wonder did the Bengals draft a player who
really doesn't want to come to Cincinnati?

Speaker 11 (01:04:03):
Yeah, I could be the case. And again we know
they have the smallest scouting staff in the NFL, so
maybe they don't get as much work done before the
draft to find out more about the players. And again
you see Texas A and m Edge Rusher, Well you
think of von Miller, where you think of Miles Garrett.
This guy wasn't those guys in college?

Speaker 6 (01:04:18):
For sure? Those guys are future Hall of famers. This
guy we don't know much about.

Speaker 1 (01:04:22):
Yeah, no, you're you're right, And I not only thank
you John, not only do we not know much about him,
I don't know how much the Bengals really knew. But
like I think, as it relates to weird things now
you can criticize them for what the Bengals did and
didn't do in the run up to the draft. I
think you have to operate within the parameters of reality.

(01:04:43):
The reality is the Bengals track record is they don't cave.
And so if you're a samar if you really want
to play for the Bengals, I think you have to
understand that you could do something on principle and stand
your ground and try to be a contract hero and
a hero with your union. I don't think that's gonna
help you with your employer. It's not going to help you.

(01:05:05):
You're earning potential it's not gonna help you prove people
wrong that are skeptical about your lack of production in college.
And so if you really want to play in Cincinnati,
just sign the damn contract. And then from a fan perspective,
you could whale away on the Bengals if you want.
But you and I know what this franchise does and
how they operate, for better or for worse. Why then

(01:05:29):
would you want the guy the player to not cave
like I don't care who wins the negotiation, but I
know who's most likely to win it the longer it goes,
and it ain't Shamar. So if you know he's likely
to lose, why do you want him to dig in?
I don't know. I got like a minute here, a

(01:05:51):
minute and a half here for before Berenaman and Jones
on Baseball, Keith and Wilder. You're on ESPN fifteen thirty high, Keith,
what's up?

Speaker 6 (01:06:00):
Love the show as always?

Speaker 1 (01:06:01):
Thank you? Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:06:02):
I just would like to second your motion on Dave
Lapham being put in immediately, and not so much for
his play, but for being an announcer through this mess
of the Bengals for over the years.

Speaker 6 (01:06:15):
He makes us.

Speaker 9 (01:06:16):
Feel like a win in a meaningless November December game
feels like.

Speaker 2 (01:06:21):
A Super Bowl win.

Speaker 1 (01:06:25):
You know, it's funny. I was thinking about that today.
So the NFL hasn't had home blackouts since the twenty
twenty twelve season, So you know, there are there are
a lot of people who don't know what it's like.
And I hate to say this as a radio guy
who works for the team, works for the station that
carries the games, but I think there are a lot

(01:06:45):
of people who don't know what it's like to not
be able to watch the game on TV. And so
I've got to listen to the radio. For many many
Sundays in the nineties and the early two thousands, when
the Bengals were at home, they were not on TV,
and usually those years they were really bad, and so
I watched or I'm sorry, I listened to Dave Lapham

(01:07:07):
call and call with enthusiasm and call sounding like a
guy who was calling a playoff game. A whole lot
of bad Bengals teams play a whole lot of losing
games that didn't mean anything, and he was awesome.

Speaker 9 (01:07:20):
Amen, brother, And in those fumble recoveries or a thirty
yard touchdown, scamper in a game they would even go
on to lose.

Speaker 6 (01:07:28):
Yeah, but boy, when you heard Lap.

Speaker 9 (01:07:30):
Bring it home, Gosh, like any man that can do
that with that enthusiasm right there alone, ring him honor baby.

Speaker 1 (01:07:39):
Yeah, I could not agree more, Keith. I appreciate the
phone call I went to. I went to a Bengals
Jags game in two thousand, the first year of the stadium.
Danny Farmer had a big game and it was one
of a handful of like games that stand out to
me that I I'm like, what am I doing here?

(01:07:59):
So are you too? My dad passed sixteen years ago,
so I obviously can no longer go with him. But
starting in the late nineties, continuing until the year he
passed in two thousand and nine, I went to every
game with him except for two. One was this Jacksonville
Jaguars game in two thousand where we got a ton

(01:08:20):
of snow the night before. It's December. Bengals that year
won four games and my dad, I think my dad
for an emergency had to go out of town and
so he couldn't go to the game. I was married
to my first wife at the time. It's December, it's snowing,
the team's terrible. She didn't want to go. I asked

(01:08:41):
two or three other people. They weren't interested. So finally
I'm like, I'm going. So I went to that game
by myself and it was cold, I didn't dress appropriately.
The team was terrible. I'm more than okay telling you.
Midway through the second quarter, I said, screw it, I'm out.

(01:09:02):
I'm done. I'm driving home. So I leave the stadium
early and I'm in my car driving back home. And
at the time I lived in Sharonville, so like about
a twenty twenty five minute drive, maybe some traffic still,
some snow on the ground. I get in the car
and I'm listening to this game and it's Bengals Jags.

(01:09:24):
The Jags were pretty good back then. The Bengals were terrible.
That was the year that they fired Bruce Coslet after
three games, and I'm listening. Brad Johansson was the play
by play guy at the time. I think it was
the last home game of the season the Bengals won.
The game was their fourth win of the season. I

(01:09:45):
think it might have been like a day or two
before Christmas. They win the game. I remember they scored
ten points in the fourth quarter to win seventeen to ten.
Neil Rackers made a field goal at the gun. Scott
Mitchell was the quarterback. I'm listening to the second half
and Dave Lapham is providing analysis and communicating with enthusiasm

(01:10:10):
that would make the uninitiated listener think he was listening
to a game that had playoff implications. That sounds easy,
and it sounds like what you're supposed to do, and
you are not. Everybody does lap does Brendiman and Jones
on Baseball? Next? What's up my or ESPF fifteen thirty.

(01:10:33):
Thanks for listening. It's the michelob Ultra five o'clock Happy
Out on ESPN fifteen thirty Thanks to michelob Ultra. How
good does an ice cold michelob Ultra sound right now?
The perfect beer for summer, the perfect beer for tonight,
the perfect beer for enjoying the final hour of your
favorite sports talk radio show. Ice called michelob Ultra. Superior

(01:10:56):
light beer, superior taste. Coming up tonight, ESPN fifteen thirty
has FC Cincinnati Soccer, the Orange and Blue, taking on
Miami in about fifteen minutes. Our guy Aaron Layton joins
us just baseball dot com tells us what we need
to know about the Reds twenty twenty five draft class
that comes your way at five twenty. Speaking of class
of twenty five, Bengals season ticket holders who voted for

(01:11:20):
the Bengals Ring of Honor class of twenty twenty five
got it right. Congratulations to Dave Lapham, who will be
entering his fiftieth season with the Bengals this year. Congratulations
to the great Lamar Parish. Both go into the Bengals
Ring of Honor. For what it's worth, I do vote.
I voted for both lap and Lamar. Lapp was a

(01:11:42):
no brainer for me and nothing against anybody else. I
think the nine guys on the ballot are each deserving
and we'll spend some time on that here in just
a bit, but let's first talk about Dave Lapham. A
no brainer as far as I'm concerned. When you have
put in the time, when you have built up the equity,
when you have been so many different things for this

(01:12:03):
franchise over the course of a half century, you go
into the Ring of Honor. And I thought it was
a shame last year that Bengals Ring of Honor voters
got it wrong. But there is something about the nice
round number of fifty. It's his fiftieth season with the
Bengals in twenty twenty five, and it will include lap
getting into the Ring of Honor. He was a good player,

(01:12:25):
and I think that sort of gets obscured because of
his work as a broadcaster and a team ambassador. And
let's face it, there are a lot of us who
don't necessarily remember Dave Lapham as a player. But he
was an extraordinarily versatile offensive lineman played for a very
long time, started at right guard for the Super Bowl
team in nineteen eighty one. Was he Anthony Munoz?

Speaker 12 (01:12:45):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:12:46):
Was he Max Montoya? No? Was he Willie Anderson?

Speaker 13 (01:12:49):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:12:50):
Was he Andrew Wentworth? No? That's okay. One of those
guys is in the Hall of Fame. One guy should
be in the Hall of Fame. One guy will be
in the Hall of Fame. All will be in the
Bengals Ring of Honor. Dave Lapham was still very good
and then his work as a broadcaster. And I was
talking about this a little bit earlier. I know there

(01:13:11):
are a lot of Bengals fans who don't listen to
a lot of Bengals games, and I am maybe not
supposed to say that here, but let's be honest. It's
a lot of folks who consume the Bengals solely through TV,
and they hear the clips, they hear Dan Horden, Dave Lapham,
they hear highlights, and in those highlights, they'll hear Dave
Lapham making sound effects and filling the airwaves with Dave

(01:13:35):
Lapham isms, and they're great. I think to a degree
that obscures how good of a broadcaster he really is.
If you listen to a Bengals radio broadcast. First of all,
Dan Horde's awesome, Wayne box Miller is terrific. Dave Lapham's insights,
the analysis, the willingness to criticize when needed and second

(01:13:56):
guess when needed. I think he's massively underrated. And look,
this is a guy who's broadcasting career has included Big
Twelve games, He's done some local TV. Dave Lapham at
one point hosted a daily sports talk radio show. A
terrific broadcaster. Ends in the time that I've been working
in this business, which goes back away, I did once

(01:14:19):
like my all first team, good guy, like nice guy team.
The people I've met in this business or had on
the show. Dave Lapham, First Team All nice guy, one
of the genuinely nicest human beings you will ever meet,
somebody who has been kind enough to join our show
on so many occasions, and we're gonna get him on
to talk about this honor today. But here is Dave

(01:14:41):
Lapham talking earlier this morning about the Bengals Ring of
Honor induction, which will happen later on this fall.

Speaker 2 (01:14:49):
Shocking, really just to be here, really is. It's mind boggling.
When you first start playing the game of football as
a young young kid, hope you might be able to
make it to the National Football League, and then if
you can make it there, you hope you can survive
a final cut and play, you know, and then if

(01:15:09):
you can play for a number of years, that's that's
the ultimate dream. And I was very fortunate to be
able to live that ultimate dreams as a player with
some great football teams. Man we had, we had a
lot of success, uh, and to be part of that
was just just a remarkable experience, something I'll never forget.
And then to be able to be allowed to broadcast

(01:15:34):
uh National Football League games for the Cincinnati Bengals in
the in the radio broadcast booth is is like, are
you kidding me? That's another dream, two separate dreams. And
to be able to fulfill and live them both with
the Cincinnati Bengals organization is uh is just incredible in
my mind, something I never ever expected or anticipated. I hope,

(01:16:01):
certainly hope for it, and now to be able to,
you know, to to fulfill that hope. And I can't
thank the Bengals organization enough. The Brown family of the
Blackburn family have been nothing but class to work with,
and they have given me opportunities that you know, are

(01:16:21):
not given to people in a normal, a normal course
of a career. To be able to work every Sunday
with these guys doing Bengals football, I don't know. I
don't think there's any anybody more fortunate than me. I
think I've got it better than anybody. There's no there's
no doubt about it. Nobody ever be able to convince

(01:16:42):
me otherwise. And doing exactly what I want to do,
who I want to do it with and where I
want to do it.

Speaker 1 (01:16:49):
And of course Dave Lapham goes into the Bengals Ring
of Honor on Sunday, October the twenty sixth, when the
Bengals host the New York Jets, he'll go in with
Lamar Parrish. And I'll admit to you this one wasn't
quite as easy, but it was still relatively easy. I
made it about two guys, and not that James Brooks

(01:17:10):
doesn't deserve to be in the Bengals Ring of Honor,
because he does, and not that Chris Collinsworth doesn't belong
in the Bengals Ring of Honor, because he does, and
not that Jim Breach doesn't belong in the Bengals Ring
of Honor because he does. And we'll talk about what
they can do next here in just a second. I
made it about the two oldest players on the ballot,
Bob Trumpy and Lamar Parrish. Lamar Parrish is seventy seven

(01:17:31):
years old. Bob Trumpy is eighty. I don't want to
make these older players wait any longer. I don't want
to have a situation like we had with Ken Riley
when he wasn't around to be inducted in the Bengals
Ring of Honor. And so I discounted everybody else, and
I made it about the two oldest players, and I
frankly think they should go ahead and just put Bob
Trumpy in because he's eighty years old. I boiled it

(01:17:54):
down to Football References or Pro Football References approximate value score,
which isn't an incomplete and a flawed metric, but it's
a metric that attempts to kind of assign a score
to every player so that it makes it a little
bit easier to compare an offensive lineman to a quarterback,

(01:18:17):
or a running back to a defensive back. And of
all the players who are not already in the Ring
of Honor or are not yet eligible to be in
the Bengals Ring of Honor, the guy with the highest
approximate value is Reggie Williams. And Reggie Williams and be
in the Bengals Ring of Honor one day. He's obviously
had his health issues. You hope, you hope that all

(01:18:40):
of these guys when they finally get in are still
with us. But the second highest was Lamar Parrish, higher
than Bob Trumpe's. Lamar Parrish was an awesome player. Six
Pro Bowls made up for an elite pair of corners
with Ken Riley went on to have success in Washington
and Buffalo, but a terrific player, And I'm the first
to admit I didn't watch Lamar Parish play as an

(01:19:03):
active player because his last year with the Bengals was
the year that I was born. But if you know
anything about his time in Cincinnati, and you know anything
about his career with the Bengals, you know how huge
of a figure he was. You know how cool of
a story that it was that he went from playing
running back to being converted to a corner. You know
how fast he was, you know how good he was

(01:19:25):
with the football in his hands. Lamar Parrish was a
guy is a guy who should have gone into the
Bengals Ring of Honor years ago, because the Bengals should
have had a Ring of honor. Unfortunately they didn't. The
good news is he gets in Here, is Lamar Parrish
talking earlier today, it means.

Speaker 3 (01:19:42):
The world to me. In fact, hey, this is a dream.

Speaker 4 (01:19:48):
I had a dream as a little boy of becoming
the greatest clear a player in the world. I had
big dreams as a kid. I came in calls sitting
on the couch with my mother telling her that I

(01:20:09):
was gonna play football. I was gonna take care of her.
And this other means the world to me. I put
in a lot of work, a lot of time, a
lot of fear I'm not producing and not being the
best that I was capable of being. So to have

(01:20:30):
been chosen me, it's the world to me, and I'm great,
and I'm thankful for this committee for recognizing the things
that have done so.

Speaker 1 (01:20:40):
October twenty sixth Dave Lapham Lamar Parrish both going to
the Bengals Ring of Honor and it's deserved. Now, you know,
we've talked about this a lot, like what is the
Ring of Honor going to look like moving forward? And
I think it's gonna be really fascinating to see what
they do with the seven players who have been on
the ballot but haven't gotten in yet, each of whom

(01:21:02):
are deserving, and then what they do with more modern
players like AJ Green, Andrew Whitworth, Geno Atkins, what they
might do with coaches like Sam Wish, Forrest Gregg, Marvin Lewis.
For what it's worth, and so I've banged the drum
for this earlier this year, and I'll do it again.

(01:21:22):
They have seven guys left on the ballot. They should
do what's right, right or wrong, And in twenty twenty six,
Just put them all in and do one. They have
eight home games next year, Just do each guy on
their own home game and put him in the Ring
of Honor, and then hit the reset button for twenty
twenty six and then figure out what the Ring of

(01:21:43):
Honor is going to look like moving forward. I get
a lot of pushback when I bring this up. By
the way, it's the Bengals Ring of Honor. They literally
can do anything they want with it. You could just
go ahead and decide we're putting Bob Trumpy in this
year because he's eighty years old and he stopped playing
over five decades ago. They can do whatever they want.

(01:22:04):
What they should do, what they won't do is put
some of these guys in this year. What they should do,
which I hope they do do, is put them all
in next year, and then in twenty twenty seven we
start fresh with a new selection of guys on the ballot.
Maybe they revisit whether they or not that's something they

(01:22:25):
do every single year. Maybe they revisit whether or not
it's something they have season ticket holders continue to vote on.
But what they should do next year is put those
other seven dudes in because they all deserve it, and
as happy as I think we should all be for
Dave Lapham and for Lamar Parrish. You hate having to
make these guys wait. The guy who played most recently

(01:22:47):
for the Bengals who was not voted in is James Brooks,
who last played for the Bengals thirty three years ago.
You've made these men wait long enough. Don't make them
wait any longer. Just announce that you're gonna put them
all in. In twenty twenty six at moegar on Twitter
thanks to Delta Dental. Delta Dental is building healthy, smart,

(01:23:08):
vibrant communities for all good at Delta Dental, oh dot com.
Fccincinnati and Miami's a night, big game for FC Cincinnati,
trying to bounce back from the home loss on Saturday Night.
Dandy Higginbotham has the call Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
You'll hear him coming up at five forty five. All right,
Aaron Lighton knows more about the Reds draft class than anybody.

(01:23:30):
You'll hear my conversation with him next on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports station. It's the michelob Ultra five o'clock
Happy Hour on ESPN fifteen thirty on moeger Hey. By
the way, don't forget. A week from today, Bengals training
camp public practices begins. Starting at ten am. We will
have the first of ten Tony and Mode training camp shows.

(01:23:50):
We're gonna be on from ten am to noon and
then yes, you're still gonna have SINC three to sixty
from noon to three, our show from three to six.
But Tony and I broadcasting from Bengals training camp starting
at ten am. One week from today. We cannot wait.
The Baseball Draft happened on Sunday and Monday. Aaron Layton
from jessbaseball dot com, which is an invaluable resource, joins us.

(01:24:14):
Let's start by talking about the draft class as a whole,
a thirty thousand foot view of the players the Reds took.
Give me your assessment.

Speaker 12 (01:24:21):
I think they stuck to their guns, which is go
for upside, and I'm excited to see how it works out.
I think they'd balance it out a little bit, you know,
with some of the arms, which we'll talk about. But
I think the Reds are very risk tolerant when it
comes to the draft, and they had an opportunity to
I think take on a lot of upside and albeit
some risk as well, and I think it's exciting to see,

(01:24:42):
you know, how it all shakes out.

Speaker 1 (01:24:43):
All right, So obviously they took on some risk man
with a seventeen year old high school shortstop who is
reclassified Steel Hall. We'll talk about the risk there, but
give me the upside. What do you like about him?

Speaker 12 (01:24:57):
Well, I think the upside and the big parts of
what him so exciting are also the things that hedge
some of that risk. Right of course, seventeen year old
high schooler with exciting bat speed, but you know, raw
operation overall in the box. You're gonna wonder how that
all comes together offensively. Of course it takes some time,
but he is probably the best athlete in the draft.

(01:25:17):
Right He's probably the only eighty grade runner in this class.
He's a seventy grade defender I think at shortstop. As
it all comes together, and then he has this electric
bat speed that you can really dream on as well.
You add in the fact that he's extremely young for
the class and one of the youngest in the class,
it makes it a really exciting upside proposition.

Speaker 1 (01:25:34):
Here a lot of risk. He is seventeen years old,
so I would expect him to not know how to
hit a breaking ball. I would expect the learning curve
to be quick, yet it's gonna take some time. What
do you make of someone who says they may be
with the ninth overall pick took on a little bit
too much risk.

Speaker 12 (01:25:52):
You know, I think in a class like this, I
can understand it because the other pick could have been
Billy Carlson right who goes right after, who I think
still comes with plenty of risk, a high school shortstop
who has similar pros and cons I think, But with
Hall you're betting on I think a little bit more
upside and a little bit less track record at that point. Though,
when you're talking about high school shortstops, at the end

(01:26:14):
of the day, it's going to be risky regardless. So
I can understand the angle of trying to just go
for the best athlete possible, especially when that's what the
reds MO has typically been. And this is a draft
that didn't have a lot of college talent at the
top bats wise, I think we saw that that was
pretty clear. You had one you know, college bat really
go off in the top ten, and it was, you know,

(01:26:35):
a guy that went at seven, So I think it
makes sense, given the way the draft shook out, for
the Reds to maybe gravitate towards what they typically like
to do.

Speaker 1 (01:26:44):
Some have said they have too many short stops. I
think you can never have too many of them, maybe
the game's most important position. What do you say to
that criticism.

Speaker 7 (01:26:52):
Yeah, you can never have too many shortstops.

Speaker 12 (01:26:55):
Colleges recruit shortstops and put them at other positions.

Speaker 7 (01:26:58):
If those guys end up staying at where it's up.

Speaker 12 (01:27:00):
Big league teams are targeting shortstops and then end up
moving them off of the position. That is a problem
that you welcome at the highest level and with open arms.
But I think when you have an opportunity to take
the best athletes possible, those are typically gonna be guys
that play up the middle, And I think you want
players that are projecting up the middle, because worst case scenario,

(01:27:20):
they slow down athletically. You move them to a corner,
and they're more athletic than most of the people at
the corner. A guy that's seventeen eighteen years old and
already at a corner may not age well in terms
of the defensive ability there and how everything's going to look.

Speaker 7 (01:27:31):
So I strongly disagree with.

Speaker 1 (01:27:33):
That second round pick fifty first overall a prep pitcher
by the name of Aaron Watson. What do we like
about him?

Speaker 12 (01:27:40):
You know, I think this was a nice way to
maybe offset some of that that risk. Of course, right
handed prep you know pitcher is always going to be
a risky I would say archetype, But Aaron Watson's arsenal,
I think is one that more fits the bill of
a back end of the rotation starter. Of course, you
can dream on more upside him that he's six's five

(01:28:00):
to two oh five, but he's got a great feel
for an assortment of offerings. He gets a lot of
ground balls already, and I think from that high release
getting it's on the ground balls. You think about how
that plays potentially a great American ballpark. It's like, I
don't want to compare him to him, because Ret Louder
stuff is ridiculous, you know, compared to you know, anybody
that's going to be drafted outside.

Speaker 7 (01:28:17):
Of the first round, especially out of high school.

Speaker 12 (01:28:19):
But it's that type of picture where you can even
if he's not getting a ton of swing and miss,
you can still dream on being able to eat innings,
get a lot of ground balls, and project from there.
But again, you also have a template at sixty five
to two oh five out of the Florida prep ranks,
where maybe you can build on him and get even
more out of him.

Speaker 1 (01:28:34):
The most interesting pick early ish in the draft for
me was the kid they took in the third round
from old Miss Mason Morris for two reasons. One, it
feels like they want to try him as a starter,
where for most of his college career he was a reliever.
Number Two, he took a major lead from twenty four
to twenty five, statistically, kind of changed his motion, changed
his arm slot. I feel like they're getting a lot

(01:28:56):
of upside here. What do you make of this pick?

Speaker 12 (01:28:59):
I mean, and it's just a high octane arm that
you know you mentioned heading in the right direction. And
you see big league teams all the time now that
they're betting on the stuff and what they can potentially
do to unlock more out of these arms rather than
you know, the college statistics. But of course, when you
see a positive trend, that's gonna be something you're excited about.
Got the walk right below ten percent, struck out thirty

(01:29:21):
four percent of batters, and he can really spin the baseball.
He's got this ninety two to ninety three min hour
cutter that was just disgusting, and then a bigger slider
off of that that he landed for a strike pretty consistently.
When you're averaging ninety six with the fastball, that's a
guy that at least, you know, if it doesn't work
out as a starter, you can put him in the
back of the bullpen. It's probably gonna play pretty well there,
which I like as a backup plan. But I do

(01:29:42):
think this is a guy that's worth trying to develop
as a starter. Fastball shape hurt him a little bit,
and just consistency landing that fastball first strike, which is
interesting when he has a better feel for the spin
than the fastball. So maybe just playing with some grips,
playing with some you know, I think maybe release points
there to see what exactly works for him. If they
can find maybe a heavier fastball or something that has
a little bit more carry too, he maybe starts throwing

(01:30:04):
two heaters with the two breaking balls that he has.
I think it could be a really fun, you know,
pitch mix there that could work.

Speaker 7 (01:30:10):
But worst case scenario.

Speaker 12 (01:30:11):
You got a six four to two hundred twenty pound
ridy who can spin it and will probably tick up
to the upper nineties, you know, in short spurts, if
you want to put him in the bullpen.

Speaker 1 (01:30:19):
Erimlaighton just baseball dot Com telling us about the Reds
draft class. One more individual player, Mason Neville, who's a
kid who at Oregon led the country in home runs
last year. Do these strikeouts give me pause when I
start to think about his home run potential? Maybe one
day Great American Ballpark?

Speaker 12 (01:30:37):
Understandably, you know that they should. You know, that's why
he slipped to the fourth round. And it's it's not
quite the Mike Sioda situation, but there are some similarities
there right where there's some things that could have maybe
pushed him into the first round just didn't come together, right.
The contact rates weren't totally there. You know, maybe some
of the things that he could have shored up with
his profile he wasn't able to do. So that ends

(01:30:58):
up having him slip back a little bit. But you
have an opportunity now where sometimes those guys it's like
a snowball and they end up falling further than they should,
and I think that's kind of what happened with Neville here,
and you get an opportunity to pick up, you know,
some of the best raw power in the draft. A
guy that hits the ball in the air consistently, I
think you can really dream on that. And the thing
that gets me a little bit more encouraged at least

(01:31:20):
is Okay, there's definitely some serious concerns with breaking balls,
but he does not miss many heaters at all. I mean,
it's an ops of nearly fifteen hundred against fastballs. So
if you can get him to a point where he's
recognizing spin and at least laying off of it and
crushing the mistakes, he could be a mistake hitter that
hammers fastballs and carves out a nice career.

Speaker 7 (01:31:38):
So I think that's what they're hoping for in the
fourth round.

Speaker 12 (01:31:40):
And anytime you can get plus plus power in the
fourth round with production in college, it's worth a shot
to take.

Speaker 1 (01:31:46):
You've given me good intel on the top four picks.
Of the four picks in the first four rounds, Is
there anybody they took later on who's maybe a little
off the radar that we should be paying close attention to.

Speaker 7 (01:31:58):
I think Kyle McCoy is interesting.

Speaker 12 (01:32:00):
You know, that's another guy that you look at, maybe
more of the projection paired with the pitch ability. You know,
I think you're hoping he can squeeze out more velocity
because it's low nineties. Is six sixth lefty, you know,
out of Maryland, but you're maybe dreaming that you can
get a little bit more out of him stuff wise,
he gets a fair amount of ground balls. The slider
looks like you can play. But again, another guy that

(01:32:21):
six six lefty. If it doesn't work as a starter,
maybe you try to put him into the bullpen. But
he looks like a guy that could be, you know,
eating some innings and has some I think intrigued there
at the very least. And then there's some prep kids
that I'm interested to see if they're able to sign,
you know, in the back end of the draft, like
and Ethan Moore, if they're able to sign him away somehow,
I think it would take a.

Speaker 7 (01:32:40):
Pretty surprising scenario there.

Speaker 12 (01:32:41):
I'm interested to see how much they ultimately end up
saving with some of the top picks. But I think
that's another name to watch. I wouldn't rule out maybe
them being able to sign. You know a couple of
those high school guys they grab later. Interesting stuff. Aaron Layton,
Just baseball dot com. I know you have a lot
going on. I can't thank you enough. We love having you.

Speaker 1 (01:32:58):
Thank you as always, thank you for having me on. Yeah,
good stuff, Aeron Layton, Just baseball dot com. By the way,
if you missed our other baseball draft expert Chris Crawford,
listen to that conversation on the iHeartRadio app or my
page at ESPN fifteen thirty dot com. Podcast of the
show a service of Longneck sports Grill Sports Headlines Next

(01:33:18):
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Sports Headlines are
a service of Kelsey Chevar Life Home of lifetime, powertrain
protection and guarantee credit approval from their family to yours
for life kelseyshev dot Com. Dave Lapham and Lamar Parrish,
congratulations to them. They'll be added to the Bengals Ring
of Honor. That'll happen on October the twenty sixth, when

(01:33:41):
the Bengals host the New York Jets. Meanwhile, tonight Fccincinnati
is hosting Lionel Messi and Interer Miami CF that game
is on ESPN fifteen thirty, with pregame coverage beginning at
seven o'clock. Tonight, All Star Break continues for the Reds.
They leave for New York tomorrow and take on the
Mets on Friday night. Vote now on our poll question

(01:34:03):
thanks to United Heartland Insurance at Moeger on Twitter. Should
baseball start using the swing off to determine the outcome
of games that are tied after nine innings? The answer
is no, because I think the novelty is gonna wear off,
and I don't think we want batting practice pitchers deciding
the outcome of regular season games. But you can vote

(01:34:25):
now nonetheless at moegar. Thank you very much. Let's talk
about tonight's game, Big One tonight on the West End
of Cincinnati FC Cincinnati hosting Miami Lionel Messi's in town,
so is Danny Higginbotham. He is calling the match for
Apple TV and he joins us next on ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 13 (01:34:48):
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On West found seventy four. It is an accident before
the cold Raine split off onto the left shoulder. About
a three minute slowdown right now back from Ryebolt. Getting

(01:35:09):
reports of traffic signals not working on Spring Grove Avenue
between Western Hills Viaduct and Draper Street used caution in
that area a metizelic with traffic.

Speaker 7 (01:35:20):
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