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December 10, 2025 • 39 mins
Tony and Austin talk with Jeff Carr, talk NFL, listen to Jimmy V, check in with Mo Egger, and more on ESPN 1530!

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Tony Pike Cincy three sixty About Cincinnati from Cincinnati,
sponsored in part by Penn Station East Coast Subs. Hand
prepped it. I'm grilled subs, fresh cut fries in lemonade.
It's all about good taste. Penn Station East Coast Subs
order on mine today. This is ESPN fifteen thirty, Cincinnati

(00:25):
Sports Station.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
It is our number three. We think, as you heard right,
there are friends at Penn Station. Thank you for listening.
Let's get our number three underway. Let's do so by
talking to our good friend from the Lockdown Reds podcast
and a guy you just got to check in on
after what has transpired in the last twenty four or
so hours. Jeff Carra is joining us right now. Hi, Jeff,

(00:50):
Tony haustin.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
It's really good to hear your voices. You guys seem
like some dudes that know how to spend money outside
of Middletown.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Jeff, here's my issue. Here's my issue. So on Sunday,
the Bengals went up by ten with under nine minutes
left in the game, and I allowed myself for a
moment to believe. I believe that it would be different
on Sunday and then the Bengals broke my heart. And
I had heard coming into this week a lot of
Kyle Schwarber talk and could this be the domino that

(01:20):
finally falls? And I was a little bit on the fence.
And then yesterday, as I got into the studio, I
watched a video on your ex and it seemed like
you were believing. It seemed like with all the conversation
that was going on around Kyle Schwarber, that maybe this
was more than just a rumor, maybe this was more
than just kicking the tires, Maybe this can actually happen.

(01:42):
And I did the same thing I did Sunday, and
I allowed myself to believe, and it felt as if
moments later the world came crashing down again. Your reaction,
let's start with that. Your reaction seeing the Swarber deal
to the Phillies. What is reported that that deal is worth,
and the reports of what the Reds offered Kyle Schwarber.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, the thing that I had come to the conclusion
of on that video, Tony, was that it felt like
ninety nine percent of this was done, but it's clear
that the one percent that was left was one hundred
percent of the matter. You know, doing a little bit
of John Madden math here for you on this Wednesday.
When it comes to the money, the Reds were outbid

(02:27):
by twenty five million total dollars, and some people want
to say, well, you know, it's thirty million dollars, thirty
million dollars per year compared to twenty five million dollars
per year. Kind of feels like the Reds were in
the ballpark, and it's like, yeah, but that's like saying
that they were setting up in the five hundred section
and the Phillies were down on the field. Because you're
talking about another twenty five million dollars. That's basically an

(02:49):
entire year, a year's worth of money that he is
going to get from Philadelphia as opposed to Cincinnati. And
it's clear that they really felt as though some sort
of local drawl, call it the will of the force
or something in Middletown was going to cause him to
take less money. And I don't know where they got

(03:13):
this from, because every reporter I saw was saying thirty million,
thirty million, thirty million. Some people said twenty eight, but
most people were saying thirty million. And for them to
go twenty five just makes me, it makes me wonder
how serious they were. But then what they said after
that is really what It's really what flattened me. Like
I felt like then getting to the playoffs was fun

(03:36):
in the way that they lost stunk, but I didn't
feel this flattened as I feel right now.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, I want to get to that comment in just
a moment. Let me ask you this first. If you
think that the Reds came in with the exact same
offer that the Phillies did, do you think Kyle Schwarber
would have chosen Cincinnati. I mean, obviously we don't know that,
but do you think if the money was the exact
same would he be a Red one dred percent?

Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yeah, I think that there's a lot of folks that
are reporting, you know, man, he just didn't want to leave.
He was really comfortable in the clubhouse, and he really
loves Philadelphia. But that's literally exactly what they were saying
about his feelings toward coming home. And I think that
they're saying that with hindsight being the determining factor here.
I fully believe that he was ready to build something

(04:17):
here with the Reds and be a part of his
hometown team for the rest of his career if the
money made sense, and the fact that they not were
only outbid by the Phillies but also outbid by the
Orioles is just super telling to me.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
And then Jeff, we get the Ken Rosenthal piece and
the quote was unlike the Orioles, who, by the way,
have already signed Pete Alonzo to one hundred and fifty
five million dollar deal. Unlike the Orioles, the Reds are
not expected to pursue other expensive free agents. They're offered
to Schwarber, a native of Middletown, Ohio, was tied to
their belief that his addition would help drive ticket sales.

(04:54):
That to me, Jeff, is shocking in the sense that,
holy cow, they actually admitted it, that it's not truly
about winning, it's more about selling tickets. Your reaction to
the Rosenthal quote.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
I was worried throughout this entire process that the main
reason that they were ever in on Kyle Schwarber was
because he was local. And I thought, well, that's silly.
Nobody could truly believe that. But it's clear that that's
what they believed. And they said that, well he drive
ticket sales and all this other stuff. Pete Alonzo would
drive ticket sales. Cody Bellinger would drive ticket sales because

(05:30):
they would help the.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
Team winding drive ticket sales. Yes, that happens. Yes.

Speaker 3 (05:37):
When they were on streaks in twenty twenty three and
when they were on a streak this past year, there
were times when you're just like, let's go down to
the ballpark and watch this team. I wasn't going, like,
obviously you go because you like watching different players, but
it's because you know it all comes together in a
winning product. That's why people are down at pay Court

(05:57):
Stadium every week to watch Joe Burrow. And that's why
people show up to Reds games whenever they know that
they're going to win. And the thing for me, Tony
is that they could have just said, and they do
this all the time, they could have just said, we
thought that this was a legitimate move to make us
a legitimate contender. No, they chose to say we thought

(06:17):
this would drive tickets.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
Unbelievable, Like, isn't it kind of amazing how transparent they
have been.

Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah, I think it's funny because there's times when Nick
Caral gives an answer to a question and it's like, Okay,
he's he's holding his cards close to his vest. Here
he's got something up asleep. And then there's other times
where he tells you that Elie de la Cruz had
one leg for two months, and you're like, oh, so
you think that we wanted to know that, like tell

(06:49):
us something else. Like there's times where I'm just like,
thank you for your transparency. You should have told us
anything else like that. That's what it feels like. And
this is another one of those examples.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
I think it's also part of it. We obviously know
the main issue is that the ownership has a plan
that doesn't and doesn't include spending to the best of
their abilities to try to win. But do you think
it's made worse by the fact that there's not really
an adequate spokesperson for the franchise to try to communicate
what the plan is because of what you just said.

(07:21):
I mean, on one hand, you've got Phil Castellini saying
where are you going to go? And on the other
hand you've got Nick Krawl. You know, depending on which
way the wind is blowing that day.

Speaker 3 (07:31):
Yeah, I mean, we've got a lot of humdingers from
Nick Krawl. You know, the peaks in the valley's comment,
the break even comment, you know, the kind of things
that really drive inspiration around Red's Country. It really really
gets people to the ticket booth. No, you're right like that.
That seems to be the biggest problem here, and I
see that sometimes, like looking at other teams. With the Yankees,

(07:53):
anytime Brian Cashman gets in front of a microphone, Yankees
fans just collectively grown because he says ever comes to
his mind. And that's not necessarily what nitkrawl does, but
it feels as though they craft these messages that they think, well,
we're being transparent and we're being honest with the fan base.
But the honesty that they're giving us is just absolutely

(08:15):
depressing because they have told us over this last week
that they will try for somebody who grew up here,
and if they didn't grow up here, then we're not
going to pay that much for him, because for some reason,
growing up here is what leads to winning baseball or something.
And while I love a local hometown, again, I just
want to see some winning baseball. And it feels as

(08:37):
though there are three ways that you can build a team.
You draft and develop, you sign free agents, and you
make trades. And said, we were actively shunning two of
those three things.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
I'm fascinated if they actually believe the stuff they're saying
half the time, Like Moe brought this up off air today, Jeff, Like,
if you are a fan and you're legitimately thinking about
buying tickets or buying a ticket package, and you're that
fan and you say, well, I'm in if they get
Kyle Schwarber, but I'm not buying that package if they
were to land Pee Alonzo, Like, do the Reds actually

(09:11):
believe that that's the thing?

Speaker 5 (09:14):
To me?

Speaker 2 (09:15):
Like, if I'm choosing to buy tickets, I'm choosing to
buy because I want to go see a winning product,
and whether that's Kyle Schwarber, which is a cool story
because he's from Middletown, or a guy from Pee Alonzo
or anyone else that helps this team win. It's not
like I'd be like, yep, I was buying with Schwarber,
but now I'm out with Alonzo. Do they believe that?

Speaker 3 (09:35):
I have a hard time arguing against it, to be
honest with you, Like the way that they have presented
themselves these last couple of days is just so silly,
Like there were so many people you and me and
Mo and maybe Austin. I don't know. Sometimes I don't
know what Austin's thinking, but I'd like to think that

(09:56):
Austin was in on this too. That man at Schwarber's here,
I'm buying jersey, I'm buying something from Sensey shirts. I'm
buying some kind of couch war but memorabilia. I saw
people talking about. Man, I'm signing up for season Dicats,
Let's go. There was so much excitement and then immediately
it was crushed and now everyone is mad again. And

(10:17):
nobody has that kind of ability in Major League Baseball
like the Cincinnati Reds to drum up that sort of
feeling only to squash it.

Speaker 4 (10:28):
Now that being said, the reports out about to tell
Marte and the Red's interest in that. How much are
you buying that?

Speaker 3 (10:37):
All right? I would like to, And I think if
this were a few years ago, I would have. Guys.
I love the Reds, I really do. But this whole
like super optimism thing has really gotten beaten down over
the last couple of years. Man, I'm like, looking at
this rumor, it's nice, tell Marte all Star last two years,

(10:59):
silver Lugger last two years. Even Brandon lau from the
Tampa Bay Rays. He hit thirty bombs last year. These
are the kind of guys that the Red should be
looking at. But there's a part of me, and there's
a question, and I'm not saying that I firmly believe
this question, that this question is probably in your minds too.
Is this rumor out there to soften the blow from yesterday?

(11:22):
Because they did a lot of damage yesterday and I
think they know that, and I think they've got to
come back with, well, we talked to these guys or
these teams about these players, and so maybe that's there,
But it feels like if it is there, they're just
starting those negotiations and we know how that goes with
Nick Crawl and trade negotiations. If it happens, we'll see

(11:42):
you in May.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
That's the thing, like to me, Like and Austin made
this point today. Is it legit interest in Marte or
is it man we messed up so bad yesterday If
we just leaked that we're linked to him, maybe people
are thinking that we're now trying to kick the can.
But you just told us yesterday that you're not kicking
the can on anybody else because you wanted to just
put fans in the stands instead of actually win baseball games.

(12:06):
If it were to come to fruition, if Marte did
work out, Jeff, what would that require in your opinion,
the Reds giving.

Speaker 3 (12:13):
Up That would be a tough one because he is
He's thirty two years old, so it's not as if
he's like a prospect anymore or somebody who's like just
entering his prime. He's in the middle of it, maybe
on the twilight of it, but he does have six
years left of team control. At just over one hundred
million dollars, that's still well within the price range that

(12:34):
the Reds presented that they were willing to accept in
some cases. So I could see this working out, but
you would probably have to give up a decent bit
to get him. I don't necessarily know that it would
require Hunter Green, but it would require some names that
we know. They're not gonna dig down deep in Daytona
or the or the Dominican Summer League and grab a

(12:56):
few guys and throw them at Arizona's way and get
to tell market. But they will have to give up
some pieces that you could conceivably see playing next year
in order to acquire him. And then on top of that,
he plays second base. I don't know about you, but
that's not in the outfield, right, and that's not first

(13:19):
or third. Like we're pretty bullish about the guy that's
currently at second base, sir? Are we talking about moving
Matt McClain, Like, you know, we broached this subject this
last offseason a little bit tongue in cheek. Matt McClain
played center field at UCLA. Is that what we're going
to be talking about this offseason? Because it kind of
feels like, you quote unquote fill a hole in the lineup,

(13:40):
but you also add a question to the outfield.

Speaker 4 (13:44):
So now that they pivot back to the break even
strategy and the same payroll as a year ago strategy,
is there any realistic option out there that would make
this team better than it was a year ago that
either that fills any of those holes?

Speaker 3 (14:04):
If I base, because you know, well we all know
that Charlie Goldsmith is the goat, and so with him
saying that, you know, the Reds are going back to
their idea of five to ten million dollars and that's
what they got to spend, then they need to go
give that money to Reece Hoskins right now, because Reece
Hoskins has the power that they need, assuming that he's healthy,
which once again, this guy falls within the Reds wheelhouse,

(14:26):
right of a guy coming off of injury plague seasons
who was once good and once really powerful. Let's see
if we can get that back. But if that's all
that they've got to offer, that's who they're looking at
is Reece Hoskins, and so he is available. There's a
lot of projections that have his contract being like a
one year, ten million dollars thing. Go get him that
ten million dollars. We can figure out the bullpen stuff

(14:48):
from within. I feel like the Reds have a lot
of talent there and there's a lot of guys with
unrealized potential, and then you could work with that through
the season. If there are holes, you could make a
trade here or there. But and it comes to this lineup,
you cannot go to Goodyear in February and say that
the lineup we had last year is good enough for
this year. You've got to add at least one more

(15:09):
guy to it. Go get Reese Hoskins right now.

Speaker 2 (15:13):
Lastly, before we let you go, Jeff, there is growing
concern about a lockout for the twenty twenty seven MLB season.
How much are the Reds or how much are teams
in baseball operating in that sense of understanding that lockout
and does that go into any of the decision making
coming up for the twenty twenty sixth year.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Oh, I think it's prevalent through Major League Baseball right now.
The only team that doesn't seem bothered by is, of
course the Dodgers because money is not a problem in
Los Angeles. But even the Chicago Cubs have said, like
Craig Council was talking at the Winter Meetings the other
day and said that he is excited about the playing
time that young guys are going to get this year

(15:51):
on the Chicago Cubs. And I'm like, that's the second
biggest or third biggest, however you look at it market
in America. So there should be no reason why the
Cubs are sitting on their hands and letting guys walk
or or letting guys go to other teams that they
could be signing. If the Cubs feel this way, that's

(16:12):
a feeling amongst all of Major League Baseball that they
are worried about what's going to happen next year, and
I think that they're posturing their strategy that's going on
with this, and there's a really good chance that after
we come out of the CBA we do see more spending.
But that's what's really had me wondering about this year,
and the fact that the Red's even made an offer
the guys Schwarber. Actually that's the only part of it

(16:34):
that surprises me in a good way that they were
in on that, because it really feels like they have
been posturing themselves to the point that they don't have
guaranteed money on the books after this CBA is over,
because all it is right now is Hunter Green and
Kee Brian Hayes, and so if they add more to that,
it almost feels a little bit surprising. But yeah, I
think that that has kind of overshadowed all of this

(16:56):
stuff right now because the guys that have the big
time contra going to the teams that can print money
and just hand it to them ten fifteen years down
the road.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
Certainly an interesting time and an interesting time to be
a Cincinnati Reds fan. By the way, first baseball team,
A lot of pride here in this fan fan base
that's ready to rally around, not any type of winning.
Just want to win, and we'll support winning and we'll
buy tickets if you're winning. I have one more question
for Jeff.

Speaker 4 (17:27):
Actually, Jeff our friend Chad Dotson posted on Twitter last
night that the Reds are not a professional sports franchise.
They're a lifestyle brand. What's your reaction to that. It's
hard to argue.

Speaker 3 (17:41):
It kind of feels that way at the moment where
it's like, all right, if we're going to focus on
guys who are more local, and that's the guys that
we really want to stretch for and sort of build
on our local brand. I always think of this one team,
and I don't know if it's changed. It was years
ago that I had read about this, but it was
a Spanish league soccer team over in the oh, what

(18:04):
do they call the Syria No Laaliga? That's right, Italian
La Liga. That was real associatedad and they only filled
their roster with players who lived within a fifty mile
radius of the stadium. And I'm like, if this is
where we are going with Major League, we got some

(18:30):
we got some interesting it is It certainly certainly is,
and I would yeah, lifestyle brands really hard to argue.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Right now, Damn, it's not hard to argue. There's always
something going on around the Cincinnati Reds. And for you
covering the Reds, what's the easiest way for listeners to
follow along with everything you get going on and uh,
the enjoyment you take in watching what transpires here with
this organization.

Speaker 3 (18:56):
Hey, I'm all over it on social media. Don't you
follow me at Jeff Carr with three ess on X.
I'm also on TikTok of that same name, and you
can follow the show everywhere you get your podcasts, including
the iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
Jeff, thank you so much. Man, hang in there, buddy,
hang in there, we'll talk, so.

Speaker 3 (19:11):
We'll get there, guys.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
Just oh yeah, Christmas is coming soon, Jeff, enjoy the
holiday season. Thank you, thanks guys. That is a Jeff Carr.

Speaker 3 (19:23):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
He kept the Go Reds in there, kept the Go Reds.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
Man.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
I appeared return. I respect that. Let's break, Let's come back.
Plenty more still to go and our number three, including
an excerpt of what Jimmy V said in his original
x SP speech. As it is Jimmy V wee happening
right now with the V Foundation, the Jimmy V Classic
was last night. We'll get to that before Quick hits
a little bit more on the football side when we

(19:47):
come back. ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. It's really
what every sport fan needs right now in Cincinnati. Just
a little angel Ridge from Jeff Henry. Holiday season is
a on us is upon us sometimes where you just
need to sit back, put a little Jeff Henry on
the radio and relax. It is said from Indianapolis, Austin

(20:12):
that Philip Rivers is an option to start the game
on Sunday.

Speaker 4 (20:17):
I did see that they activated Brett Rippon. Brett Rippon
moved to the active roster, so Rippin or Rivers, I
would imagine it's going to be Rivers. You don't go
through all this for it not to be Rivers.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
I've seen excerpts from his from his press conference. It
seems like he's been handled everything with the media.

Speaker 3 (20:38):
Well.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
I think they joked about his what his plaane weight is,
and He's like, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (20:43):
You can make the argument that Philip Rivers has never
lost a press conference.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
No, what's your plane weight? I don't know.

Speaker 4 (20:48):
I think I can't wait for you know, several years
from now, Brett Rippan will be on like a random
podcast and they'll ask him about his twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (20:57):
Starts with the Bengals. Burrow gets hurt, Jake Browning, then
he gets cut, Joe Flacco shows up, goes to Indianapolis.
You already have the nonsense that's going on with their
quarterback room, and then Philip Rivers happens, and I bet
that's just a heck of a year.

Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yeah, b oh. Brett Rippon other NFL news, The Commander's
Jade and Daniels will be out against the Giants with
the elbow re injury. We talk about this Burr all
the time. If you're the Commander's Austin, do you just
sit him down for the rest of the year.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
I think so.

Speaker 2 (21:33):
I mean, at this point, I don't have anything, nothing
else to play for. And the Kansas City Chiefs Travis
Kelcey on his latest edition of their New Heights podcast,
coming off a game first time in his thirteen year career,
he finished the game with more drops than receptions. He said, quote,
you put in all the bleeping work and hope it
pays off. And right now, just for whatever bleeping reason

(21:57):
the little things. I don't have an answer, can't find
the answer, says Travis Kelsey.

Speaker 4 (22:03):
By the way, my quarterback tiers, I have three really
top number one tier is Burrow, Stafford and Mahomes.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (22:11):
Then there's a gap and it's Josh Allen. It's not
a big gap, but it's Josh Allen. Then there's a
decent sized gap and it's Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert Dak Prescott,
Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts, Jordan Love, Drake May.
And then there's a pretty sizable gap and there's everybody else.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
Do you feel like gap two? Those quarterbacks can still win,
but they need things around them to help.

Speaker 6 (22:36):
I think so, yeah.

Speaker 4 (22:37):
And I have Lamar there just because he's clearly controlized.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
But how far off is Drake May? I feel like
everyone is on and I get he's an MVP candidate.
How far from that top tier is Drake May? Or
is it just still because it's so new still early?
You got to see a lot still early? I agree,
but those top that top tier, which I agree with.
Those are quarterbacks that elevate everyone around you and give
you a chance no matter what the rest roster is.

Speaker 4 (23:00):
I feel like Alan and Jackson kind of go back
and forth sometimes from the top tier to the tier
they're in.

Speaker 2 (23:07):
It's hard to I feel like with with Herbert just
because of the injuries as well, that you never really
get a full understanding. But and he blew off Laura Rutledge. Yeah,
that was weak, or he tried to that was weak.
What's not weak is a tradition I've had every year
since I can remember, and that is listening to Jim

(23:28):
Valvano and his SB speech as he was battling cancer.
And whether you're battling it, you know someone that's battling it,
or just going through ups and downs in life. I
always think that there are things we can draw from
the great Jim Valvano and what he had to say.
So when we come back in honor of V Week,
I'm gonna play a little bit of what Jimmy V
had to say, and after that we'll get to Moegar.

(23:50):
All happening next ESBN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
Wck Y Cincinnati and iHeartRadio Station Guaranteed, ESPN fifteen thirty
I Hard Radio.

Speaker 7 (24:05):
Hey it's Moager this holiday season.

Speaker 2 (24:07):
Let's welcome back since he three to sixty. ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati Sports Station, a service of Penn Station. It's
V Week the V Foundation Jim Valvano. The Jimmy V
Classic was last night. V Week goes until December fourteenth.
There are ways that you can make an impact v
dot org slash donate, But this is not about asking

(24:30):
you to go donate. This is about something that I
think is appropriate for all seasons of life, whether you're
dealing with an illness, someone you know is dealing with
an illness, or you're just going through highs and lows
that that happened in everyday life, especially in today's world.
It's something my dad did with me every year. We
would sit down, we'd glue ourselves to the TV, and

(24:50):
we'd listen to the famous Jim Valvano sp speech. And here,
in honor of that, in honor of V Week, in
honor of Jim Valvano and everything going on in life,
here is a couple minutes of what Jim Valvano had
to say in that historic speech.

Speaker 6 (25:05):
Also, I don't have one of those things going with
the cue cards, so.

Speaker 5 (25:08):
I'm going to speak longer than anybody else has spoken tonight,
but that's the way it goes.

Speaker 3 (25:16):
Time.

Speaker 6 (25:17):
Time is very precious to me.

Speaker 5 (25:19):
I don't know how much I have left, and I
have some things that I would like to say. Hopefully
at the end I'll have something that will be important
to other people too, But I can't help it now.
And I'm fighting cancer. Everybody knows that. And people ask
me all the time about how you go through your
life and how's your day? And nothing has changed for me.

(25:41):
As Dick said, I'm a very emotional, passionate man.

Speaker 6 (25:44):
I can't help.

Speaker 5 (25:44):
But that's being the son of Rocco and Angelina Valvano.

Speaker 6 (25:48):
That just comes with the territory.

Speaker 5 (25:50):
Right. We hug, we kiss, we love, And when people
say to me, how do you get through life? Or
each day's the same thing to me. There are three
things we all should do every day. If we do
this every day of our life, you're gonna have what
a wonderful Number one is laugh you should laugh every day.
Number two is think, you should spend some time in thought.

(26:11):
And number three is you should have your emotions moved
to tears. Could be happiness or joy, but think about it.
If you laugh, you think, and you cry that's a
full day. That's a heck of a day. You do
that seven days a.

Speaker 6 (26:25):
Week, you're gonna have something special.

Speaker 3 (26:29):
And so.

Speaker 5 (26:31):
I can't help I rode on the plane up today
with Mike Skrzhevski, my good friend and a wonderful coach.
Where people don't realize he's a ten times better person
than he is a coach, and we know he's a
great coach. He's meant a lot to me in he's
last five or six months of my battle. But when
I look at Mike, I think we competed against each
others as players.

Speaker 6 (26:50):
I coached against them fifteen years.

Speaker 5 (26:52):
And I always have to think about what's important in
life is to think, to me, the three things where
you started, where you are, and where you're gonna be.

Speaker 6 (26:59):
Those are three things that I try and do every day.
And you know, when I think.

Speaker 5 (27:02):
About getting up and giving a speech, I can't help it.
I have to remember the first speech I ever gave.
I was coaching at Rutgers University. That was my first job.
All like, oh, that's a wonderful and I was the
freshman coach. That's when freshmen played on freshman team, and
I was so fired up about my first job as coach?

Speaker 6 (27:22):
Holt said, what was it like the first job you had?

Speaker 5 (27:24):
Right, the very first time you stood in the locker
room to give a pep talk. That's a special place,
the locker room for a coach to give a talk.
So my idol as a coach was Vince Lombardi. And
I read this book called Commitment to Excellence by Vince Lombardi.
And in the book Lombardi talked about the first time
he spoke before his Green Bay Packer team in the

(27:46):
locker room noir perennial losers.

Speaker 6 (27:48):
And I'm reading this and Lombardi said he was.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
Thinking it should be a long talk, a short talk,
but he wanted to be mostly said be brief, and
is what he did. He normally, you get in the
locker room, I don't know, twenty five minutes a half
hour before the team takes the field. You do and
o's and then you give the great new rockety talk
we all do speech number eighty four. You pull him
right out, you get you get ready, get your squad right.
Who is the first one I ever gave? And I
read this thing Lombardy. What he said was he didn't

(28:11):
go in he waited. His team was wondering where is he,
Where is this great coach? He's not there. Ten minutes
he's still not there. Three minutes before to take the field.
Lombardy comes in, bangs the door open, and I think
you all remember what great presence he had, right, great presence.
And he walked in and he just walked back and
forth like this, just walk staring at the players, and

(28:31):
he said, all eyes on me. I'm reading this in
this book and I'm getting a picture. This Lombardi before
his first game, and he said, gentlemen, we will be
successful this year. You can focus on three things, and
three things only. Your family, your religion, and the Green
Bay Packers and he and the rest of it.

Speaker 6 (28:48):
They knocked the walls down, the restless history. I said,
that's beautiful. I'm gonna do that. Your family, your religion,
and Rutgers basketball. That's it. I had it. I'm listen.
I'm twenty one years old. The kids I'm coaching on nineteen,
all right, and.

Speaker 5 (29:05):
I'm gonna be the greatest coach in the world, the
next Lombardi.

Speaker 6 (29:08):
And I'm right, and I'm practicing out in right besides
locked room.

Speaker 5 (29:12):
The manager telling me, you got to go in not you, family, religion,
Rucker's basket.

Speaker 6 (29:17):
All eyes on me.

Speaker 5 (29:17):
I got it.

Speaker 6 (29:18):
I got it.

Speaker 5 (29:18):
And now finally he said three minutes. I said, fine,
true story. I go to knock the doors open, just
like the Bardy boom. He didn't open. I almost broke
my arm. I was like, you know what, I didn't open.
Now I'm down. The players are looking, you know, coach
getting help the coach up, help them out, you know.

Speaker 6 (29:35):
And now I did like Lombardi. I walked back and
forth and.

Speaker 5 (29:38):
I was going like that my arm get the feeling
back in it. And finally I said, gentlemen, all eyes,
I mean these kids wanted to play the nineteen let's go.
I said, gentlemen, will be successful this year if you
can focus on three things, and three things only said,
your family, your religion, and the Green Bay Packers.

Speaker 6 (29:56):
I told him I did that.

Speaker 5 (29:59):
I remember, remember that, I remember, I remember where I
came from. It's so important to know where you are,
and I know where I am right now. How do
you go from where you are to where you want
to be? And I think you have to have an
enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal.

(30:22):
You have to willing to work for it. I talked
about my family. My family is so important. People think
I have courage. The courage of my family's my wife, Pam,
my three daughters here, Nicole, Jamie, LeAnn, my mom who
is right here too, and and and the screen is
flashing up there thirty seconds, like I can about that

(30:44):
screen right now? Huh, I got, I got, I got
tumors all over my body. I'm worried about some guy
in the back going thirty seconds.

Speaker 3 (30:53):
Huh, you got a.

Speaker 5 (30:55):
Lot of heya, love, buddy, you got a life.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
When I think you will, you kid me? All right?

Speaker 6 (31:03):
Nut got I just got one last thing.

Speaker 5 (31:08):
I urge all of you, all of you to enjoy
your life, the precious moments. You have to spend each
day with some laughter and some thought. To get your
emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day. Ralph Waldo Everson said,
nothing break and it comes without enthusiasm.

Speaker 6 (31:27):
To keep your dreams alive in spite of problems.

Speaker 5 (31:30):
Whatever you have and believe, be able to work hard
for your dreams to come true, become a reality.

Speaker 3 (31:37):
All right.

Speaker 2 (31:37):
That's awesome, awesome stuff. It doesn't age. That was nineteen
ninety three at the SPC the Arthur Ash Award recipient.
The v Foundation was created in ninety three. Since then,
over four hundred and fifty eight million dollars raised for
game changing cancer research. Enjoy your life, know where you're at,
but know where you want to be. Laugh, Think, Have
your emotions moved to tears? It still holds true. It's

(32:00):
a It's a part of my holiday season every year.
Wanted to share that with you, whether you've heard it,
whether you've not heard it. Impactful stuff from Jim Valvano.
Mowager will join us next ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.

Speaker 7 (32:13):
From the bakery.

Speaker 1 (32:15):
Now, it's time for a quick hits on Tony Tykes.

Speaker 3 (32:18):
Since the three sixty was looking for Mo.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Mo's in the building. Mo's getting ready for the Mowager Show,
which comes up right after this. But kind enough to
join us here for a few moments for quick kids.

Speaker 6 (32:28):
MO, what's up?

Speaker 2 (32:29):
What are you coming up on the show today?

Speaker 7 (32:30):
Kind enough?

Speaker 8 (32:31):
Kind enough doing this out of charity, Yes, because there's
no way this show would be able to get through
the final segment without me stopping by.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
And what I feel like is you bring a certain
hometown discount in your ability. You don't ask for much
to come on during this segment. You just do it
because well you know you're you're from the area and
you've been doing this, So I just assume Taylor Mill Kentucky,
well Mo will happily come do this because it's a
hometown discount.

Speaker 8 (32:56):
Which is your favorite narrative, will never leave. He went
to Lasau High School. Kys Rover is gonna come here
because these are middletown. We might create a list today,
might do one of those shows, create a list of
like favorite narratives that ended up not becoming true. Luke
Fickle has kids who go to a school here. They
don't have schools in places here. His wife likes yoga here.

(33:18):
The Reds are poor. Reds are poor. I just don't
have any money pulling pulling their pockets out. You guys
have covered this Reds thing from every conceivable angle. I'll
try to pick up where you left off because it's
about making the team better, right, It's about the Reds
need mechanically, need to use this offseason to take the

(33:40):
Reds from what they were last season, which was barely
a playoff team, and making a team that is capable
of contending for a division title and maybe a World
Series title, and I think that's gonna be really hard.
There's still time to do that. I'm not sure there's
time for them to change their brand. I know what
their brand is. Your brand is your reputation. The Reds

(34:02):
have cemented their reputation, right or wrong. They have cemented
their reputation that they will not go to the end
of the earth to be the best in the world
at what they do, and I think they have a
very uphill battle when it comes to changing that. They
may trade for Tel Marte, who's not from Cincinnati, so
I'm not sure how genuinely interested there. They may acquire

(34:24):
players like the new version of Austin Hayes or the
new version of Brady Singer. I'm sure they will acquire
players who have the chance to make the team better.
I think their chance at getting goodwill, I think their
chance at creating buzz, and frankly, I think their chance
at dramatically remaking the team came and went with Kyle
Schwarber resigning with the Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (34:45):
Surprised how open they were about the process. A little
bit of you know, it's more about getting fans to
the game. There's those types of comments or breaking even
that they've talked about in the offseason.

Speaker 8 (34:56):
So here's one thing I wonder Schwarber comes to visit
and what the Reds try to convince him is to
take a hometown discount, right, take a hometown discount and uh,
you know, sign here because you're from here. If you're
a Kyle Schwarber, aren't you going you want me to

(35:17):
take a discount. I'm not sure about your ability to
build the team around me that enables me to win.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
Like, cause I know the team I was just on
will build.

Speaker 7 (35:28):
These guys want to win.

Speaker 8 (35:29):
So if your first impression is well, we're crying poor,
you go well, if you're crying poor with me and
I had fifty six Dons last year, where else are
you gonna? Who else are you asking to take a discount?
Like I think when you're I'm trying to think of
a good, good comparison here. But if like I don't
know that you're the free agent they bring you in
and they're trying to tell you that you got to

(35:50):
take a discount, that tells me, dude, you're not gonna
do everything you can to win I'll go to Philadelphia,
where I feel like maybe it's because they have more resources,
but they will do everything they can win, including pay
me the money that I'm looking for that the market
dictates I should get.

Speaker 2 (36:05):
Joe Burrow's birthday today.

Speaker 7 (36:06):
Happy birthday, Joe.

Speaker 2 (36:07):
How about that? Were you surprised to see and hear
that that T Higgins is doing some stuff at practice
today a little bit? Yeah? Or more surprising than Shamar
Stewart's partaking in practice today? Who Chamar Stuart holds that
they drafted him last year seventeenth overall pick, high upside guy,
measurables through the roof.

Speaker 7 (36:28):
Dude, start to show it?

Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yeah, I mean like he's gonna have to. Ohsai and
Hendrickson are not going to be on under contract.

Speaker 8 (36:35):
So we had a loud discussion yesterday about this. They
just need to be league average. Okay, I'm gonna talk
about this today. Yeah, I'm gonna talk about the league.
He's just gonna be league average. Is there a perfect
way to determine which college football teams should play for
a championship?

Speaker 3 (36:51):
No?

Speaker 8 (36:53):
So I understand the holes and inconsistencies, and I understand
Notre Dames gripe. I'm not sure how many more inner
views are press conferences I have to see with the
Notre Dame Athletic director.

Speaker 7 (37:03):
But okay, I get it.

Speaker 8 (37:06):
When I was a kid, they chose the national championship
via pole, like after the bowl games, whoever was number
one in the AP Top twenty five or the UPI poll.
So we had split national champions decided that wasn't good enough.
That we had the BCS every year. Not good enough? Okay, fine,
college football playoffs.

Speaker 2 (37:25):
Sure, not good enough?

Speaker 7 (37:25):
Four teams twelve team committee knocked?

Speaker 8 (37:28):
Is I just this is why I like when people
complain about this process. It has started to fall on
deaf ears for me. Yeah, because literally my entire life,
people have been complaining about the process, but the process
always changes.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
Based on UC basketball start to the season. I'd like
to revisit the process of expanding the NCAA tournament field
to what two and fifty six?

Speaker 7 (37:48):
Rick Browing and the Musketeers joins us.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Nice?

Speaker 7 (37:50):
Did you watch Clemson BYU last night?

Speaker 2 (37:52):
So fun? Bearcats play those two teams and Georgia who
lost to Clemson ninety seven ninety four?

Speaker 7 (37:57):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (37:59):
How how how do you view?

Speaker 3 (38:01):
Like?

Speaker 2 (38:01):
What are some other phrases. Maybe that are coming close
to your next muted social media word.

Speaker 7 (38:06):
Oh that's a very good question.

Speaker 2 (38:08):
Like how close are you to just being done with
hometown discount?

Speaker 7 (38:14):
Maybe because he's from here, m M, that might be never.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
Think about I think in Middletown's fine, but what about
what about Middletown? Are you done with Middletown?

Speaker 7 (38:23):
Love Middletown?

Speaker 2 (38:24):
Okay, Middletown.

Speaker 7 (38:25):
I have spent some time in Middletown.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
By the way, the NFL has shortened the time to
pick in the first round of the NFL Draft good
from ten minutes to eight minutes.

Speaker 8 (38:34):
It should be zero minutes. You've had four months to
make the pick. It should be here's the draft, Titans
or Browns or whoever is on the clock. Who you got, Yeah,
you don't need eight more minutes.

Speaker 7 (38:45):
Let's go.

Speaker 4 (38:45):
We should put them all up on stage like they
do the NBA.

Speaker 8 (38:48):
I think the draft would be more fun if the
team's had one minute between picks. All right, then we
see what these teams are really made of.

Speaker 2 (38:53):
Thanks for listening Blagger's Next on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports station.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
Wise, since it make us the number one preset on
your car radio and on the free new and improved
iHeartRadio app free never sounded so good.

Speaker 6 (39:07):
ESPN fifteen thirty
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