8/25 H2: Justin Turner; Giannis rejects contract; David Vassegh

Justin Turner, joins us before he and the Red Sox get set to face the Dodgers. The Greek Freak won't sign a supermax with the Bucks unless they show a commitment to winning. David Vassegh joins us from Boston.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
And we continue on on a Friday, Fred Rogan, Rodney Pete on a
five seventy LA Sports three o'clock,the Dodger pregame show four o'clock. Whether're
permitting, they'll get underway at FenwayPark. If you're just jumping on between
now and three, we have twopairs of tickets to give away for the
Dodgers and Diamondbacks game Tuesday night atthe stadium. We'll give you a cute

(00:23):
a call. We wish you allthe best of luck. We'd love to
see it out there. So twopairs of tickets, one each hour between
now and three o'clock. Also,Rodney, we have to give away Fantasy
springs, was Orcasino and spots thetwo Nights Day. They love the Boys
in Blue. They love fans ofthe Boys in Blue. You're a fan
of the Boys in Blue. Soyou have an opportunity to go out there

(00:43):
and they'll hook you up. Youcan go to the pool and go bowling,
play golf, go to a show. They'll feed you. It's a
great spot. They just want youto have a good time, and we'll
do that between now and three o'clock. Okay, that's all of our housekeeping.
Now should we bring out a friendof ours? Oh? Please,
been waiting for this all day.Good buddy, greatly missed here in Los

(01:07):
Angeles, having a hell of ayear in Boston. What a treat we
welcome on, Justin Turner and Justinthanks for jumping on, Thanks for having
me. Guys, missed you?Hey, well we've missed you as well,
is it? How does it feelwith the Dodgers there and you're seeing
everybody that you are a part ofthat club for so long? How do
you feel today? Yeah, it'swell it's raining out, so a little

(01:32):
sad about that. But obviously it'salways cool to get back on the field
against your your former team. Ihave had some experience in this before,
you know, playing for the matchfor four years and then going over there
with the Dodgers and playing against them. So but yeah, it's been you
know, looking forward to it.Hey, just and so much for it.

(01:53):
You know, my guy being overthe hill at thirty eight and saying,
okay, put him out the past. Man. The only thing you've
done is it in two ninety withsome twenty home runs and you still got
a lot more in the tank?Man, did you ever feel I know,
don't one ever set it to you, probably to your face or anything.
Do you ever feel like maybe theythink I'm getting to that point where

(02:14):
I'm it's gonna be diminishing return.That's why I'm not still here as a
Dodger. Did you come into thisseason, as you know, with maybe
something to prove? Yeah, Idon't. I feel like I come into
every season with something to prove.And it's something that you know, I've
talked about a little bit, nota whole lot, because I don't really

(02:34):
enjoy talking about myself too much.But you know, the age thing has
come up a ton, especially inthe last few years, and I get
how it works, and you know, everything on papers as you're supposed to
climb. But you know, Idon't really set goals for seasons. I
The only thing I want to dois I want to outperform my contract,
whatever that is, every single year, and you know, make sure that

(02:58):
you know, I prove my valueand and nothing is different this year.
I came in here and obviously anew organization. I want to make a
good impression, but also want toyou know, prove that I'm worth you
know, the contract that was givento me, our guest is Justin Turner.
Okay, do you keep an eyein the Dodgers justin or you're really
focused on what you're doing. Youtalk to the guys on the club during

(03:21):
the season, just check out wherethey are in the standing. Is anything
like that? Yeah, obviously Ifollow along and still have a lot of
really good relationships over there. Infact, he gave is in the clubhouse
right now, So especially paying attentionto him and following along with him since
you know, he's probably one ofthe bigger reasons I'm wearing a Red Sox
jersey right now. But uh,you know, we we have a tough

(03:46):
task in front of us and adivision that we're in, and it's really
focusing on, you know, what'sin front of us and what we have
to do at hand. And onceonce our day's over, you know,
I think most guys, you know, flip on the TV and check out
what games are going on and whatthe Dodgers being on the West Coast,
Uh, there's an opportunity to catcha lot of those games after we're done

(04:08):
doing our thing. This is thisis kind of unfamiliar for you right now.
I mean, for as long asyou were a Dodger. You guys
were in the middle of either winningdivision or right there and getting ready for
the playoffs, and now you guysare a little, you know, kind
of eleven games back and it lookslike it's going to be a long shot
for you guys to make it.How difficult is that for you? I

(04:29):
know, you approach every game islike it's one day at a time.
But the mindset of being with theDodgers and winning a year and the year
out and now where you guys are, is that something tough for you at
this point in your career. Yeah. I mean, well, I think
we're only three games out of thewild cards, so looking at it like
we're a long shot to win thedivision maybe, but to get in the

(04:50):
playoffs. Uh, you know,we're knocking on the door. Were right
where we need to be, anduh, you know, there's still a
lot of games left, a lotof baseball we've played, and you know,
we like the group that we haveand we're looking forward to making this
run kind of stretch. So allthat matters is getting in and I know
that, uh as well as anybody. It doesn't matter how many games you

(05:13):
win in the regular season. It'sabout what you do in the postseason once
you get in. So, uh, we're just going to show up every
day, play good baseball and andmake this run to get in the playoffs,
and then anything can happen in October. Hey, hey, justin talk
about being back there in Boston inthe fan base. Like you said,
you played for some different teams.You played with the met I had a
chance of playing in Philadelphia for fouryears, and I know what a rapid

(05:35):
fan base that can be. Talkabout the fan base and in Boston and
how have they been towards you.Honestly, the fans have been fantastic.
They fill this place up every singlenight. The energy is unbelievable. They're,
you know, singing from at thetop of their lungs every eighth inning
Sweet Caroline, you know, asa visiting player and the daughters coming in

(05:56):
here, I wasn't too fond ofthat song, but getting to hear it
every night now I was a homeplayer. Uh, It's it's pretty special,
man. Literally every single person inthe stadium is out of their seat
things. In fact, they're singingso loud. A few weeks ago,
the home played umpire called time outand turned around to the press box like
turn off the music. Even thoughthere was no music playing, it was

(06:17):
just the fans singing. So that'ssomething I've never seen before. But they've
been fantastic. They're smart, smartbaseball fans. They understand the game.
They understand when they get out oftheir seats to understand when you know there's
milestones going on, whether it's forus or for other players. Maggie was
just here with Detroit about a weekago, and and the standing ovation they

(06:39):
gave him before the game, andthen also recognizing when he was going up
for his last at bat in Fenway, every single fan was out of their
feet applotting him and in his amazingcareer and everything he's accomplished. So they're
they're really really good baseball fans here. And justin what's it like just playing
in Fenway Park from the side lookingat it? I've been there. I

(07:00):
think Rodney's been there. Uh youknow, you look at it and you've
never been there. I think,God, this thing is so old.
Why know, the inside has beencompletely remodeled. What's it like just playing
inside Fenway Park? It's great,it's great. It's Uh, it's it's
like a small family here with everyonefrom you know, the the valet guys

(07:23):
have great relationships with them, toeveryone working inside the clubhouse, the front
office. It really is like aone big family. And then to come
in and uh, playing the lightshere at Fenway is fantastic. It's another
historic ballpark that I get to callmy home this year. Hey, justin
you know, the most important thing, how has it been for Courtney?

(07:44):
I know Holly has kept in touchwith her and they've gone back and forth.
But how from your side, howhas she adjusted to it? How's
it been for her? Yeah,she's loving it. She's got the dogs
up here and uh, being upin the Northeast, uh, you know,
not traveling all the time. She'smade all kinds of day trips up
to New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine. She's been up to Quebec City.

(08:05):
We did Rhode Island for the AllStar break, so she's she's on the
Northeast tour and and really enjoying it. We're huge, huge oyster fans,
so we get some of the bestoysters in the world right here in the
Northeast. So it's been it's beenfantastic and they've embraced her. We got
our event coming up tomorrow for theFoundation, our third annual Turner Trot and

(08:26):
the Red Sox of dove In andand supported us in that, and we're
looking forward to a great event.And there's still time to sign up virtually
if you're not going to be inBoston or if you if you are coming
out this weekend for the series,you can go to Turner Trot dot com
and sign up and we'll be atthe hatch over on the Charles River tomorrow
morning at eight am, raising moneyfor homeless veterans and kids in hospitals battling

(08:50):
different illnesses and Jesus. So theFoundations are Baby and the Red Sox of
Dilwrighten and supporting us and as well. So that's been nice. Just in
your wildest dreams, if you canthink back this far, when you're a
kid, did you ever think,I mean you loved baseball obviously, Did
you ever think your life would turnout this way where you are paid to

(09:11):
play the game you love, whereyou have played in big cities, met
so many people, had so manyexperiences. Uh no, No, I
mean I know I love the game. I knew I love playing the game,
and I wanted to play as longas I could, but just didn't
know, you know, where thatwas going to take me. And I've
never a guy who looks too farahead or tries to plan things out,

(09:33):
because I know how this world workswhen you plan stuff out, that never
quite goes away you you wanted to. So I'm a big guy who just
takes it one day at a timeand tries to do the best I can
with was in front of me,and then you know, handle tomorrow tomorrow.
So extremely proud of everything I'm accomplished, but hoping I can I can
keep continuing to do great things inthis game for many years to come.

(09:56):
Hey, JT mentioned Kik and himbeing one of the reasons why you're back
in Boston. To see what hehad to go through in the last year
and the last games that he wasthere in Boston, it was very,
very tough. And then to seehim get traded back to the Dodgers and
and see what he's doing now andhow he's he's kind of flourished back in
at Dodge of Blue. Have youhad a chance to converse with him,

(10:18):
and how happy are you for himthat he's been able to turn it around
this year? Yeah, I talkedto kik A, you know, probably
four or five times a week,so those conversations are still going on.
And you know, he he hadmade some adjustments his last few days here
and was actually you know, takinggreat at bats and thought he got himself

(10:41):
to a good place and right beforethe trade happened, and that's kind of
carried over and rolled on straight tobeing a Dodger and obviously him going over
here and having the success he hashad so far, couldn't be more happy
for him. All Right, Well, Justin, we appreciate you coming on.
Thank you for the time. Youknow, everybody missus you and hey,

(11:01):
way to go. Man, you'rehaving a great year. Thank you,
Thank you guys, thanks for havingme on. All right, good
job, Kevin, wait a goodJustin. That was nice. Good get
today and great hearing from Justin Turner. Later this hour, David Vassel joined
us from Fenway Park. When wecome back, here's the deal. If

(11:24):
you don't prove to me, ifyou don't do everything you can to show
me you're about winning, then I'mnot going to be here. But the
problem is we've done everything we canto show you we're about winning. We'll
explain. Oh yes, it isa Friday, and feeling good on a
Friday. College football opening weekend Dodgersand Boston Man, let's go, Freddie,

(11:52):
I'm be excited about the weekend,Rodney. When you played, you
had one objective. Yes, youwanted to win. Yes, you wanted
to be surrounded by the best playersyou could. Every time you stepped on
the field, you wanted to win. Damn right. Yes you got paid,
but as an athlete, as acompetitor, no, no, no,
no, no no. Okay,well you didn't hear you. You

(12:13):
also got paid at you dare you, I'll dare you. Yeah, you
got paid before there was an ilstop it. You were just a pioneer
stop it. You are a precursorto what was to come. Stop it.
Okay, well we don't get goingto that. But you wanted to
win every time, and when youwere a pro, you wanted to win
every time. Yeah, that's whyyou get into it. Yes, you're
competitive. You want to win.Okay, if you're a superstar player,

(12:35):
if you're Lebron James or anyone ofthat caliber, you really want to win.
But you need help. You'll openlyadmit it now. However, it
played out here. He's finally gotthe help, he's got the team and
hopefully this year it turns around andthey go all the way. But you
need guys around you, and mostimportantly, if you're committing to a team,

(12:58):
you want to make sure that teamis also making a commitment to win.
Is that fair? Yes? Allright, So here's the situation.
Jannis the Greek Freak is able tosign a contract extension coming up very very
soon. Now. If he waitstill the end of the season, he'll
have an opportunity to sign an evenbigger deal. He has made it known

(13:22):
in Milwaukee that before I do anything, I need to make sure you're committed
to winning fair. I need tomake sure you'll do everything you can to
give us the best chance to win. There is Well, here's the dilemma.

(13:43):
They have done everything they can.They do pay the tax, they're
not a big market. They havesurrounded him with players that can play.
They've gone out of their way tobuild a team, and again they're in
the tax and they're not a bigmarket. So every step of the way

(14:05):
he's been there, they have shownhim we are committed to winning and we're
doing everything we possibly can. Sohe turns around and goes, well,
I'm not doing anything because I'm sureyou're committed to winning. But no one
can argue the fact that they havebeen committed to winning as much so as
they can. In Milwaukee, it'snot a great free agent destination. So

(14:26):
they have done everything humanly possible towin and give him that opportunity. But
he makes a statement like that nowwhen they've already gone out of their way
and you can't have to believe they'renot going to stop. They're going to
continue because they've been doing it.Why do you say that, because it
seems pretty obvious, given the waythey've been conducting their business that they're in

(14:52):
it to win it. Do youthink they would just one day go over?
We don't care. I don't know. There's a lot of a lot
of ranizations that once they win oneeight, we got ours, let's move
on a love Boston Red Sox.Anythink Mookie left wanted to get out of
there. Boston Red Sox win achampionship and then they go, that's good

(15:16):
enough for us for a while.We're gonna sell off everybody. You gotta
show me the future. In thefuture, he has I believe he's locked
up two more years and then aplayer option, so for at least two
more years. They got him locked. They don't have to do anything.
He didn't have to do anything,So show me going forward. Yes,
you did everything, you paid ChrisMiddleton and we got that championship, right,

(15:41):
but what are we doing going forward? You're talking about what you want
me here for the rest of mytime in the NBA. You want me
here for the long haul. Yougotta show me, show me that you
are committed to winning as well.So I don't think it's an outrageous statement.
Yes, we got one and youdid that, but let's not stop

(16:02):
there. You know, guys,you know when you win one, you
get greeting. You want more.You know. He looks up and goes
and I need to be one ofthose guys that win multiple you know,
gotta be like Golden State. Igotta I gotta win multiple title. Lebron's
got multiple titles. All the greatones got multiple titles. So he's looking
up at eight. I'm not gonnabe this guy that's won one title and

(16:25):
all of a sudden, you know, years later, people are trying to
reflect on that one title. Iwon back in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty,
whenever it was Yeah, but there'snothing to indicate or that has been
an indication. So why should Isign it now? Why do I need
to sign the extension now? No, he shouldn't sign it now. He
should wait till after the season,because that's the real exactly. So saying

(16:48):
he's waiting and not signing anything,now, show me that, continue to
show me that commitments. But he'sletting him know. He's putting them on
notice now. And we're not gonnafloat through the next two years, three
years, No, you know,I'm gonna wait and watch how we conduct
ourselves over the next two years.Then we'll make a decision. The money
doesn't change. By the way,the extension they are able to offer him

(17:11):
next month will be the same.In the off season, he can say
supermax contract, so the money won'tchange super max. I don't know.
You know, you're saying he's kindof putting him on notice, and I'm
gonna be watching. I think he'sputting him on notice, saying and I
could leave, and I think he'salways got to be that threat to leave.
Of course it does. Why not, I don't know if they continued

(17:33):
the way they are, and theyhave surrounded him, and they have they
have tried to build a winning team. If they continue the way they lose
some guys this offseason, didn't theynot signed by some think left. Bobby
Porters left left. They got BrookLopez back. He was another one who
was a threat to leave, butthey brought him back to Okay, so
you keep showing me, showing methat we're gonna be in the contention.
We're gonna be in the in thethickett things. Yeah. My my problem

(17:55):
was when Hollow whin is Holli DrewHoliday is up win. Actually they were
signed Porters. Excuse me, Holidayis up. Bobby Port had resigned there.
I thought Bobby Port had left afterthis season. Drew's up after this
season as another one. Okay,So let's say they do whatever it is
he believes is necessary to win andthey don't win, and they've done everything

(18:18):
they can. They have brought thepieces in and it has not worked.
After you make a statement like that, could you turn around and go,
well, look you did what youcould, but obviously it wasn't enough even
though it's all you could do.I'm leaving see that's what I think this
is leading to. Hey, youget you gotta win, we gotta win.

(18:41):
You gotta show me. All right, here's what we're gonna do.
It doesn't work, they don't win. Can he then turn around and go,
well, you know, I toldyou to do it. I told
you to show me. You showedme what you could, but it didn't
work. So then we didn't win. And I'm leaving. Yeah, yeah,
absolutely that he could do the samething. But we're not gonna think

(19:03):
that we got a tip and whenwe're gonna make up start all over again,
Yeah, we're not. So theyhave the same ability to do that
to him as he's doing there.It's just for so long it's been on
the other side the players have nothad that power. All Right, we're
gonna we're gonna correct Rodney's signal becausehe's breaking up a little bit. And

(19:26):
as we do that, let's bringon our buddy David Basset, who was
at Fenway Park and Dave, goodafternoon to you. Hey, good afternoon,
Fred, Yes, live at FenwayPark. I've already spent time,
as you know, with Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen, Alex Cora, even
Chris Martin and I have been reunitedhere in Boston and right now the tarp
is on the field and no rainis falling, and by all accounts from

(19:51):
the Red Sox side, it lookslike this game is going to start on
time because they've been playing through rainall year long, is what Kenley and
Justin have told me. So thisis nothing. And actually Kenley Jansen was
trying to find one of the Dodgertrainers, Possum, and he's been very
elusive to the dog Dodger all time. Saves leader. I guess loyalty is

(20:12):
uh, sometimes fall short with somepeople. And why is Kenley trying to
find Possum. Oh, they're goodfriends. He took care of him while
he was here with the Dodgers,so they'll reconnect. And Kenley was outside
the Dodger clubhouse earlier today at FenwayPark reconnecting with a lot of guys,
and it was it was really greatto see him. I haven't seen him

(20:34):
since last year. And he obviouslyhas fond memories of pitching in La.
Justin has fond memories a pitch orplaying in LA and he's actually going to
have as you know, Fred kindof a reunion with Dodger fans out here
as the Justin Turner Foundation has puton a five K Turner trot, Dave

(20:55):
for you, because personally, toget to see those guys, what was
that like? These are guys youtraveled with, you got to know pretty
well what was that like for youpersonally? Well, certain players for it
as you know, you've become closerto than others, and Justin and Kinley
since the first day I started thisand the first day that Justin came to

(21:17):
the Dodgers have definitely brought me intotheir inner circle more than some I would
say, more than the majority ofa lot of players. So it's great
to see people like that that youhaven't seen in a long time, and
you wish them all the success inthe world, no matter what uniform they're
wearing. And you know, guysare making fun of me on the Dodgers

(21:41):
side that haven't seen me this happyall season long, So that just might
tell you something, all Dave,can you explain We tried to figure this
out earlier you were there. Who'sin charge of the game in Cleveland?
Is that the umpires? Is thatthe ground crew? Who's in charge?
Well, once the game starts,it's in the umpire's hands. And I

(22:04):
guess in Cleveland they're giving the groundscrew a little bit too much credit for,
you know, bringing out the tarp, because the umpires, although it's
their call, they work in concertwith the grounds crew of every stadium.
And the head grounds crew in Clevelandhas been in charge for thirty one years

(22:25):
there and his reputation is to jumpthe gun a little bit too soon before
rain even falls. And that's wherethe frustration of not only the Dodgers,
but the home ball club, theGuardians. Chris Antonetti, the president of
baseball operations for the Guardians, actuallycame into the Dodger clubhouse between games yesterday

(22:45):
and apologized to Dave Roberts for theway things were handled. And yeah,
the grounds crew out there in Clevelanddoes not have a great reputation around baseball.
They's a feeling Ryan Pepio's performance,I thought he looked pretty good.
How are they feeling about him?Yeah, they feel just as good as

(23:07):
you do. Rodney. He hada great performance yesterday. He has gotten
the field back for his devastating changeup. He found it during the off
season. He made some mechanical adjustmentsand then he was able to bring it
out for spring training, and yesterdaystruck out the side and order in the
fifth inning in Cleveland without the groundscrew interrupting that inning, which was surprising.

(23:33):
I can't I can't get over theground screw. Oh my god,
I can't get over that, Dave, I thought, what is going on?
But yeah, to your point dayand he looked like, I don't
know where he got the confidence levelthat he showed. It looked like a
different kid, I know. Andhe was selling that fastball up in the
strike zone for those strikeouts. Soyeah, he does look like a different

(23:55):
guy. He was the twenty seventhman, so he is not technically on
the Dodgers active roster right now,and they may maneuver their roster to be
able to give Gavin Stone a chanceevery fifth day because you can't bring Pepio
back up even as a twenty seventhman for ten days and less an injury

(24:15):
causes his recall. How about Mooki'sperformance yesterday in Cleveland, Dave, you
ever seen him that hot? Well? I was walking in with Clayton Kershaw
today to Fenway Park and he saidhe has never seen Mookie this hot everything
he does, he gets a hit, he said, I don't know,
and Kershaw said, he doesn't knowhow much hotter he can get. I

(24:37):
mean, how do you get evenhotter than Mookie bets right now? And
he has raised his batting average thirtypoints in a month. That's not something
you do this late in the season. He was hitting two seventy one the
first day of July. He's wellover three hundred now and certainly is starting
to create some buzz that Ronald AkunyaJr. Is not the runaw Way MVP

(25:00):
in the National League. And hejust had his press conference reread and he
did not shed a tear, whichI was very pleased with, and he
was just the same old, consistentMooki. I love it. You mentioned
the MVP race. Freddie Freeman stillin that race too, don't you think,
Dave or is it? Does itturn him into a two man race.

(25:23):
It's a three man race, andit's it's a Kunya, it's Mookie
and it's Freddie. And I feellike Freddie was ahead of Mookie just three
weeks ago, and now Mooki's aheadof Freddie. You know, these two
guys, we've never seen this withthe Dodgers to have these two guys playing
at the level they're playing gat Honestly, the last time the Dodgers had a

(25:45):
one two MVP combo, you haveto go all the way back to nineteen
fifty five with Roy Campanella and DukeSnyder, where Campanella won the MVP that
year in Snyder finished second. That'sthe closest comparison we have had. Dave,
have you had a chance to talkto key Case since he is back
today and what are his feelings.Yeah, talked to key Ka the last

(26:07):
couple of days about coming back toBoston, and look, he's downplaying it.
The ending year wasn't ideal for him. But talking to Kenny Jansen,
he was a big part of theirclubhouse and everybody loved him in Boston,
so he started to figure it out. Was my understanding talking to key Ka
the last week here offensively, andhe certainly has carried that over. Yesterday's

(26:29):
birthday three hits including a home run, and oh, Kenney Jansen has made
his way out onto the fail andthe trainer trainer Possum is actually going to
lower himself and pry himself away fromthe boys in Blue. To go say
hi to his former closer. Bigreunion, A lot of reunion here.

(26:51):
It's not just about Mookie. OhKenney Jansen just Barra hugged five three Possum
and picked him up into the air. Ve's on it, d right there,
And now Julio Arias has emerged fromthe dugout and has come over to
give a big hug to Kenley,who, by the way, has a

(27:11):
left hamstring injury. He's not goingon to I L but the chances of
seeing him in the first two gamesof this series are not very good.
Hey, Dave, Will Michael Bushsays, yeah, there he is the
man? Is he going to stayup? Dave? He is? He's
the d H tonight? Nice?Nice? Is he still celebrating that home
run? A great day in Boston. It's all sunny above me, even

(27:34):
though it's cloudy and the skies.All right, we'll Dave. You are
on the field, you're seeing Dave. Go enjoy it, Dave. Enjoy
the fellows, the reunion, allof that stuff. Man, take it
all in. Okay, thanks guys, We'll talk to you later. And
the game is going to start ontime. All right, There goes Dave

(27:55):
at three o'clock pregame show. We'llhave the first pitch at four ten,
and you know, talking about theDodgers, don't you think we should give
away some tickets for tuesday seame againstArizona. I think so let's do that.
Yeah eight six six nine eight seventwo five seventy. Okay, Rodney,
what caller number? I think?Four? Fred caller four? You're
going to see the Dodgers and DiamondBash at the stadium on Tuesday. Come

(28:19):
on, let's keep it moving ona Friday. Ah, love it it.
They best say. Seemed like hewas having a good old time out
there, didn't he. You know, isn't it fun? Honestly? Do
you hear him having fun? Yeah? Yeah, it really is. It
really is. Yeah, he's he'sso plugged in. He knows everybody.
He's traveled with the club for years, so a lot of these folks become

(28:41):
his friends. For him to beout there and experience that, I'm just
glad he has that opportunity. Icould tell you you know firsthand, when
you when you're with someone for along time and then they get traded or
they go to another team, whenyou do play them and you get to
see him pregame. It is itis a great experience, especially somebody that
you care about, so to befor for a lot of those guys going
back to Boston, or for forJT and for ken Leyan, for the

(29:04):
guys like that, or they're thereto see their old team come into town
and be able to reflect. Andit's not just the players as as he
mentioned, it's it's Tim David Vessey, it's Possum as he mentioned, the
trainer, Possum being able to goout and say a load of the guys
because you remember, you remember allthose guys when you're at a place that
was good to you, remember theequipment guys, you remember the clubhouse guys

(29:27):
you're JT mentioned r J. So, I mean you remember all the people
in the organization because they were goodto you and you have fond memories,
so you see them before you play. It's a it's a great experience.
Did you did you throughout your careerwere there moments like that before games where
you saw guys you used to playwith Oh yeah, oh yeah all the

(29:48):
time. And it was really coolbecause you do, like I said,
you spend so much time, youknow, with those guys off the time.
More time than you spend with yourfamily, you spend with your teammates
and uh, and you miss guys, guys that you get close to.
And it's the nature of the business. Sometimes they get you get cut or
get traded and they land on anotherteam. So when you get an opportunity

(30:11):
to go to another team, Iwould look forward to see it was on
that roster. It was anybody onthat roster that I used to play with.
And and you you know, youlook up and say, oh,
so andso is there, so andso's there. And then if you go
away from a team and you comeback to their home place and you get
a chance to see all the staffthat works there. There were there were
ushers. I remember going back toPhiladelphia and there were ushers that I got

(30:33):
to know pretty well that were gatheredand I got a chance to go over
and say a load to them forabout five minutes before one of the games,
and it was it was pretty cool. All right, did you have
you heard the story of Luis Ruby? Allis, Ah, yeah, I
have, Okay, I have,Yeah, he see him. He went
a little too far. Fred,All right, well, let's write this

(30:55):
down. So he's the president ofthe Spanish Football Federation and there was some
controversy and he decided that it wastoo much and he was going to resign.
Then he said, I'm not resigning. I will not resign, So
he's not going to resign. Here'sthe deal. If you haven't seen the
clip, Spain wins the Women's WorldCup, and once the United States is

(31:15):
knocked out of an event like thatin this country, the interest wanes dramatically.
It was the same thing, Yeah, the same thing when there was
a World Cup anymore after the USgot knocked out. Quite honestly, I
don't think many people did. Andthat happens in international events. Just so
you know, it's not like peopledon't like the women soccer or anything like

(31:36):
that. But when I did theOlympics for NBC, the one thing you
always rooted for, no matter whatit was, whatever sport you were doing,
keep the Americans in it. Yeah, always keep the Americans in international
competition because you think the country youroot for him. Quick question, do
you think that that is in themind of under the other countries, but

(31:56):
also the Olympic Commedity Committee or theFEBA committee or World Cup committees that well
that deep down inside, they're rootingfor the Americans to stay in as long
as possible because of that, becauseof the viewership. Yeah, well,
let's put it like this. Ithelps them. They've already been paid their
rights fee. So it's more thetelevision, the broadcasting entity that wants the

(32:20):
Americans in. And I can tellyou when I did boxing for NBC,
you know, God, just pleaseget to the metal rounds. We had
a couple of years nobody got tothe metal rounds. Yeah, and that
was the end of that. You'restill doing it, but you know that
you're not going to have the kindof viewership. When I did curling,
the Americans get to the metal rounds, get to the metal rounds. The

(32:40):
minute they're knocked out. Things changeddramatically, right, So okay, in
international play you want the Americans in. The American women were knocked out.
So for some this kind of wentunnoticed, although it became a story.
So Luis Ruby Hollis, he's incharge of the Spanish Football Federation. Spain
wins a women's World Cup. Now, I look, I've grown up here,

(33:06):
but I know in different countries thereare different customs, and I also
know people become very emotional, veryaffectionate. I'm sure in some countries it's
not unusual to kiss somebody in bothcheeks to express that emotion. So they
win. Here he is, he'sgiven them their metals. They're walking by
him, and he just plants akiss square on the lips of one of

(33:30):
the players. He's so excited,he's so overwhelmed, he's so thrilled.
He just gives her one bam,right on the lips. He didn't hold
it for five minutes, they didn'tstart making out. It was just bam.
But he kissed her right on thelips. All right. So this
was televised and seemed highly inappropriate,so much so that he caught a lot

(33:53):
of flak for this and a lotof heat. All right. I saw
the clip. Granted we don't usuallysee that in the United States, but
I don't know if it's not customaryin a moment like that, where you
might give somebody a way to go. So, I don't know, I
was a way to go. Thatwas a way to go. You did
it. I'm thrilled, you're thrilled, were happy, BAM. I don't

(34:15):
know. I wouldn't do it personally, but I can't judge what they do
in other countries. But anyway,this caused a great outrage. So I'm
thinking about it. What I'm saying, I wonder if people overreacted to this.
I wonder if they kind of overreacted. It was just a quick and
done. Yeah, we wouldn't doit, but maybe in that country.

(34:37):
But then you hear this part ofit, and then you start to wonder.
So it turns out when they score, they take the lead, everybody's
exciting, excited. Of course,he's sitting there, he's watching. He
jumps up, he jumps up,He's so thrilled. He jumps up and
just grabs his crotch like there yougo. Okay. Now, Also we

(35:00):
have to add that there was asixteen year old girl sitting right next to
him, not just a girl,princess okay, you know, and Ata
Sophia okay standing near by. Yeah, so the princess. You know,
he said, hey, hey,princess, look at this. We got

(35:22):
No, he didn't do that,friend, Oh no, I didn't.
I know, I didn't mean fromthat regard. I didn't mean. I
wish that would be true, friend, that be really something to talk about.
No, I think he was youknow, princess, Hey we did
yeah, look at it. Whatevery day? He did not do that.
Put that to bed. He didnot do that. He did it

(35:43):
on celebrating the goal, but hedid not do that to the princess.
Well, I'm just saying she sawit. Yeah, she you know,
she was an ice shot. Shegot to see him letting everybody know that
they were the team. So youadd that to the kid, and now
you're starting to think to yourself,Okay, maybe this guy's a little overboard,

(36:05):
maybe it's too much. And thenthey wanted him to resign. Then
he said he would resign, butthen he decided he's not resigning. He's
staying in there because he's done nothingwrong. Rodney, I think the crotch
grab, Okay, that that probablywas a little over the top, a
little much with the princess, butjust that kiss, the way he did

(36:28):
it, because you've seen the clip, what do you think of that?
Well, the crotch grab. Yeah, you're you're the you're the president of
Soccer's right, you can't do that. First of all, you can't do
that, the crotch grab. Heonly is the president of soccer. You
can't. Yeah, come on,he's just yeah. And and then the

(36:52):
kiss if you see it here wasthe girl's name was her name Jenny something,
Jenny with Jenny hermo. So shehad no chance and and to back
away to do anything because he grabbedher by the side of the head and
pulled her in and kissed her.Yeah like but but yeah forcibly and and

(37:16):
so it wasn't like she leaned into kiss him on the lift or anything
like that. She had no shotto back away to do anything in that
moment. And then on top ofthat, the whole team was going down
the line. I don't I don'tsee any other clips of him kissing anybody
else on the lips like that.I mean, do you have you know

(37:37):
she was She was really the onlyone. And he came out I guess
he came out or somebody on hisbehalf said it was consensual that, and
then she came out and said itwasn't like that was not the intention.
It was definitely not consensual. Soif he was, you know, in
his best attempt. And this isfor those of a certain age to be
Richard Dawson family. We're not innineteen seventy seven anymore. And for those

(38:09):
of you who don't know, RichardDawson hosts posted Family Feud and for whatever
reason, his bit was he bringssome people on. Every woman he kissed
every one of them. Everyone gota kiss from Richard Dawson. Yes,
everyone of him, young, old, nice, looking, bad looking,
it didn't matter. He kissed everybodyon the lips. Women loved it.

(38:31):
Though I can't remember, my momsaid, I want to go on Family
Feud to kiss Richard Dawson. Ohyeah, yeah, oh yeah. Not
tonguing him down though, Kevin.Just a kiss. Yeah, it was
a kiss on the lips, oneafter another. He would go from one
side to the other side. Youknow, he'd work the lines. No
moist wipes or anything like that inbetween kisses. It was just straight kiss

(38:52):
to kiss. But yeah, RichardDawson. So he didn't she didn't have
a chance to back away. Buthe did not kiss every single girl on
the line. A woman down theline. But she was the star,
she was a star, and hekissed her. See, I didn't.
I just didn't understand culturally in othercountries, I don't know if that's just
acceptable. And that's why I saidwhat I did. I don't know.

(39:14):
It seemed a little odd for ushere. That was odd for them too.
Obviously it wouldn't be this controversy.You know, kissing on both cheeks
is one thing, but you knowgrabbing someone putting both your hands on their
ears and bringing them into you tokiss, that's that's a little much.
That's a little much. It lookedlike a movie. It looked like a

(39:36):
movie scene. Right, you getover here and just he gave her one.
You know, I can imagine thelead being Nicholas Cage doing that.
Read the room. Yeah, sohe's not gonna resign though, No,
No, he's gonna force it's gonnabe forced to resign because the women had
gotten together and said we're not playing. Well, that'll be it. Yeah,

(39:59):
boycott if he's not ousted. Yeah, yeah, so he's done.
He's done. He's done. Akiss is just a kiss. I'm glad
you got the Richard Dawson. What'sfor dinner tonight? Order a large one
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(40:21):
Are Way to go. You aregoing to see the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks
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