May 14, 2025 • 35 mins
Adam Auslund hops on to talk NBA draft lotto conspiracies, Lakers/Clipps offseasons and the playoffs. MLB has lifted the banishment of Pete Rose (and Shoeless Joe Jackson), which means he is now eligible to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And we continue on Fred Rogan, Rodney Pete at five
to seven e LA Sports. Busy day, A lot going on.
We told you Jason Tatum, tour and right Achilles. So
not only out of the playoffs, he's out for a while.
With that recovery, Pete Rose and Julis Joe Jackson have
been placed on have been reinstated into baseball. We know
(00:23):
the reason. We'll talk about that coming up later on.
And now let's bring on the salta Adam Austlin. He
is the host of Clipper Countdown, the halftime show of
the postgame show, and since the Clippers have no games left,
he is doing the Clipper podcast. So Adam, welcome to
the show.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That makes sense, right when two hundred and thirteen straight
days of doing Clippers podcast. That's how long it was.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Fred.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
My streak was alive from October till what April something.
I don't know what day is it? Is it Tuesday?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Now?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, we're good. I've been doing a lot of these shows,
so I don't even know what day it is. But
I appreciate you guys having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Yeah, probably you needed a break from that, didn't you?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Not in that way? But sure, the Game seven wasn't great. Uh,
we're still reeling a little bit from that beat down,
but yeah, I've had a little bit of time to decompress.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Now, Oh yeah, when you assess that, when it's all
said and done and the Clippers basically lightn egg in
Game seven, how do you sum up the season.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
It's interesting because you have to say the regular season
was a great success. It was they won fifty games,
They won fifteen more games than most people thought they
were going to win. They ended up being the five seed.
I thought it best they could be the sixth seed.
But then you lose the way you do when the
fashion you do in a seven game series that was
(01:42):
winnable against the Denver Nuggets like that, and you don't
even compete in that Game seven. It was highly embarrassing.
The playoff the postseason portion of the season was a failure.
You have to admit that the Clippers were finally healthy,
they had Kawhi, they had a lot of things going
in their favor, So that part of it was a failure.
So it's hard to kind of marry those two things.
But I'll put it like this. The regular season last
(02:04):
five months. The playoff season for them was two weeks.
I still would say overall it was a successful year.
It just left you wanting more and it was a
very disappointing ending. But look, if the Denver Nuggets go
on to the Western Conference Finals or the NBA Finals,
then you start to look at it a little bit differently.
Like the way I'm watching this series between them and
(02:26):
OKC and looking how gassed a young OKC team is
playing in Denver, I'm like, well, yeah, no, s the
Clippers would have had their issues there too as an
older team. It makes sense, and Denver just has that
championship DNA. They find ways to win, and that's a
series that can end up going seven here.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Yeah it could, it could, so, Adam, where do the
Clippers go from here?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Now?
Speaker 4 (02:50):
So as the offseason approaches, what do you think happens?
What should happen with this team going forward?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, I don't think blowing it up is on the
table because I don't know how much you'd get for
Kawhi Leonard. And it's really a decision by James Harden
whether or not he opts in or out of that
player option becomes a free agent, leaves the Clippers, or
signs a two year deal to come back. They don't
have a lot of control in that situation. I think
for the most part, you got to run him back
(03:19):
and improve around the edges and improve around the margins,
and get a better backup big and get a four
so Kawhi can slide down to his natural position at
the three and not have to be as physical out there,
which is how taxing that can be. I think a
lot of this is gonna look the same, but think
of it this way. They won fifty games with just
(03:39):
thirty seven games from Kawhi last year. This is the
first off season he's entered the offseason healthy since twenty twenty.
He's not due to have surgery for once. He can
actually go out there and train. So then maybe you
get fifty or fifty five games from Kawhi next season.
Could then you win over fifty game games. Could you
(04:01):
get to be a top three or top four seed
in the Western Conference. Could you have home court in
the first round this time around and have that game
seven advantage at into a dome instead. They're not in
a terrible spot you look at it. Things were so
close in the West right now, we're talking about Denver
possibly beating Okase, which we thought was a cut above
everybody else. The two seed loss in the first round,
(04:24):
the Houston Rockets got bounced, the three seed loss in
the Lakers in the first round, Like it's a complete
crapshoot with how close things are. Talent was in the
Western Conference, where the first round matchups feel like a
second round or a Western Conference type of matchup with
how close the teams are and how competitive it can be.
You just got to get in and have a little
(04:44):
bit of luck on your side and find a way
and get the path of least resistance to getting out
of the Western Conference somehow. So I would say run
it back, take your chances again, improve in other areas.
Get a better backup ball handler so you don't have
to tax James Harden as much. Who's gonna be thirty
six this next season, and he led them in minutes
this past year. I think that's problematic. You have to
(05:06):
find a way to take some of the scoring load
and passing burden off of him. Like there are ways
to improve this team internally with just Kawhi playing more games,
but then also just with having a better support system
and better role players out there. I think that's what
they're gonna do most likely.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
All right, and now let's flip it across the hall
and look at the Lakers. What do you see them doing?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, we know what the priority is for them. They
have to get Mark Williams back. No, they have to
get a big man in general. And now I see
people talking about them trading Austin Reeves and Bill Plaski
wrote that article the other day. Maybe that happens. But
Austin Reeves is on such a team friendly contract where
he's only making I think fourteen million this next season.
(05:49):
That's so cap friendly, Like you have to match deals.
What are you gonna get for that? Like, I don't
know if it's worth it, because he's so you know,
overplaying his deal right now, Ye're getting so much from him.
I know he had a bad playoff series against Minnesota.
People are putting way too much into that though, honestly,
where a lot of Lakers didn't play that well and
(06:12):
they got apparently a matchup that was not nearly as
favorable as I thought it was going to be. I
think most people pick the Lakers to win that series.
But he's been really good. He's been considered a playoff riser.
Before this season, he's had I think nine playoff games
out of his twenty six where he's gone for twenty
or more. So I'm not going to overreact to Austin
Reeves having one bad playoff series there and say, oh,
(06:35):
they should trade him or they have to trade him
to get that big man. They don't. They didn't trade him.
He wasn't in the deal for Mark Williams, so you
don't have to move him. You still have that first
round pick, you still have Dalton Konnect. Who's the more
likely guy that gets moved Rujyaachama, maybe I would try
to find a way to hold on to Austin Reeves.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Now.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
If you think there are fatal flaws with him next
to Luka Doncic and that pairing doesn't work or they
can't play as many minutes together out there on the court,
that's a different conversation. But I would pump the brakes
on moving one of your top three players and a
guy that young, that is still progressing and getting better
and was blosing blossoming the last two months of the
(07:15):
season and really coming into his own, and he had
some games where he was out there alone without Lebron
without Luca where he was thriving. So I would try
to hold onto him and just dangle that first round
pick and Dalton connect and maybe Ruy Hotcha Moore and
somebody else to bring in that big man, whether it's
Nick Klaxon or somebody like that. I'm not giving up
Austin Reeves. I'm not giving up on him this early.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Adam, we talked about it earlier about the lottery. What's
your thoughts on that? And of course, you know there's
Lebron on the Pat McAfee show and the tweets and
all this and laughing emojis. Is there anything in you
that thinks there might be something going on with the lottery?
And you know Cooper Flagg obviously going to the Mavericks.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Now here's the thing. I look at this as almost
like I'm kind of a jerk about it. I look
at it as like an IQ tests, like how many
people actually even know the process of how the draft
lottery goes and how complicated it is, Like it would
be really difficult to rig that thing. It's not David
Stern reaching in and grabbing an envelope with a crease
(08:21):
in it. That's cold or whatever to give the Nicks,
Patrick Ewing. It's not the way it was back then
in nineteen eighty four, eighty five, whenever that was. It's,
you know, four different lottery balls that all separately are
coming out of that machine, putting together combinations of numbers,
and depending on how good of odds you have. As
(08:43):
one of the worst teams in the league, you have
more combinations to end up winning than other teams. And
they already went in and flattened some of the odds. Anyways,
it used to be, because this is the curve tanking,
it used to be the team that had the worst
record in the league had a twenty five percent chance
of getting the number one pick. Well, back in twenty
(09:03):
nineteen they changed that, so it used to be from
the worst pick the top three picks. Basically it was
twenty five percent chance. Second worst record in the league
had a twenty percent chance. Third worst record in the
league had a fifteen percent chance. Now the top three
worst teams in the league all have a fourteen percent chance,
So it's strengthened the odds for something like last night
(09:25):
to happen, where the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio
Spurs can jump teams that had worst records than them,
and it's been happening the last three years where Atlanta
jumped up I think last season. Uh maybe it was
Houston before that or vice versa. So it was in
play to happen. I know there was only a one
(09:46):
point eight percent chance of them getting the number one
overall pick, but you know how many people would have
to be paid off that are in the room watching
the lottery take place to not squeal that this thing
is rigged, Like, how would you pull it off? I'm
just wondering, can somebody actually come up with a logical,
irrational way for them to pull this thing off to
(10:09):
help out the Dallas Mavericks, who, by the way, everybody
initially said all the conspiracy theorists were like, oh, the
NBA wants the Dallas Mavericks and their fans to be
apathetic so they can move them to Vegas. And now
they're saying they're helping the Dallas Mavericks get Cooper flag
on a pat on the back for giving the Lakers
Luka Doncic. Those two things don't work together. I thought
(10:32):
they wanted them to go to Vegas. Now they're getting
a generational player to keep the fans happy in Dallas?
Which one is it? So these people with these tinfoil
hats on to me, it's very nonsensical. They haven't done
the research of actually how this draft takes place. Now
it's far more complex and complicated to be able to rig.
And there's so many instances you can point to, like
(10:54):
why didn't the Boston Celtics get Tim Duncan back in
the day, Why do you go to San Antonio instead?
When I think had the better odds they had Rick Patino,
And obviously they are a historic franchise that the NBA
would benefit from being better and getting Tim Duncan. There's
too many instances like that over the years to say, oh,
it's all rigged, it's all fake. I know, don't let
(11:14):
the truth get in the way of a good story.
And it's fun to think about, but it's not. I
don't think there's any way to rig it right now.
I just don't.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Sorry, Fred, Well, no, yeah, first of all, I don't
think there's any way to rig it either. It was
convenient though, that he ended up in Dallas. That was
that was It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Let's say it sets off the alarms for the conspiracy theorists,
and it is a life preserver for Dallas and Nico Harrison,
especially after the fan base turned on him and revolted
right rightfully. So I think and they have a chance,
really if they wanted to, they could make a move
for Jons and then a Koupo. I don't think they're
(11:58):
going to trade the which is gonna be Cooper Flag
for him, but san Antonio might trade the second overall
pick to bringing Giannis. Now, Like, the thing that is
so alarming really to me of what happened last night
is the West, which was already much better in the East,
got even better somehow. You know, first of all, Jason Tatum,
(12:19):
I feel terrible for him and what happened with the
Achilles tear. He's one of my favorite players. He literally
is just coming into his prime. He just turned twenty seven.
For this to happen is just devastating. But you look
at Yannis is likely going to be traded, and they're
not gonna trade him to an Eastern Conference team. They're
gonna trade them to a team in the West. And
the most likely teams are the OKC Thunder, the Houston Rockets,
(12:41):
or the San Antonio Spurs. They all have the assets
to do it. The West is getting even better and
even tougher. Now that's the ramifications of what happened last
night and this whole dream of let's just seed them
one through sixteen, let's combine the East and the West.
The problem is the Eastern Conference owners are never gonna
(13:03):
sign off on that. They have to vote on that.
Why would they do it. It's a benefit if you're
the Cleveland Cavaliers, if you're a decent team in the East,
and you know you're a playoff team, that's the easiest
route to get to the NBA Finals or to get
to a conference finals at least being in the Eastern Conference.
So those owners aren't going to vote for that. It's
a dream that's never going to happen. So it is
(13:24):
heavily weighted that the Western Conference is this bloodbath gauntlet
murderers row already and it's getting even tougher now. I
think there's a real good chance guys San Antonio ends
up with Giannis Dennakumpo, because if they trade the second
pick and Stefan Castle, I think they get it done today.
Like I don't know if they can actually make that
(13:44):
trade today because the playoffs are going on, but they
can do it as soon as they are eligible too.
I think that's a real possibility, and that is scary
because that's a team that has had these assets. What
I was worried about when they got Deer and Fox,
well the Sacramento king who recently fired their GM and
they have an ownership issue going on there. They didn't
bleed san Antonio for all that they were worth for
(14:07):
them getting dearon Fox. They left them with plenty of
assets to still go out and make another huge move.
And now san Antonio gets the number two pick to
help them as well. They can certainly go out and
get Giannis or make a godfather offer for somebody if
they want to. Maybe they get Giannis and bring in
KD or something crazy. There are some teams, there are
some sleeping giants right now that could turn into super
(14:29):
teams really quick in the Western Conference. It's scary.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
So you've eliminated the Lakers from this.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
From getting Giannis. Yeah, I don't think they have the assets. Okay,
let's say they give up their first round pick in
Austin Reeves. Well, their first round pick isn't worth as
much in the future, you would think, because they're gonna
have Luka Doncic on this team that should make them
relevant and should make them good for a while. So
that's gonna be a later round first round pick versus
(14:57):
what san Antonio has to offer, which is the second
pick in the this year. How do you beat that?
I don't think they can. And Stefan Castle, honestly, I'm
so high on him, like I I think he's gonna
end up being a top fifteen player in the league
within five years. San Antonio has a better offer. The
Lakers can't beat that, like, And I think there's something
(15:18):
within the league right now because the Lakers ended up
getting Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks didn't deal with
anyone else, and nobody else knew about this that other
teams are better about it, and they're not gonna want
to deal with the Lakers or they're gonna make them pay.
There's gonna be a tax doing deals with the Lakers.
They're gonna make them pay more because they're still upset
with how things went down with Luca.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Yeah, what do you make of the playoffs right now?
Are you shocked it it's happened. I mean, I know
Steph point out, but the Warriors.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
All little bit in that series.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
But are you in Indiana, New Knicks, anything happening that
surprises you.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I would say this, the Knicks are legitimately up three
to one on the Boston Celtics. Like when that Tatum
injury went down last night, I think they were down
seven or nine points and the Knicks were already surging.
They're legitimately up three games to one on the defending champs,
who I thought were most likely to go back to
back be the first team since the twenty seventeen twenty
(16:23):
eighteen Golden State Warriors to do it. They have them
in hell like with their defense and how they've ramped
things up, and Jalen Bronston and just what a gamer
he is and a playoff riser he is. They've been
so impressive to me. And now the Michale Bridges trade
is starting to pay off. He Woll didn't have that
great of a regular season, but he's made some really
big shots in key moments. Now og Anobi as well.
(16:46):
Karl Anthony Towns has had his moments too. Like the
New York Knicks I think are the likely team now
to come out of the Eastern Conference. It looks like
it's gonna be a showdown between them and the Indiana
Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, and that feels like
nineteen ninety four or something like that. It's a crazy
matchup now. They played each other in the second round
last year and the Pacers beat them, but the Knicks
(17:08):
were beat up. They were on their last legs. All
these guys were out of the lineup. It is somewhat
survival of the fittest with Steph going out, as you
mentioned in that series where I think they probably beat
Minnesota if they were healthy the Golden State Warriors. I
haven't been that impressed with how Minnesota has looked against
a stephless Golden State Warriors team. There have been some shots,
(17:30):
obviously in some big time plays from Anthony Edwards, but
they really could have lost that Game three. Game two
was close. What is Steph played thirteen minutes in this series.
I know they're up three games to one, but they
haven't blown the Golden State Warriors out. I expect them
to move on. But the Knicks have done this legitimately.
(17:51):
I know they're gonna get the rest of the series
without Jason Tatum, and they likely close them out in
the next game. But the Knicks are scary. The Indiana
Pacers also they got some health. They got some help,
I should say, with some health luck with the Cavaliers
missing their three key guys in Game two of that series,
and now Donovan Mitchell is questionable for tonight's ballgame. But
(18:13):
they also have just out executed them Indiana. They've kind
of flown under the radar, you know, people don't remember. Yes,
they were in the Eastern Conference Finals just this last
year they lost to the Boston Celtics, like they weren't
supposed to get there then, and they're still flying under
the radar again this season like they've been really good.
So it's been interesting. I think the series obviously is
(18:35):
Oka see in Denver. As I mentioned earlier, this is
at least going six. It's likely I think going seven.
I think OKC wins tonight, Denver wins Game six, it
goes to a Game seven in Oklahoma City. That has
been a spectacular series where you're seeing a young team
that is trying to put on that championship DNA armor
(18:55):
right now in OKC, and they had a really gritty
victory in Game four on the road in Denver, where
they had to pull that one out late, and you
wonder if that's that big teaching moment for them that
they have needed to get over the hump. With so
many young guys that need more of that playoff experience.
We'll see versus a team that has all the playoff experience,
that has been in so many big games, with the
(19:17):
best player I still believe in the world in Nikol Jokic,
who has struggled the last three games. Now, he looks tired,
he looks a little bit gassed. You go seven games
the way they did against the Clippers, you should expect
that versus Oka See, who swept their first round series.
So that is a fascinating series that I expect to
go seven here. But everything else it's a little bit
(19:37):
marred by injuries. But the Knicks have done this legitimately
and they're a real threat to come out of the East.
I would say, if you want my pick right now,
it's okay, see in the Knicks in the NBA Finals.
I think that would be that would be something to watch.
So you know, it's survival of the fittest, it's a
war of attrition in the playoffs that as it has
been for years now, where it's felt like whoever is
(19:58):
the healthiest team and so making it there and ends
up winning it all. It could be the same thing
again this year.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
All right, Adam, good job, thanks for hanging out, and
thanks for the info.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Love y'all. Good to be back on.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Be good. So Pete Rose and shoeless Joe Jackson reinstated
by Major League Baseball. So the question is why we
have the answer next?
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Oh yeah, come on in a beautiful, beautiful Tuesday afternoon, Rodney,
Pete Fred Rogan. Yes, Pete Rose, Steless Joe Jackson. They've
been removed from the ineligible list. Correct, Yes, so now
(20:53):
they still have to get voted in. This doesn't mean
they're automatically going in. They have to get voted in
still uh, and there's still some debate about that.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
So why now, why did Rob Manfred remove them from
the ineligible list? Did you see that thing? I think
it was on Netflix, the Pete Rose documentary.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
I did not see that. No, I didn't see it.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
It was terrific. Yeah, it was done while he was
still alive. I saw it on a plane. It was great.
I mean, it really really was good. And the one
thing that you learned from that is that Pete Rose
wanted to be in the Hall of Fame. He wanted
to be reinstated into the baseball so he could be
(21:36):
voted into the Hall of Fame before his death. That's
all he wanted. He made that clear throughout. It was
I think four parts an hour each. He made it
clear throughout that's all he wanted. Well, of course he
passed away, and because he passed away is exactly why
(21:56):
Rob Manfred reinstated him into baseball. That's why he's back.
If he was alive, he would not be reinstated. But
because he died, he's been reinstated.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Which was everything that he didn't want. Correct, Here's what
do you think he really didn't want that?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Or it was his pride or him trying, mean Pete
trying to push the envelope of major League Baseball to
instate him while he's while he was alive.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Oh no, that's what he wanted. That wasn't That wasn't
a sham or a fraud. That's what he wanted. Baseball
was his life. No, I know it was, I know
it was. But you think he really.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Really was opposed to eventually being instated into the Hall
of because his daughter picked up picked up the torch.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
And kept going with this.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
So I just wonder if he was trying to, you know,
I don't know, manipulate the situation by saying, I don't
want to be in when I'm when I'm gone, He'll
put me in now, please, And.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I think he wanted to be in because he wanted
to experience what that costs.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, of course, yeah, But.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
According to Rob Manfred, that could never happen. The only
way he could be reinstated in the baseball was after
he died. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot
represent a threat to the integrity of the game. That's
what Manfred wrote. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of
a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that
lasts a lifetime with no reprieve. Therefore, I have concluded
(23:30):
that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual,
and mister Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
So okay, So.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Then why if that's what he feels, why did shoeless
Joe Jackson on this list now too, because he's been
dead for a long time.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Because he just created this rule.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Oh, mainly because of Pete So.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
Anybody that was in controversy can't you know, didn't make
it when they were alive. Now that he created this rule, Richard,
is really that you should call it the Pete Rose rule.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Now they can be reinstated.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Right, you cannot compromise the integrity of the game. There's
no threat of that.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
So does that mean the guys that are not in
because of quote steroid era, that they're gonna have to
they have to wait till they pass away before they
can be in.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Stated, But those guys aren't officially manned Rodney, that's not
They just didn't get in, that's right, that's right. So
those guys are eligible right now.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
How do you think those guys feel?
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Well, First, I think all of those guys know they
use steroids, admit it or not. They know. Let's not
even play games about it. Second, those guys, even without
steroids are pretty good. I mean you look at that steroids.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Steroids were legal, they were not a banned substance, not them,
not then when those guys played. So it's a matter
of them that they want them to confess. Is that
the deal that before they can get in Alex Rodriguez.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
You gotta own it, you gotta fess up.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Yeah, it seems that way.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
But it's even been pretty good without the steroids, even
when based on such a hypocritical sport. Because even when
you know it was not patrolled, it was not police,
it was not banned, guys were using it.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
At least half the guys were using.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
It because it was not It's no different than some
of the things that are banned in football now. That
that that that we used to have regularly in our
locker room, LIKEWIW like like there's anti inflammatory medicine and
it's called INDOCN that now is shown to have give
people kidney failures.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
You know later on in your life.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
That was they had those like candy, the vikinging that
was in the in the training room that you could
go get and pick up a jar and just get
it anytime you wanted to.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
All those things. There were these.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Things called greenies where you gave you a little pep
up right, guys would would would take so to me,
it's like okay. And then there were guys that you know,
they did a little they did a little extra stuff,
whether it be smoking marijuana, whether it be cocaine, whether
it be drink, whatever it may be. There was a
lot of guys did a lot of things dan hants
(26:39):
or to keep themselves up or going in a game
or in a situation, and the steroid part of it
was not part of the band substance.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
Well, I will say so. Major League Baseball did say
that steroids were banned in nineteen ninety one. Now, they
might not have been illegal to possess with like doctor's
care or whatever it was outside of that, but as
a baseball player it was illegal for you to have.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Them in ninety one.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
The problem, Rodney is, and this is where the hypocrisy
comes in, they didn't actually have an enforcement of it
until two thousand and three. Yes, and people credit Sammy
Sosa and Mark McGuire, two of the poster children for
alleged steroid use, with saving baseball after the strike because
of the all run.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Keypt a critical part because they celebrated that they knew
and they knew it was going on, and they celebrated
those two guys and pranced them around, and like you said,
saved baseball. But when it came time and that was over.
It was let's just throw him under the bush. We're
not going to allow them to be recognized.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
And then in the case of Barry, he was you know,
people sports writers, he was very hard on him, so
they didn't they didn't like him anyway. But he also
he actually never tested positive for steroids. So from a
criminal case standpoint, you know, it just they're all over
the place with this. They're all over the place there,
(28:00):
and like I said, it should be the Pete Rose roupe.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Funny thing about Barry obviously when he was playing, he
was very difficult to deal with as a media member.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Yeah, everybody knew that.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And when we were inducted into the because I went
in the same class he did the California Sports Hall
of Fame out there. Now he's not playing anymore. Years later,
he's very soft spoken, very gentle, Yeah, very kind. You
would never think he was the way he was when
(28:34):
he played ever, Yeah, and I thought, what a difference.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
Yeah, if you guys haven't a chance to see. He
did an interview with all the Smoke guys a couple
of months ago. Was amazing and charming and smiling and
laughing total what he was before.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
He's at peace. He's at peace. I've known him for
a long time. In fact, he was he was my
host when I visited Arizona, stayed out of high school
at recruiting host.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
So I've known him. I've known him forever.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
And that was the thing you if you know him
inside outside of the media, he was a really good guy,
but he rubbed so many people the wrong way, and
especially the media folks that they were not going to
bend over backwards to help him out. But now he's
had he's had real peace now with his self and
life and everything, and he's even at piece with the
Hall of Fame stuff, and it's just kind of, you know,
(29:30):
resolved to the fact because what he does have.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
What he does have is that when you.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Ask a player, a current or past player, who anybody
played against him, who's the best player ever? Barry Bonds
and that's about ninety five percent of the guys talk about,
from Greg Maddox to Jipper Jones to all the guys
that faced him.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
He's the best.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
First of all, He's the best hitter ever and for
a period of time, the best all around baseball player ever.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
What's interesting about he was the first forty forty guy.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I was gonna say, what's interesting me say, he's at
peace with that. All he needs to know is that
he was the best.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
It's like, I don't need you to tell me thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
People acknowledge in the business that I have worked, that
I am the best at that business. So if you
don't want to give me a trophy, that's okay, right
because everyone knows the real truth.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Everyone gets it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
And the thing on that too, I don't get on
that and hold going back to the stair and put
a button in it is that they're punishing the guys
that were great, because they were great regardless of it.
You know, maybe whatever it did for you, it did
for you. But at that time they were also facing
(31:06):
pictures that were on it, So they were facing guys.
It wasn't like apples and oranges or you're facing an
unfair advantage because the pictures were also on it. So
it it to me even everything out, especially if they're
not going to police it in a way and be
as strict as they should have been when they quote
(31:27):
called it a banned substance and they really didn't police
it that way that you're facing those guys. It's like
you know in football, you know, you knew guys that
were on steroids and a lot of times it didn't matter.
Most of the time it didn't matter because your skill
set is your skill set, right, But there are certain
guys that you know they were boke up and they
were stronger and offensive linemen you know would would woke
(31:50):
up and be you know, bigger in one year and
you go, WHOA where that come from? And and you
dealt with it. But at the end of the day
from baseball, you still got to see the ball hit
the ball.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
But it's it's it's it's.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
An interesting dynamic and topic when when uh it went
for years of just kind of flying under the radar
or them sweeping it under the rug.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Well, in any event, Pete Rose and Silas Joe Jackson
have been reinstated into baseball. Okay, we're back to wrap
things up after this.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Come on back, Come on back, Rodney, Pete Fred Rogan
on this fine Tuesday, Freddie.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
All right, so pretty good show today. I want to
thanks Jerry Harriston Junior for jumping on. He was terrific. Also,
the salty a Adam Austin was on the program, which
was always great.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Salty is always great.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, it was great, Uh, Dodgers and A's tonight at
the stadium. We did basically confirm earlier that the A's
are kind of a legitimate team this year and not
a laughing stock by virtue of the fact that they
are the A's.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
No, they're not not at all. They're not the Rocky
so you tend to put them in that category when
you talk about them.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
But they're a competitive team, they really are. Yeah, they're
close to five hundred some good young players. So'll be
fun out the stadium and it'll be certainly the biggest
crowdell play in front of all year because basically the
Cops they're playing in a minor league parking Sacramento. So
for them, this is like really playing in the bigs.
(33:44):
You know, it's like, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Playing in the bigs. Like they're not playing in the bigs.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
It's kind of like this. It's kind of like and
I don't know if they still do it. I know
they did for years when they would have the city
Baseball championships at Dodger Stadium. I don't know if they
still do that, but for years they did, right, Okay,
high school high school city champions. Yeah, the high school city.
So that's kind of like what it is for the A's.
You know, their home games are played at this little
(34:12):
park that are made for the miners, and then they
get to go to Dodger Stadium and they get to
play in the big leagues. It's like they get to
play in the big league stadium. So that's pretty cool.
I'm sure they'll be excited tonight.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Yeah you're in Yeah, you're not kind to the athletics fread.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Hey, you know what, they're a good young team and
you got to give them this. Honestly, they're better than
the Angels. And that's hard to if I'm an Angel fan,
that's hard to swallow.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
That's hard to sallow. You got no.
Speaker 4 (34:49):
Home, you got nowhere to go. You know, you don't
really have a home for two or three years. And
that's still kind of a little bit in limbo, playing
at a minor league stadium.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
And yet yeah, you're better than the Angels.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
You're like Nomad's looking for a place to pitch your tent.
You live in the desert and keep moving and you're
still better than the Angels. Ahi, Ronnie, thank you good
work today, really solid effort. Kevin appreciate your efforts as well.
And Rodney, We're back tomorrow, yes, sir,
And we continue on Fred Rogan, Rodney Pete at five
to seven e LA Sports. Busy day, A lot going on.
We told you Jason Tatum, tour and right Achilles. So
not only out of the playoffs, he's out for a while.
With that recovery, Pete Rose and Julis Joe Jackson have
been placed on have been reinstated into baseball. We know
(00:23):
the reason. We'll talk about that coming up later on.
And now let's bring on the salta Adam Austlin. He
is the host of Clipper Countdown, the halftime show of
the postgame show, and since the Clippers have no games left,
he is doing the Clipper podcast. So Adam, welcome to
the show.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That makes sense, right when two hundred and thirteen straight
days of doing Clippers podcast. That's how long it was.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Fred.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
My streak was alive from October till what April something.
I don't know what day is it? Is it Tuesday?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Now?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Okay, we're good. I've been doing a lot of these shows,
so I don't even know what day it is. But
I appreciate you guys having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Yeah, probably you needed a break from that, didn't you?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Not in that way? But sure, the Game seven wasn't great. Uh,
we're still reeling a little bit from that beat down,
but yeah, I've had a little bit of time to decompress.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Now, Oh yeah, when you assess that, when it's all
said and done and the Clippers basically lightn egg in
Game seven, how do you sum up the season.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
It's interesting because you have to say the regular season
was a great success. It was they won fifty games,
They won fifteen more games than most people thought they
were going to win. They ended up being the five seed.
I thought it best they could be the sixth seed.
But then you lose the way you do when the
fashion you do in a seven game series that was
(01:42):
winnable against the Denver Nuggets like that, and you don't
even compete in that Game seven. It was highly embarrassing.
The playoff the postseason portion of the season was a failure.
You have to admit that the Clippers were finally healthy,
they had Kawhi, they had a lot of things going
in their favor, So that part of it was a failure.
So it's hard to kind of marry those two things.
But I'll put it like this. The regular season last
(02:04):
five months. The playoff season for them was two weeks.
I still would say overall it was a successful year.
It just left you wanting more and it was a
very disappointing ending. But look, if the Denver Nuggets go
on to the Western Conference Finals or the NBA Finals,
then you start to look at it a little bit differently.
Like the way I'm watching this series between them and
(02:26):
OKC and looking how gassed a young OKC team is
playing in Denver, I'm like, well, yeah, no, s the
Clippers would have had their issues there too as an
older team. It makes sense, and Denver just has that
championship DNA. They find ways to win, and that's a
series that can end up going seven here.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Yeah it could, it could, so, Adam, where do the
Clippers go from here?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Now?
Speaker 4 (02:50):
So as the offseason approaches, what do you think happens?
What should happen with this team going forward?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, I don't think blowing it up is on the
table because I don't know how much you'd get for
Kawhi Leonard. And it's really a decision by James Harden
whether or not he opts in or out of that
player option becomes a free agent, leaves the Clippers, or
signs a two year deal to come back. They don't
have a lot of control in that situation. I think
for the most part, you got to run him back
(03:19):
and improve around the edges and improve around the margins,
and get a better backup big and get a four
so Kawhi can slide down to his natural position at
the three and not have to be as physical out there,
which is how taxing that can be. I think a
lot of this is gonna look the same, but think
of it this way. They won fifty games with just
(03:39):
thirty seven games from Kawhi last year. This is the
first off season he's entered the offseason healthy since twenty twenty.
He's not due to have surgery for once. He can
actually go out there and train. So then maybe you
get fifty or fifty five games from Kawhi next season.
Could then you win over fifty game games. Could you
(04:01):
get to be a top three or top four seed
in the Western Conference. Could you have home court in
the first round this time around and have that game
seven advantage at into a dome instead. They're not in
a terrible spot you look at it. Things were so
close in the West right now, we're talking about Denver
possibly beating Okase, which we thought was a cut above
everybody else. The two seed loss in the first round,
(04:24):
the Houston Rockets got bounced, the three seed loss in
the Lakers in the first round, Like it's a complete
crapshoot with how close things are. Talent was in the
Western Conference, where the first round matchups feel like a
second round or a Western Conference type of matchup with
how close the teams are and how competitive it can be.
You just got to get in and have a little
(04:44):
bit of luck on your side and find a way
and get the path of least resistance to getting out
of the Western Conference somehow. So I would say run
it back, take your chances again, improve in other areas.
Get a better backup ball handler so you don't have
to tax James Harden as much. Who's gonna be thirty
six this next season, and he led them in minutes
this past year. I think that's problematic. You have to
(05:06):
find a way to take some of the scoring load
and passing burden off of him. Like there are ways
to improve this team internally with just Kawhi playing more games,
but then also just with having a better support system
and better role players out there. I think that's what
they're gonna do most likely.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
All right, and now let's flip it across the hall
and look at the Lakers. What do you see them doing?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, we know what the priority is for them. They
have to get Mark Williams back. No, they have to
get a big man in general. And now I see
people talking about them trading Austin Reeves and Bill Plaski
wrote that article the other day. Maybe that happens. But
Austin Reeves is on such a team friendly contract where
he's only making I think fourteen million this next season.
(05:49):
That's so cap friendly, Like you have to match deals.
What are you gonna get for that? Like, I don't
know if it's worth it, because he's so you know,
overplaying his deal right now, Ye're getting so much from him.
I know he had a bad playoff series against Minnesota.
People are putting way too much into that though, honestly,
where a lot of Lakers didn't play that well and
(06:12):
they got apparently a matchup that was not nearly as
favorable as I thought it was going to be. I
think most people pick the Lakers to win that series.
But he's been really good. He's been considered a playoff riser.
Before this season, he's had I think nine playoff games
out of his twenty six where he's gone for twenty
or more. So I'm not going to overreact to Austin
Reeves having one bad playoff series there and say, oh,
(06:35):
they should trade him or they have to trade him
to get that big man. They don't. They didn't trade him.
He wasn't in the deal for Mark Williams, so you
don't have to move him. You still have that first
round pick, you still have Dalton Konnect. Who's the more
likely guy that gets moved Rujyaachama, maybe I would try
to find a way to hold on to Austin Reeves.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Now.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
If you think there are fatal flaws with him next
to Luka Doncic and that pairing doesn't work or they
can't play as many minutes together out there on the court,
that's a different conversation. But I would pump the brakes
on moving one of your top three players and a
guy that young, that is still progressing and getting better
and was blosing blossoming the last two months of the
(07:15):
season and really coming into his own, and he had
some games where he was out there alone without Lebron
without Luca where he was thriving. So I would try
to hold onto him and just dangle that first round
pick and Dalton connect and maybe Ruy Hotcha Moore and
somebody else to bring in that big man, whether it's
Nick Klaxon or somebody like that. I'm not giving up
Austin Reeves. I'm not giving up on him this early.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Adam, we talked about it earlier about the lottery. What's
your thoughts on that? And of course, you know there's
Lebron on the Pat McAfee show and the tweets and
all this and laughing emojis. Is there anything in you
that thinks there might be something going on with the lottery?
And you know Cooper Flagg obviously going to the Mavericks.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Now here's the thing. I look at this as almost
like I'm kind of a jerk about it. I look
at it as like an IQ tests, like how many
people actually even know the process of how the draft
lottery goes and how complicated it is, Like it would
be really difficult to rig that thing. It's not David
Stern reaching in and grabbing an envelope with a crease
(08:21):
in it. That's cold or whatever to give the Nicks,
Patrick Ewing. It's not the way it was back then
in nineteen eighty four, eighty five, whenever that was. It's,
you know, four different lottery balls that all separately are
coming out of that machine, putting together combinations of numbers,
and depending on how good of odds you have. As
(08:43):
one of the worst teams in the league, you have
more combinations to end up winning than other teams. And
they already went in and flattened some of the odds. Anyways,
it used to be, because this is the curve tanking,
it used to be the team that had the worst
record in the league had a twenty five percent chance
of getting the number one pick. Well, back in twenty
(09:03):
nineteen they changed that, so it used to be from
the worst pick the top three picks. Basically it was
twenty five percent chance. Second worst record in the league
had a twenty percent chance. Third worst record in the
league had a fifteen percent chance. Now the top three
worst teams in the league all have a fourteen percent chance,
So it's strengthened the odds for something like last night
(09:25):
to happen, where the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio
Spurs can jump teams that had worst records than them,
and it's been happening the last three years where Atlanta
jumped up I think last season. Uh maybe it was
Houston before that or vice versa. So it was in
play to happen. I know there was only a one
(09:46):
point eight percent chance of them getting the number one
overall pick, but you know how many people would have
to be paid off that are in the room watching
the lottery take place to not squeal that this thing
is rigged, Like, how would you pull it off? I'm
just wondering, can somebody actually come up with a logical,
irrational way for them to pull this thing off to
(10:09):
help out the Dallas Mavericks, who, by the way, everybody
initially said all the conspiracy theorists were like, oh, the
NBA wants the Dallas Mavericks and their fans to be
apathetic so they can move them to Vegas. And now
they're saying they're helping the Dallas Mavericks get Cooper flag
on a pat on the back for giving the Lakers
Luka Doncic. Those two things don't work together. I thought
(10:32):
they wanted them to go to Vegas. Now they're getting
a generational player to keep the fans happy in Dallas?
Which one is it? So these people with these tinfoil
hats on to me, it's very nonsensical. They haven't done
the research of actually how this draft takes place. Now
it's far more complex and complicated to be able to rig.
And there's so many instances you can point to, like
(10:54):
why didn't the Boston Celtics get Tim Duncan back in
the day, Why do you go to San Antonio instead?
When I think had the better odds they had Rick Patino,
And obviously they are a historic franchise that the NBA
would benefit from being better and getting Tim Duncan. There's
too many instances like that over the years to say, oh,
it's all rigged, it's all fake. I know, don't let
(11:14):
the truth get in the way of a good story.
And it's fun to think about, but it's not. I
don't think there's any way to rig it right now.
I just don't.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Sorry, Fred, Well, no, yeah, first of all, I don't
think there's any way to rig it either. It was
convenient though, that he ended up in Dallas. That was
that was It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Let's say it sets off the alarms for the conspiracy theorists,
and it is a life preserver for Dallas and Nico Harrison,
especially after the fan base turned on him and revolted
right rightfully. So I think and they have a chance,
really if they wanted to, they could make a move
for Jons and then a Koupo. I don't think they're
(11:58):
going to trade the which is gonna be Cooper Flag
for him, but san Antonio might trade the second overall
pick to bringing Giannis. Now, Like, the thing that is
so alarming really to me of what happened last night
is the West, which was already much better in the East,
got even better somehow. You know, first of all, Jason Tatum,
(12:19):
I feel terrible for him and what happened with the
Achilles tear. He's one of my favorite players. He literally
is just coming into his prime. He just turned twenty seven.
For this to happen is just devastating. But you look
at Yannis is likely going to be traded, and they're
not gonna trade him to an Eastern Conference team. They're
gonna trade them to a team in the West. And
the most likely teams are the OKC Thunder, the Houston Rockets,
(12:41):
or the San Antonio Spurs. They all have the assets
to do it. The West is getting even better and
even tougher. Now that's the ramifications of what happened last
night and this whole dream of let's just seed them
one through sixteen, let's combine the East and the West.
The problem is the Eastern Conference owners are never gonna
(13:03):
sign off on that. They have to vote on that.
Why would they do it. It's a benefit if you're
the Cleveland Cavaliers, if you're a decent team in the East,
and you know you're a playoff team, that's the easiest
route to get to the NBA Finals or to get
to a conference finals at least being in the Eastern Conference.
So those owners aren't going to vote for that. It's
a dream that's never going to happen. So it is
(13:24):
heavily weighted that the Western Conference is this bloodbath gauntlet
murderers row already and it's getting even tougher now. I
think there's a real good chance guys San Antonio ends
up with Giannis Dennakumpo, because if they trade the second
pick and Stefan Castle, I think they get it done today.
Like I don't know if they can actually make that
(13:44):
trade today because the playoffs are going on, but they
can do it as soon as they are eligible too.
I think that's a real possibility, and that is scary
because that's a team that has had these assets. What
I was worried about when they got Deer and Fox,
well the Sacramento king who recently fired their GM and
they have an ownership issue going on there. They didn't
bleed san Antonio for all that they were worth for
(14:07):
them getting dearon Fox. They left them with plenty of
assets to still go out and make another huge move.
And now san Antonio gets the number two pick to
help them as well. They can certainly go out and
get Giannis or make a godfather offer for somebody if
they want to. Maybe they get Giannis and bring in
KD or something crazy. There are some teams, there are
some sleeping giants right now that could turn into super
(14:29):
teams really quick in the Western Conference. It's scary.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
So you've eliminated the Lakers from this.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
From getting Giannis. Yeah, I don't think they have the assets. Okay,
let's say they give up their first round pick in
Austin Reeves. Well, their first round pick isn't worth as
much in the future, you would think, because they're gonna
have Luka Doncic on this team that should make them
relevant and should make them good for a while. So
that's gonna be a later round first round pick versus
(14:57):
what san Antonio has to offer, which is the second
pick in the this year. How do you beat that?
I don't think they can. And Stefan Castle, honestly, I'm
so high on him, like I I think he's gonna
end up being a top fifteen player in the league
within five years. San Antonio has a better offer. The
Lakers can't beat that, like, And I think there's something
(15:18):
within the league right now because the Lakers ended up
getting Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks didn't deal with
anyone else, and nobody else knew about this that other
teams are better about it, and they're not gonna want
to deal with the Lakers or they're gonna make them pay.
There's gonna be a tax doing deals with the Lakers.
They're gonna make them pay more because they're still upset
with how things went down with Luca.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Yeah, what do you make of the playoffs right now?
Are you shocked it it's happened. I mean, I know
Steph point out, but the Warriors.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
All little bit in that series.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
But are you in Indiana, New Knicks, anything happening that
surprises you.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I would say this, the Knicks are legitimately up three
to one on the Boston Celtics. Like when that Tatum
injury went down last night, I think they were down
seven or nine points and the Knicks were already surging.
They're legitimately up three games to one on the defending champs,
who I thought were most likely to go back to
back be the first team since the twenty seventeen twenty
(16:23):
eighteen Golden State Warriors to do it. They have them
in hell like with their defense and how they've ramped
things up, and Jalen Bronston and just what a gamer
he is and a playoff riser he is. They've been
so impressive to me. And now the Michale Bridges trade
is starting to pay off. He Woll didn't have that
great of a regular season, but he's made some really
big shots in key moments. Now og Anobi as well.
(16:46):
Karl Anthony Towns has had his moments too. Like the
New York Knicks I think are the likely team now
to come out of the Eastern Conference. It looks like
it's gonna be a showdown between them and the Indiana
Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, and that feels like
nineteen ninety four or something like that. It's a crazy
matchup now. They played each other in the second round
last year and the Pacers beat them, but the Knicks
(17:08):
were beat up. They were on their last legs. All
these guys were out of the lineup. It is somewhat
survival of the fittest with Steph going out, as you
mentioned in that series where I think they probably beat
Minnesota if they were healthy the Golden State Warriors. I
haven't been that impressed with how Minnesota has looked against
a stephless Golden State Warriors team. There have been some shots,
(17:30):
obviously in some big time plays from Anthony Edwards, but
they really could have lost that Game three. Game two
was close. What is Steph played thirteen minutes in this series.
I know they're up three games to one, but they
haven't blown the Golden State Warriors out. I expect them
to move on. But the Knicks have done this legitimately.
(17:51):
I know they're gonna get the rest of the series
without Jason Tatum, and they likely close them out in
the next game. But the Knicks are scary. The Indiana
Pacers also they got some health. They got some help,
I should say, with some health luck with the Cavaliers
missing their three key guys in Game two of that series,
and now Donovan Mitchell is questionable for tonight's ballgame. But
(18:13):
they also have just out executed them Indiana. They've kind
of flown under the radar, you know, people don't remember. Yes,
they were in the Eastern Conference Finals just this last
year they lost to the Boston Celtics, like they weren't
supposed to get there then, and they're still flying under
the radar again this season like they've been really good.
So it's been interesting. I think the series obviously is
(18:35):
Oka see in Denver. As I mentioned earlier, this is
at least going six. It's likely I think going seven.
I think OKC wins tonight, Denver wins Game six, it
goes to a Game seven in Oklahoma City. That has
been a spectacular series where you're seeing a young team
that is trying to put on that championship DNA armor
(18:55):
right now in OKC, and they had a really gritty
victory in Game four on the road in Denver, where
they had to pull that one out late, and you
wonder if that's that big teaching moment for them that
they have needed to get over the hump. With so
many young guys that need more of that playoff experience.
We'll see versus a team that has all the playoff experience,
that has been in so many big games, with the
(19:17):
best player I still believe in the world in Nikol Jokic,
who has struggled the last three games. Now, he looks tired,
he looks a little bit gassed. You go seven games
the way they did against the Clippers, you should expect
that versus Oka See, who swept their first round series.
So that is a fascinating series that I expect to
go seven here. But everything else it's a little bit
(19:37):
marred by injuries. But the Knicks have done this legitimately
and they're a real threat to come out of the East.
I would say, if you want my pick right now,
it's okay, see in the Knicks in the NBA Finals.
I think that would be that would be something to watch.
So you know, it's survival of the fittest, it's a
war of attrition in the playoffs that as it has
been for years now, where it's felt like whoever is
(19:58):
the healthiest team and so making it there and ends
up winning it all. It could be the same thing
again this year.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
All right, Adam, good job, thanks for hanging out, and
thanks for the info.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
Love y'all. Good to be back on.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Be good. So Pete Rose and shoeless Joe Jackson reinstated
by Major League Baseball. So the question is why we
have the answer next?
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Oh yeah, come on in a beautiful, beautiful Tuesday afternoon, Rodney,
Pete Fred Rogan. Yes, Pete Rose, Steless Joe Jackson. They've
been removed from the ineligible list. Correct, Yes, so now
(20:53):
they still have to get voted in. This doesn't mean
they're automatically going in. They have to get voted in
still uh, and there's still some debate about that.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
So why now, why did Rob Manfred remove them from
the ineligible list? Did you see that thing? I think
it was on Netflix, the Pete Rose documentary.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
I did not see that. No, I didn't see it.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
It was terrific. Yeah, it was done while he was
still alive. I saw it on a plane. It was great.
I mean, it really really was good. And the one
thing that you learned from that is that Pete Rose
wanted to be in the Hall of Fame. He wanted
to be reinstated into the baseball so he could be
(21:36):
voted into the Hall of Fame before his death. That's
all he wanted. He made that clear throughout. It was
I think four parts an hour each. He made it
clear throughout that's all he wanted. Well, of course he
passed away, and because he passed away is exactly why
(21:56):
Rob Manfred reinstated him into baseball. That's why he's back.
If he was alive, he would not be reinstated. But
because he died, he's been reinstated.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Which was everything that he didn't want. Correct, Here's what
do you think he really didn't want that?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
Or it was his pride or him trying, mean Pete
trying to push the envelope of major League Baseball to
instate him while he's while he was alive.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Oh no, that's what he wanted. That wasn't That wasn't
a sham or a fraud. That's what he wanted. Baseball
was his life. No, I know it was, I know
it was. But you think he really.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Really was opposed to eventually being instated into the Hall
of because his daughter picked up picked up the torch.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
And kept going with this.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
So I just wonder if he was trying to, you know,
I don't know, manipulate the situation by saying, I don't
want to be in when I'm when I'm gone, He'll
put me in now, please, And.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I think he wanted to be in because he wanted
to experience what that costs.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, of course, yeah, But.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
According to Rob Manfred, that could never happen. The only
way he could be reinstated in the baseball was after
he died. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot
represent a threat to the integrity of the game. That's
what Manfred wrote. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of
a penalty that has more deterrent effect than one that
lasts a lifetime with no reprieve. Therefore, I have concluded
(23:30):
that permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual,
and mister Rose will be removed from the permanently ineligible list.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
So okay, So.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
Then why if that's what he feels, why did shoeless
Joe Jackson on this list now too, because he's been
dead for a long time.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Because he just created this rule.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Oh, mainly because of Pete So.
Speaker 4 (23:57):
Anybody that was in controversy can't you know, didn't make
it when they were alive. Now that he created this rule, Richard,
is really that you should call it the Pete Rose rule.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Now they can be reinstated.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Right, you cannot compromise the integrity of the game. There's
no threat of that.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
So does that mean the guys that are not in
because of quote steroid era, that they're gonna have to
they have to wait till they pass away before they
can be in.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Stated, But those guys aren't officially manned Rodney, that's not
They just didn't get in, that's right, that's right. So
those guys are eligible right now.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
How do you think those guys feel?
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Well, First, I think all of those guys know they
use steroids, admit it or not. They know. Let's not
even play games about it. Second, those guys, even without
steroids are pretty good. I mean you look at that steroids.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Steroids were legal, they were not a banned substance, not them,
not then when those guys played. So it's a matter
of them that they want them to confess. Is that
the deal that before they can get in Alex Rodriguez.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
You gotta own it, you gotta fess up.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
Yeah, it seems that way.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
But it's even been pretty good without the steroids, even
when based on such a hypocritical sport. Because even when
you know it was not patrolled, it was not police,
it was not banned, guys were using it.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
At least half the guys were using.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
It because it was not It's no different than some
of the things that are banned in football now. That
that that that we used to have regularly in our
locker room, LIKEWIW like like there's anti inflammatory medicine and
it's called INDOCN that now is shown to have give
people kidney failures.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
You know later on in your life.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
That was they had those like candy, the vikinging that
was in the in the training room that you could
go get and pick up a jar and just get
it anytime you wanted to.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
All those things. There were these.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Things called greenies where you gave you a little pep
up right, guys would would would take so to me,
it's like okay. And then there were guys that you know,
they did a little they did a little extra stuff,
whether it be smoking marijuana, whether it be cocaine, whether
it be drink, whatever it may be. There was a
lot of guys did a lot of things dan hants
(26:39):
or to keep themselves up or going in a game
or in a situation, and the steroid part of it
was not part of the band substance.
Speaker 6 (26:48):
Well, I will say so. Major League Baseball did say
that steroids were banned in nineteen ninety one. Now, they
might not have been illegal to possess with like doctor's
care or whatever it was outside of that, but as
a baseball player it was illegal for you to have.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Them in ninety one.
Speaker 6 (27:03):
The problem, Rodney is, and this is where the hypocrisy
comes in, they didn't actually have an enforcement of it
until two thousand and three. Yes, and people credit Sammy
Sosa and Mark McGuire, two of the poster children for
alleged steroid use, with saving baseball after the strike because
of the all run.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Keypt a critical part because they celebrated that they knew
and they knew it was going on, and they celebrated
those two guys and pranced them around, and like you said,
saved baseball. But when it came time and that was over.
It was let's just throw him under the bush. We're
not going to allow them to be recognized.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
And then in the case of Barry, he was you know,
people sports writers, he was very hard on him, so
they didn't they didn't like him anyway. But he also
he actually never tested positive for steroids. So from a
criminal case standpoint, you know, it just they're all over
the place with this. They're all over the place there,
(28:00):
and like I said, it should be the Pete Rose roupe.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
You know.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Funny thing about Barry obviously when he was playing, he
was very difficult to deal with as a media member.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Yeah, everybody knew that.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And when we were inducted into the because I went
in the same class he did the California Sports Hall
of Fame out there. Now he's not playing anymore. Years later,
he's very soft spoken, very gentle, Yeah, very kind. You
would never think he was the way he was when
(28:34):
he played ever, Yeah, and I thought, what a difference.
Speaker 6 (28:40):
Yeah, if you guys haven't a chance to see. He
did an interview with all the Smoke guys a couple
of months ago. Was amazing and charming and smiling and
laughing total what he was before.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
He's at peace. He's at peace. I've known him for
a long time. In fact, he was he was my
host when I visited Arizona, stayed out of high school
at recruiting host.
Speaker 3 (29:04):
So I've known him. I've known him forever.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
And that was the thing you if you know him
inside outside of the media, he was a really good guy,
but he rubbed so many people the wrong way, and
especially the media folks that they were not going to
bend over backwards to help him out. But now he's
had he's had real peace now with his self and
life and everything, and he's even at piece with the
Hall of Fame stuff, and it's just kind of, you know,
(29:30):
resolved to the fact because what he does have.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
What he does have is that when you.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
Ask a player, a current or past player, who anybody
played against him, who's the best player ever? Barry Bonds
and that's about ninety five percent of the guys talk about,
from Greg Maddox to Jipper Jones to all the guys
that faced him.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
He's the best.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
First of all, He's the best hitter ever and for
a period of time, the best all around baseball player ever.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
What's interesting about he was the first forty forty guy.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I was gonna say, what's interesting me say, he's at
peace with that. All he needs to know is that
he was the best.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
It's like, I don't need you to tell me thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
People acknowledge in the business that I have worked, that
I am the best at that business. So if you
don't want to give me a trophy, that's okay, right
because everyone knows the real truth.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Everyone gets it. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
And the thing on that too, I don't get on
that and hold going back to the stair and put
a button in it is that they're punishing the guys
that were great, because they were great regardless of it.
You know, maybe whatever it did for you, it did
for you. But at that time they were also facing
(31:06):
pictures that were on it, So they were facing guys.
It wasn't like apples and oranges or you're facing an
unfair advantage because the pictures were also on it. So
it it to me even everything out, especially if they're
not going to police it in a way and be
as strict as they should have been when they quote
(31:27):
called it a banned substance and they really didn't police
it that way that you're facing those guys. It's like
you know in football, you know, you knew guys that
were on steroids and a lot of times it didn't matter.
Most of the time it didn't matter because your skill
set is your skill set, right, But there are certain
guys that you know they were boke up and they
were stronger and offensive linemen you know would would woke
(31:50):
up and be you know, bigger in one year and
you go, WHOA where that come from? And and you
dealt with it. But at the end of the day
from baseball, you still got to see the ball hit
the ball.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
But it's it's it's it's.
Speaker 4 (32:04):
An interesting dynamic and topic when when uh it went
for years of just kind of flying under the radar
or them sweeping it under the rug.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
Well, in any event, Pete Rose and Silas Joe Jackson
have been reinstated into baseball. Okay, we're back to wrap
things up after this.
Speaker 4 (32:34):
Come on back, Come on back, Rodney, Pete Fred Rogan
on this fine Tuesday, Freddie.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
All right, so pretty good show today. I want to
thanks Jerry Harriston Junior for jumping on. He was terrific. Also,
the salty a Adam Austin was on the program, which
was always great.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Salty is always great.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, it was great, Uh, Dodgers and A's tonight at
the stadium. We did basically confirm earlier that the A's
are kind of a legitimate team this year and not
a laughing stock by virtue of the fact that they
are the A's.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
No, they're not not at all. They're not the Rocky
so you tend to put them in that category when
you talk about them.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
But they're a competitive team, they really are. Yeah, they're
close to five hundred some good young players. So'll be
fun out the stadium and it'll be certainly the biggest
crowdell play in front of all year because basically the
Cops they're playing in a minor league parking Sacramento. So
for them, this is like really playing in the bigs.
(33:44):
You know, it's like, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Playing in the bigs. Like they're not playing in the bigs.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
It's kind of like this. It's kind of like and
I don't know if they still do it. I know
they did for years when they would have the city
Baseball championships at Dodger Stadium. I don't know if they
still do that, but for years they did, right, Okay,
high school high school city champions. Yeah, the high school city.
So that's kind of like what it is for the A's.
You know, their home games are played at this little
(34:12):
park that are made for the miners, and then they
get to go to Dodger Stadium and they get to
play in the big leagues. It's like they get to
play in the big league stadium. So that's pretty cool.
I'm sure they'll be excited tonight.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
Yeah you're in Yeah, you're not kind to the athletics fread.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Hey, you know what, they're a good young team and
you got to give them this. Honestly, they're better than
the Angels. And that's hard to if I'm an Angel fan,
that's hard to swallow.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
That's hard to sallow. You got no.
Speaker 4 (34:49):
Home, you got nowhere to go. You know, you don't
really have a home for two or three years. And
that's still kind of a little bit in limbo, playing
at a minor league stadium.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
And yet yeah, you're better than the Angels.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
You're like Nomad's looking for a place to pitch your tent.
You live in the desert and keep moving and you're
still better than the Angels. Ahi, Ronnie, thank you good
work today, really solid effort. Kevin appreciate your efforts as well.
And Rodney, We're back tomorrow, yes, sir,
Roggin And Rodney News
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