September 8, 2025 • 49 mins
Clayton Kershaw was the stopper again as the Dodgers avoided the sweep in Baltimore. Adam Auslund is in for Fred today and we hear his take on the controvesy surrounding the alleged salary cap circumvention by Steve Ballmer and the Clippers. Could A.I. coaches be on the horizon?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Oh, yes, here we go. Let's go, let's go, let's go,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Wow, we have a humongous Monday show for you today.
Lots going on, the sports world is going crazy. Week
one of the NFL finishes up tonight with the Vikings
and the Bears. But w a wonderful weekend of not
just college football, but NFL football. And also it is
(00:33):
the opening week of our Ford NFL Spotlight with the Ambassador.
Mister Eric Differson will join the show at one o'clock,
so we will get into everything NFL and around the
league and what's happening and the thoughts from Ed the
ra Ambassador on what he thought about Week one in
(00:53):
the NFL. But before we even get started, I gotta
I gotta bring on my man, my man that I
love to sit in with, my man that always takes
care of me. My man is Adam Austin. That's right,
the double A, double A. I don't know how they
(01:13):
let us both in the building today, Man, I don't
know how that happened.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm living the dream.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I'm working with my former Carolina quarterback for the Panthers.
I wish you were still under center for them, Like
this is a big deal for me hanging out with
you again today.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Oh brother.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
If I was under sent that last one series, brother,
then then I'd be like, I think, hey, I put
my hand on Hey, come come get me, Come get me.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Look, at least you can see over the offensive line,
unlike Bryce Young, who has to roll out just so
we can find a.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Receiver every time. Wow, I'm sorry, it's rough. I know,
I know, and listen, we're gonna get into the NFL.
But man, does he look small out there or not?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I remember on Hard Knocks a couple of years ago
when they were doing the Jets, they had an inner
squad scrimmage or there were scrimmage in the New York
Jets with Aaron Rodgers, hence why they were on hard knocks.
And I have stood next to Aaron Rodgers before and
he's listed like six to one, and it felt like
maybe he was an inch taller than me. Bryce Young
(02:08):
looked like he was a foot shorter than Aaron Rodgers
at this practice. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I think he's shorter than Doug Plutie. I think he is.
He's in Muggsy Bolk's territory.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, he'sall I wouldn't go that far. He's a little tiny.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Not only is he tiny, but he's also thin. Yeah right,
he's not. He's thin. And I always like I remember
coming out of USC and and all, not only just
the uh you know, the coaches and training and stuff
like that, but it was like, man, you uh an
offensive line too. It's like, you don't want to hear
this from me off of the line. You need to
boke up a little bit. Yeah, light in the ass, Yeah,
(02:42):
you little light in the ass man. Take all those
hits and get through a seventeen game season. You're gonna
have to be able to uh land on your ass,
land on your back and all that kind of stuff
that's going to take its toll on you if you
are not bolt up a little bit. But he looks
a little frail, little thin see how it goes. But
all right, before we get started, so we all know
(03:05):
you are the host of Clippers Countdown, Halftime, pregame, postgame show,
all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Oh no, you and our man, You and our man
Kevin Figures. Got a new gig though, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah, FNA FNA on FSR, the podcast we've been doing
for years, you've been on it.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I think Fred Rogan's been on it once before.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well that was yeah, that was the nature of the podcast.
That was the all time low. But we've been a
spin off of the Petros and Money Show. They call
themselves PMS. We're FNA And finally it took some time,
but worth the wait. We got a show now on
FSR on Fox Sports Radio on Friday nights from eleven
to two in the late night hour when we like
(03:49):
it save Harbor hours.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
You know, we can do whatever we want.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, so you came out with us on Friday night
help preview week one of the NFL season. That was
a lot of fun. And now we get to continue
this today here on day in five to seventy.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Because you're late night.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
You know, you remember used to have what it was
a Comedy Central I think it was at the Adult Swim.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Oh yeah, yeah, Adult Swim. They're allowed to do a
little bit more than the cartoon network.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Allowed to do a little bit more and get a
little bit more colorful at that hour.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I'm hunger force.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Are you guys allowed to get a little more colorful
at eleven o'clock with you an hour?
Speaker 3 (04:20):
I'm drawing it mild right now, because we've only done
this for about five weeks and I don't want to
upset Scotch Shapiro, our new boss. But we're gonna test
the waters here and there. We shall see. But we're
on nationally Friday nights on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Check us out.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well cool Adam Austin in for Fred Rogan today and tomorrow. Right,
you're here tomorrow as well tomorrow going nowhere exactly. Fred
is doing some investigating reporting somewhere in the Coachella Valley,
so we'll find if he can. He's got any holes
in the desert that he can talk about that when
he comes, right.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Were you gonna talk to a sidewinder snake or Gila
monster and get some inside information?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Who knows? Who knows what he's going to do.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
But but all right, man, let's get started. We're going to
talk NFL. Like I mentioned in the tease, Eric Dickerson, Yes,
the Hall of Famer E. D. The Rambath is going
to join us. It is the first episode of our
fourth NFL Spotlight that we'll be doing every single week
on Mondays with Eric.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Uh, he's back again.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
I think this might be the fourth or fifth year
we've done it with Eric is always a It's always
a good thing because Adam, you know Ed, we start
the first five minutes talking about football and then it
takes a sideways turn and it goes to something else,
and uh, he's he's he's got a million and one stories.
And the crazy part of it is someone that has
(05:40):
those kind of stories. They're not just made up, they're
they're real life stories that he draws from. So it'll
always be interesting with Ed when he comes on. But
we'll try to get as much NFL and football and
college football because it's you know, SMU Mustangs are they're
coming back now now that now that they can, now
that they can outwardly pay money and nobody's gonna look
(06:02):
under the hood. They can pay a little bit out
there and they got a lot of money.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I mean the hood of the car that Hed got.
We should be able to ask him today. We got
to ask him how much would you make today in
the l Wow, you're making more than you did with
the rams with the Coast.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
He would be like, Uh, what's the guy? Uh just
transferred to Georgia to Carson Beck, right, he would be
Carson Beck times ten because you would look up at
ed with Eric Dickerson is in his ninth year in
college football.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
No, he's not going to be a doctor, but he
can diagnose the defense.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
He decided not to go to the NFL because he
didn't want to take a pay cut. That's that's where
he would be when it comes to nil and what's
going on at SMU. But it's good to see them back,
all right, man, Let's get into a Dodgers. Dodgers Dodgers,
Oh boy, they have been on a skid and uh
skid in half basically in the month of August and
(07:00):
even early September. They struggled, struggled on this road trip
and went to Baltimore and almost gets swept. Thank god
for the big time stopper. The guy who's been the
most consistent I think all year from a starting pitching
standpoint is Clayton Kershaw comes in, strikes out eight I
(07:21):
believe in five and the third and five and two
thirds and really gives them a boost. Obviously Old Tany
had a big day as well, but Adam as the Dodgers,
you know, really head into the meat of September with
you know what they've got, played one hundred and forty
three games now, got nineteen games left all season long.
(07:45):
At the time, Well, they'll find a way to turn
it on. They'll find a way to get it going.
They'll get healthy. Once they get healthy, they're gonna be this.
They're gonna be that. Do you feel confident in the
Dodgers the way they're playing right now with nineteen games
left in the regular season going into the playoffs, Because
right now it looks like they are, whether they win
(08:07):
the division or not, probably going to be in that
wildcard series. So how confident are you and this team
right now?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I gotta be honest, I'm still traumatized after what happened
on Saturday with Yamamoto being two strikes away from having
a no hitter, and going from that, Okay, you lost
the no hitter. Andy Pajz was playing a double off
the wall for some reason instead of trying to extend
himself or run into the wall and give a great
(08:36):
effort there to preserve.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
The no hitter.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
You go from that to unraveling and imploding and losing
the game that you were up three to nothing in
where Blake Trinon, who hasn't looked like himself all season long,
been in and out, has had injuries, has been over
taxed over the years. Probably maybe it's kept catching up
to him. I heard David about say talking about that
he can't get it out, called himself out for it
(08:59):
post game.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I do love that.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
And then you go to the guy that blew it
for you the night before, in Tanner Scott. He blows
another save. That is I mean, you want to talk
epic fail. That's one of the worst regular season losses
I think I've ever seen Rodney. That's not hyperbolic, that's
not hyperbole. That was as bad as it gets. Now
they did respond and the stopper was there for Himan
(09:23):
Kershaw yesterday, but they've won one series out of their
last six.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Like this is.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
We've gone from just win two out of three to
just don't get swept with the Dodgers. That's how it's
felt as of late. That's scary.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
It is, uh, extremely scary, and it's I was you
had to bring up the Saturday when I get it
because I was sick to my stomach. I'm at the
USC game in the Coliseum and we're monitoring it and
it got to be three and oh so when it
(09:59):
hit to seventh any more and more people that are
around were paying attention to Okay, what's going on. He's
gonna throw a no hitter. He's got a no hitter going.
He's got a no hitter. It's just started to go
reverberate around the stadium. He's got a no hitter going.
He's got a no hitter going. And then he goes
it to the eighth and he gets he gets the
one out, and you're like, oh, okay, okay, he's gonna ride.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
This bad boy out. And then the home run happens.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
You're like, oh, of all things, I mean, that's just
a backbreaker, the home run and boom, boom, boom. And
you know, obviously when a guy is going like that,
as a manager, you got to let him go and
see if he can get the no hitter. And once
it's blown, Dave Roberts went and got him and brought
in trying him, thinking, okay, it's three to one. At
(10:43):
least we can get two outs, we can get two outs,
get the win. One at least, get the win. One out,
we can get the win. And they don't get the win.
And you know, David Bassey said that that was the
rock bottom moment for the Dodgers, like you know.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
It said.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I think Kevin spoke to Tim Kates about it. He said, well,
there's the only way to go up rock bottom. Now
everything's going to turn around. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
There was a line in Friends back on NBC in
the nineties from Jennifer Aniston who once said, there's rock
bottom fifty feet a crap and then me like they
might find a way to dig themselves to the moment
at some point, with how bad things have been, we
said rock bottom before.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I was shocked that they were able to respond on Sunday. Yeah,
I mean, thank god it was Clayton pitching. But I
was shocked that they were able to come back and
even get a win and not get swept in that
game because of the devastation that happened the day before.
And this has kind of been a pattern. I feel
bad for Yamamoto because he's pitched his ass off this
year and he has just not gotten any kind of
(11:51):
run support. And then when you have it, all you
want is your relievers to come in and close the door,
and that has been a problem all season long. I right,
some people saying that even with the home run and
Yamamoto leaving, you know, letting that happen. Should Dave Roberts
(12:14):
have just let him finish the game instead of bringing
in any reliever. Given the fact that the reliever and
the relief Tanner Scott, who was you know, up getting
loose and Blake trying to have not been themselves and
have struggled, do you just leave Yamamoto even with the
home run? Do you leave a man to just go
finish it out?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I mean, that's an indictment on the bullpen right now.
If you have to leave in a guy who's at
what one hundred and twelve pitches or whatever it was
he lost the no hitter. You can't hold onto two runs.
You can't. You got two runs and you need one
out to get out of the game. That should be
an easy decision for there right now. I Tanner Scott
(12:54):
is in this place right now, and he came out
with the quote on Friday night where he said, it
feels it's terrible after blowing that game. I have to
figure it out.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Quote.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Baseball hates me right now, Rodney. I'm not trying to
play armchair psychologist or anything like that, but this sounds
like a guy who has defeated himself, who feels like
anything that can go wrong has and will go wrong
whenever he steps on the mound. Right now, that's scary
as well.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It's extremely scary for a guy that's supposed to be
your closer. If you don't pitch with confidence, I don't
know how you can pitch it all. And if you're
if you're feeling like that, and look, look, we we
live in an age where it is media heavy. Everybody
(13:45):
wants an interview, everybody wants to know what happens, and
there's many outlets, and it is you're contractually obligated to
answer questions after a game, so he's gonna get asked,
and there's only so many times that you can say,
I don't know, I don't know what's going to happen.
I don't know why I can't finish. I don't know
why I'm not performing the way I think I can.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
We saw that from Tyler Glasna early in the season
and he's out right now, but he's supposed to be
back for the series against the Rockies, but he ran
out of answers. There's nothing else you can say.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Moki ran out of answers. Remember Mooki was struggling for
that month and a half two months, and nobody worked
harder than Moki. Was doing everything extra. He was in
the batting cage, he was out early, he was doing
everything he could think about. And then finally he was like,
I don't know, I don't know. All I can do
is just keep on going out and playing. But yeah,
(14:38):
I get the way it looks as baseball hates me
right now, to the point of when you have to
be the guy that shuts it down at the end
of the game. The confidence level when it shook like that,
you're pitching not to lose. And that's the way the
Dodgor's been playing, is playing not to lose as opposed
(14:59):
to going out there with a better team, with a
better we got better players. This is impose our will.
It is, man. We got a three run lead, we
got a five run lead. We just got to try
not to lose this game. We're going to try not
to lose this game. And that's the way Tanner Scott
is pitching right now. And when you pitch like that,
all of a sudden, the mistakes start to happen. You
(15:20):
start leaving that fastball right in the middle of the
plate as opposed to you know, on the black high
and inside low it outside and a pacific a specific
spot that it's not a home run, it's maybe a
ground out to third. But because you're trying to be
too careful, because you're thinking about what if this happens,
(15:42):
what if I give up this home run? What if
I give up blow this stage.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
You're afraid to fail. You're afraid to fail.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
And look, yes, these guys are professionals, they're they're making
a lot of money and all that kind of stuff,
but they're also human and that seeps in from time
to time. It is I don't know what you do.
If you're Dave Roberts, I don't know what you do.
Some suggest it that let deck Dryer be your back
end guy. He's been the most consistent all year long
(16:10):
coming out of the pen. I think he's thrown from
a bullpen stead, but I think he's throwing more any
than anybody. And let him shake it all the way
up for these next nineteen games. Give trying to you know,
maybe give him the sixth inning. Only don't put him
in the back end. Don't let don't let Tanner Scott
be the you know, be the save guy, move him
around a little bit and let let Dryer or even
(16:32):
Robeleski come in and do something. Let let Banda just
close it out until Vessia maybe gets back. Do something different,
but don't put Tanner in that situation. I don't know
if that works.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Tarror, what do you get a contract for seventy two
million dollars? Yeah, coming off the last couple of years,
he's been lights out, whites out, Yes, So maybe it's
the pressure of the expectations of being a Dodger. It's
just different. Maybe he's been a tough luck loser. Baseball
does hate him right now. There's just certain guys I
(17:04):
think you have to live and die with to some extent,
like he either figures it out or there's this huge
ripple effect throughout our bullpen where everybody is gonna have
to make up or pick up the slack for him,
and that's probably asking too much. I think the reason
he went with him to close that game on Saturday
(17:24):
after blowing the game on Friday night, and even with
how bad of a season he has had is Dave
Roberts said, if he can get out of this jam
right here, right maybe that can turn the tide for
him and he can gain some confidence. Now instead it
goes the other way and he's feeling even worse about himself.
But I get why he would do something like that.
And you mentioned the Dodgers finding ways to lose. They're
(17:47):
inventing ways to lose like they're Thomas Edison right now.
I've never seen anything like that game on Saturday. It's
like they forgot how to win. Yeah, that's alarming to me.
A team this talented that we keep saying they'll get
it together. They're too talented, they'll figure it out eventually.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
But if a team like.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
This, wait, couldn't even get out of the inning. He
couldn't get one out. He called himself out afterwards for
not being able to get one damn out. But for
a team that is this talented, that we keep saying,
just wait, just wait, they'll get it together, is it
an urgency or lack thereof excuse going on? We speculated
about that, But when you hear their manager and Dave
(18:30):
Roberts going, hey, let's go, it's time to click in,
he has a sense of urgency. He knows these games matter.
So you can say, oh, you want that just wait
for the playoffs and the Dodgers can get it together
and on paper there'll still be the most talented team
when the playoffs start. Great, But if the manager thinks
these games matter, I think it's fair for the fans
(18:51):
to be this invested. Even in a game like that
on Saturday that you blow and you have time to
make up for it, that's fair game to me. They
have to figure this out and just have a little
bit of momentum going into the playoffs. I would think, No,
I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
You can't go in limping in like they're limping in
right now and with basically it's one thing to be hurt,
but also to go in there with a lack of
confidence that you can win a series, or you can
win a critical game of Game three, a game five,
a game seven in a series. And I don't think
that collectively as a team they feel that way. Adam,
(19:26):
you know, you've been around sports a long time. You
know how things can click, and all it takes is
one little thing. All it takes is one thing to happen,
and all of a sudden you get on a roll
and teams figure out a way. They they just can't lose,
just like the Dodgers are losing. It could flip the
other way at some point. We just haven't seen it
this year. Do you think that still can happen with
(19:47):
this team?
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Because they still have three MVPs at the top of
the lineup, because Otani has still look this good, Mookie's
been much better over the last month. Freddy's been a
little bit up and down. I think he had like
a platinum sombre yesterday. It didn't matter. They still won
the ball game. And the starting pitching has been pretty solid.
They figure out the bullpen, they get more consistent with
(20:11):
driving in runs, they've left too many runners in scoring
position obviously over the last few months. Munsey's coming back, though,
and there is a direct correlation between him being in
the lineup and this Dodgers team hitting and being contagious
on that end, with passing the baton from one guy
to another that has a lot or a wide sample
(20:35):
size the last two years with Munsey without Munsey, and
just what a difference he makes per runs per game
for this Dodgers team. So I still feel like if
they're somewhat healthy, they're going to be fine. But on
the other hand, if they're not, and it looks like
they're heading toward that new dangerous wild Card scenario where yes,
(20:55):
you get all three games at home, but it's a
best out of three series if you lose the series,
and we reflect on this season and go, you know what,
they just weren't right after July fourth, They've been twenty
three and thirty two, and the entire time we kept
making excuses for them, and the truth was they were
a bad team hiding and playing site and we cover
(21:17):
for them for too long because of past history and
then being the World Series champions. That is a possibility.
Do I think they'll get it together? Yes, But if
they don't, we had all this evidence that we chose
to overlook to say, hey, come on, they're still the Dodgers,
They're still too talented.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
You talk about a lingering effect. If they don't get
it together, the pit in Dodger fans stomach in the
offseason is going to be enormous and it's going to
be the longest offseason until spring training starts.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Again. Do they play Colorado, And oftentimes we've said Colorado
is the perfect It's the right in medicine when you're
strug They got the elixir.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yes, but Jack, they went to Colorado, they split with
them in a four game series. They didn't they didn't
win the series. They split with them, and it usually
is a recipe to get yourself right. They're coming to
Dodger Stadium, Colorado. How important I can't believe I'm even
saying this. How important is this Colorado series for the Dodgers.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
If you want any chance of being the two seed
in the NL, you gotta sweep them, if you want
any chance, if that hasn't already gotten away from them,
and just to find themselves and what their identity has
been over the past year, because they have flashes of it,
right the Will Smith home run against Arizona's to salvage
(22:43):
that series and not get swept. They keep having these
moments that pull us back in to thinking that they're
just coasting and there's a little bit of a malaise
because of the World Series hangover. But history also says
team to go back to back was in ninety nine
two thousand with the Yankees, And you can even say,
(23:05):
just the last team to win a World Series and
then get back there and lose that was the Phillies
in eighth nine it is so difficult. It is so hard.
So what you're seeing right now is what we've seen
from a lot of these teams over the years that
try to repeat. But if they're gonna have a chance
to get rolling now, you would think Colorado would be
(23:25):
the team to get them on a little bit of
a run. Here, find yourself, put it together, put it
together for a week. Please, please, that's all we're asking you,
got that, right, Hey?
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Just look around.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
The Wild Wild NL West is brought to you by
wild Fork from Valencia to Incinnitas and in between. Find
your wild Fork at Wildforkfoods dot com. All right, Adam,
since we got you here, we got to bring it
up man, Red and I touched on this last week.
It's still kind of some talk out there about the Clippers,
(24:00):
Steve Bomber and his deal with Kawhi Leonard. Uh, you're
the Clipper guy, Man, We got to get your take
on it. Brother, stay tuned. Oh yes, happy, happy Monday.
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I know
I did. The Trojans are two and oh very happy
about that. I don't want to hear cupcakes. I don't
(24:21):
want to hear we patted our schedule. I don't want
to hear any of that.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
That's some extra frosting on those.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Hey hey, I like sprinkles too.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Those are the Clay Helton sprinkles there.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Does How does you see la Field right now? How
about that? I don't want to go there. I don't.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I don't want to pile on. I'm not gonna pile
on because I love Deshon Falter, my teammate in Carolina.
You're a Carolina guy. Philly and the NFC Championship.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Game the best ever. I don't.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I'm glad you brought that up because I you know,
when when you see clips and highlights of different NFL
games and moments and things like that, I don't ever
see that clip. Right It was one of the best,
what six seven yard runs in NFL history, let alone
in a championship game in Philly. He broke like seventeen
(25:10):
tackle and got in the end zone.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I don't know if Derrick Henry had that many guys
bounce off him before.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
It's an all timer.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
It's an all timer. If you got a chance, go
check it out, go look it up. Deshaun Foster run
against Philadelphia in the two thousand and three. Yeah, two
thousand and three, probably a year was two thousand and four.
It was January two thousand and four Championship game against Philly.
Also is touchdown in the Super Bowl where he broke
(25:40):
Rodney Harrison's wrist.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Hey, I wanted him in.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
You tell me why didn't John Fox have him starting
when we knew Stephen Davis had the knee issue. That
was the first time he touched the ball in that
Super Bowl to Sean Foster.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
It went for six.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
It was but if you remember, Stephen Davis had the
big run to put us right there before half that game.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Up, Hey, what were you there or something like that?
How dare you have a better memory on that day?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
All right, Adam, you are here filling in for Fred today,
and we love when you when you join man, I
don't want any other hosts with you, so you might guy, but.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
You are here now, you're buttering me up here. I
am ready to set it up.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
I had to set it up because last week the
story came out. The story came out about the Clippers
Steve Balmer and Kawhi Leonard, and there was some suspicion
about a company that Steve Balmer owned and Kawhi had
an endorsement deal with and now the NBA, and they're
investigating whether this is circumventing the salary cap because that
(26:41):
is not allowed. That Kawhi, I believe it, he got
twenty eight million dollars from this company to be a spokesperson,
and is that an infraction on the salary cap given
the fact that Steve Balmer owns three percent of this company.
We talked a little bit about it last week, gave
our thoughts. Steve Bomber had some quotes, You've been all
(27:02):
over this, Adam.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
What say you? Adam?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
Now, let me throw out the disclaimer first of all,
because I feel like I'm in a no win situation.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Full disclosure.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I work for the Clippers. I work for Steve Bamber
or the Clipper station here on a five seventy LA
sports season starts. I think October twenty second is Game one,
so I'm embedded with this team. I love Steve Balmer,
I love Kawhi, I love the Clippers. Yes, obviously I'm compromised.
My point of view is just where are the facts
(27:31):
so far they've come out from Pablo Torre and then
what's been acknowledged by Steve Balmer in the interview he
did Friday night on the Evil four Letter.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I think that was Friday, Thursday, Yeah, Thursday. It's been
a rough week.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Days are running together for Clipper Nation right now, and
Steve Balmer kind of spoke to that. I think the
main reason he did that, and it felt impromptu because
it came out of nowhere that all of a sudden,
after the US opened he was going to be on ESPN,
was because he wanted to address the fans and let
him know, yeah, we're going through this tough time together.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Well. I was happy about that because he addressed it
right away.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
He didn't let it fester and fester and fester for
weeks and weeks and weeks. He he wanted to address it.
I think that anybody also, whether it's from AFAR intimately,
like you know, you're in the organization, you know the organization,
Well you've interacted with him that people that know Steve
Bomber I would believe ninety nine percent believe he's a
(28:31):
stand up guy. Yeah, and he's a guy of integrity
and all of those things.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I had a surreal moment this season, Rodney where pregame
we can watch the guys, warm up. I'm there three
hours before tip off and I'm sitting courtside talking with
a reporter as Steve Balmer sits one seat to my left,
the fifth or sixth richest man in the world. And
(28:56):
I couldn't help but hear his conversation. He was happening
with a businessman, telling him about the Intuit Dome and
how this thing was designed, and he was just as
excited and speaking with the same passion he has publicly,
where everyone makes fun of him for seeming like a fan,
because he is, and it's awesome. And to go from
(29:17):
their former owner to Steve Balmer, it's been a complete
blessing for us. But I can just tell you that's
who he is behind the scenes. I got a front row,
so to speak, view of who he is as a
person there. Now, what's going on with this investigation is
Pablo tore On. Pablo Tory finds out he's doing investigative
reporting and this company Aspiration.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Just to give the.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Cliffs notes here, they received it looks like fifty million
dollars from Steve Balmer as an investor. They were also
investing in the Clippers three hundred million over I think
twenty three years to be a sponsor because they're trying
to reduce carbon footprints or neutral carbon footprints. There, they're
doing some green work for the world.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
We thought.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Now the issue is they went bankrupt. All of their
court filings became public and Pablo Torre found out some
of the details on who else was investing in this
company or who else was dealing with this company, and
Kawhi Leonard was showing up on their payments to endorsers
(30:28):
for you mentioned twenty eight million. That was over four years,
seven million a year. So he's inferring that is this
a way for Steve Bamber to circumvent the salary cap
He invested fifty million and now this company is paying
Kawhi Leonard twenty eight million to be an endorser for them.
Now that's not how of the norm. You look at
(30:49):
a team like the Denver Nuggets. They have a sponsor
with Western Union. They also have an individual deal with
Nikola Jokish to do their commercials, so there's a lot
of entanglement the differences.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
But is ownership a part of Western Union?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Yes, there are a team sponsor.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Also to believe there is any ownership in Western Union.
That's what people would say, there's no the owner the
invest back and then the owner of the Nuggets does
not own a piece of Western Union, correct, right.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
That's a good point.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
And also the fact that Nikola Jokicch is obviously out
there as a spokesman doing commercials for them. To our
knowledge right now, we haven't seen Kawhi do any commercials
for Aspiration. We haven't seen him retweet anything on social media,
So people are wondering, why is he being paid this
much money?
Speaker 1 (31:37):
What are they getting out of it?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
We do we know when that deal happened, and then
when they filed for bankruptcy, because that's an answer. It's like, well,
before I had a chance to do any kind of
you know, spokesperson deals or whatever, do a commercial, the
company filed for bank rubaca, so they're out of business,
so it didn't work out.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
That's a good point. I think it was going back
to twenty twenty one. Late in twenty twenty one, he's
coming off the ACL he gets an extended contract with
the Clippers, when the Clippers initially made an investment in
the company and they with them being an endorser for
the Clippers, and then months later, Kawhi was seen on
(32:16):
their paperwork documents of being sponsored by them as well.
So we're talking I think two years between him signing
with them and them going bankrupt somewhere around about. You know,
I don't have the exact dates, and I know these
are things, these are allegations, and we say allegedly a
lot when we're talking about these things to protect ourselves.
So I just I can't be as accurate as I
(32:38):
like to be with that. But I think about two years, Roddy, Yeah,
So they end up going bankrupt, and now people are
wondering what the extent of the Clippers' involvement was and
if Kawhi was being paid under the table, because if
you remember back in twenty nineteen, when Kawhi signed with
the Clippers, there was an investigation done by the NBA
(32:58):
then because team were saying Uncle Detis, who is kind
of his representative, was asking for a lot of sweeteners.
Oh you want to sign Kawhi?
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Yeah, what the plane and all kinds of other stuff.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Right, So the NBA investigator to see is that how
the Clippers eventually got him. They found no wrongdoing. However,
there was a statement made by Sam Amick of The
Athletic back then saying, quote talking about Adam Silver, Adam
Silver sees the salary cap circnvention as a cardinal sin
(33:29):
in the NBA and will always keep a watchful eye
on that front. If any relevant evidence of improper benefit
surfaces in the future, the league will reopen the investigation
and pursue the charges yet again. Sam Amock with Pablo
Torreon last week after the news broke said his vibe
that he got from the NBA at that time was
(33:51):
this is a to be continued situation going back to
that investigation in twenty nineteen. So was there enough to
warrant them reopening what happened in twenty nineteen. I don't know.
These are all things that are being speculated about, and
some of it is reckless reporting, and some of it
is people saying a radio host like, oh, I know
Kawhi got this also. Now someone came out there I
(34:14):
think it was from a Boston reporter saying that, and
pablotry is now confirmed this We don't know if it's true.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
But Kawhi also has stock.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Options for twenty million dollars Now they're worth nothing now,
but at the time that could bring up the salary
that they were paying him, not from twenty eight million,
or just that it's twenty eight million plus twenty so
forty eight million.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
And now people are reading.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
The tea leaves and going, well, Steve Balmer invested fifty
Kawhi is getting forty eight million. What's going on here?
But are you able to connect those dots and say,
because Pablo Tory couldn't, he could just imply he didn't
have any paperwork that showed there was money going from
Steve Balmer to Aspiration that was directly to Kawhi. That
(34:57):
hasn't been proven. The NBA is investigating, and they got
the same investigative team that did the reporting and the
finding that took a week on Donald Sterling to get
him banned for life by Adam silver Back in twenty fourteen,
to eventually lead to Steve Bomber being the owner here.
So we will see. I am waiting for the facts
(35:18):
of the investigation to come out. I understand a lot
of people think it looks suspicious right now, completely understand that.
I also think there are some explanations that you know,
some people aren't discussing, like how well, how much can
you trust this company to begin with, because they were
convicted of fraud and their co founder was convicted of
(35:39):
two counts of wire fraud.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
And even Steve Bomber said, they scammed me, right, they
scammed me out of fifty million dollars, which you know
to him he finds it in the couch, but still
fifty million dollars.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
It's fifty million dollars.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
So if you want to say, what are they paying
Kawi for, Well, this isn't your typical company. They were
a highly dysfunctional, mismanaged and frauding people. It could be
that they're paying Kawhi so they can say, hey, we
have these celebrities on our books.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
When they go to the future.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
Investors or possible investors, we have Robert Downey Jr. We
have Drake, we have Kawhi. Why don't you invest in
this company too? And he's being used as adding credibility
to their company that was scamming everybody.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Well, here's my thing, and I said this last week,
is that, first of all, this is not Steve Balmer's company,
like a lot of people were saying, it's like, oh,
Steve Bomber owns he owns three percent of that company
he invested into. The company doesn't run it, not on
the board, doesn't do anything he invested into the company.
So that being said, from an NBA investigation standpoint, are
(36:46):
you now going to investigate every single owner and check
out what their investments are, what their percentage ownerships are,
and some of these other businesses that some of the
athletes on their team may have endorsement deals with or
even maybe invest with. It could be from you know,
(37:07):
you see it all the time. Everybody, more and more
every day are investing DC athletes investing in you know,
whether it be Draft Kings, whether it be Sofi. You know,
we see both quarterbacks talking about so far and many
guys talking about so far. Is there an interest with
the Chargers and the Rams and that ownership and SOFI
being at the naming rights of the stadium cryptocrypto dot
(37:29):
com arena? Is there any connection there? I mean, there's
so many of these owners that have interests in hundreds
and thousands of different businesses that if you dig deep enough,
you might find a connection that that particular owner owns
a percentage of Tesla and all of a sudden, Tesla
(37:51):
somebody's driving the new Tesla and got an endorsement deal
for Tesla.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Yeah, I think that's That's something else people brought up.
Do the other owners want Pandora's box opened where their
records are being looked at?
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Now?
Speaker 3 (38:05):
The dynamic is so interesting in the NBA and throughout
sports because you have a commissioner that works for the owners.
In this case, he also is asked to possibly punish
an owner that he works for. I think a lot
of this comes down to what do the other owners want?
How do they view Steve Bomber, Because even between billionaires,
(38:26):
there can be a discrepancy in how much one guy's
worth versus another. Steve Bomber's the richest sports owner in
North America, He's the sixth or fifth richest person in
the world. Do they see that as he has unfair
advantages that we don't have and we want to take
him down Because we've already seen the new CBA with
(38:47):
that second apron that penalizes everybody that everybody's scared of
that was put in to stop Steve Bomber and Joe Lacup.
So are those same owners wanting to go after Steve
Bomber for this? If there's enough evidence to do so,
or are they going to be worried that they could
be the next to be investigated.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
I don't know. They usually stick together anyway. Good stuff
at them all right?
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Is the human element in sports leaving us right before
our very eyes. We'll get into that next and five
seventy uh Yeah. Today's Afternoon Delight is yeat by Lotto
and Ice Spice. This single dropped over the weekend, along
(39:33):
in music video that racked over three million views within
the first day of its posting. The collaboration between the
two throws Ice on the rumor that two that the
two MC's have an unspoken beef over the past few years.
Lotto further squashed the notion of any anonymously when she
(39:53):
told Rolling Stone, I feel like if we ever spoke
and I asked her what's the issue, it'd be like
a blank stare it really no issue whatsoever? Especially from
me again, Today's Afternoon Delight is Yeah by Lotto and
Ice Spice Beef.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
This is a new Spice girl. I was unaware of
this with ginger Spices and baby Spies and posh Ice Spice.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
Okay, Gary Spice, do you want to be my love?
Speaker 2 (40:24):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (40:24):
Yes, yes, Oh, yeah, you're a Spice Girl fan.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Huh, Spice World forever, h Adam.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Did you hear this story now?
Speaker 2 (40:35):
I mean obviously it's the uh I want to see
the ballers part of the Oakland organization. Yeah, and Oakland
obviously notorious for for the Billy Bean and moneyball and
all of that and putting analytics into baseball and really
were the catalysts for for all of that. Now they're
(40:58):
talking about you Ai for managers in baseball.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
I mean, does Tanner Scott get in the other night
if AI was making that decision. I'm just wondering, like.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Maybe there's something to it. Now, this is a little.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
Wacky because I guess the Oakland Bawlers have also done
something where on a fan appreciation night they let them
choose the lineup right right, So they're just taking it a
step further.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
That's where Fred got that from. Oh that was his idea.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
Fred said that the other day. I was wondering where
he got that from. He said, you know, why don't
we just let the fans decide. Fans decide who the
light when the Dodgers really struggle, and they's been struggling
all season long, so there was a stretch, I think
four or five game stretch where they lost and friends like,
just let the fans decide the line up.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
We'll do anything. Yeah, we'll do anything.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
I think Tomalis sorta did that way back in the
eighties and he did a one game and it worked,
and so why why not chick things up and let
the fans do it? But man, this is scary though,
because look, we all know and the Dodgers are as
good as anybody. Andrew Friedman stand cast and you know
he came from Tampa Bay, where analytics were huge down there,
(42:08):
and they use it. Their staff is as big as
anybody when it comes to the analytics staff here the Dodgers,
the data is so great and you use it. But
here's the thing. What was the major criticized criticism of
Dave Roberts early on was he didn't manage He just
(42:31):
let it happen with the data and didn't go for
the feel of the game right right, just the front
off exactly. And then it was moments later on where
he was like, I'm gonna leave this guy in I
decided to leave like he left trying in beginn of
trying and last year in the World Series to go
get it out, and he did, and he started to
go with the feel of the game, and obviously two
(42:53):
World Series later, he's like, I'm glad that that's you know,
there's a there's a balance, right, there's a balance between
the analytics, the data and also getting the feel of
the game. My fear is that it will start to
take over. Now you've got to have coaches and managers
because they got to be able to decide whether to steal,
whether the butt, whether they take a pitch or whatever,
(43:13):
balls and strikes, how you gonna call it for now?
For now, time to steal, Let's go. But it's like
it is. Look, the Internet was great. You were too
young to know when it first hit, but it was
a great, great tool.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
I got those all CDs in my mind.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
I remember those.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
You're talking about a scam on thousand three hours of
Internet where we had Prodigy on the fifty six came
out of them.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
And the dial up and all that kind of stuff.
But man, it changed the world.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Obviously this is going in the direction, but it feels
like it's going at such an accelerated pace that it's
going to hit you tomorrow. And if this happens in sports. Look,
it was already it's it was already there when I
was playing, meaning the data and it wasn't you know,
we didn't call it always analytics and this is what
(44:08):
we're doing and all that. But we would get readouts
on on Thursday, Wednesday and Thursday, and we would take
it home and go, Okay, on first and ten, this
is what they play most of the time. Seventy percent
of the time, they're gonna be in mann and man
coverage on third down and five or less. So we're
gonna call our plays accordingly to the data. And sometimes
(44:31):
you're most of the time you're right, and you know,
obviously once in a while you're wrong because teams will
go against it. But the data was oft always used.
Those those sheets that Sean McVay has and any Redhaub,
all that's data driven. All this is like, Okay, first
and ten, these are ten plays we run on first
ten because that's what they're doing on first and ten,
third and five, fourth down. This is what we're doing.
(44:53):
And they've got a list and it's like they calling
the play before the previous play is over because they
know the down and distance and what to call and
it's based on the data. So when this comes about,
I'm like, oh, it's it's going so fast and it's scary.
Speaker 3 (45:10):
It almost feels like we're already kind of AI interpreters.
We're a buffer between just going full AI with the robots.
And by the way, I've always been pro robots behind
the plate. If there's a way to get the strike
zone right, which there is, the pitch FX know about it.
This is the only thing for good reason. But that's
(45:33):
one way that could actually speed up the game. If
you want the hump still there calling strikes and balls
because he's got a microphone in his ear or whatever
and it tells him what to say.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
I'm fine with that, but.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
I do so it's totally against it until this year.
Watching was that bad. This year it has been the
worst year I think I've ever seen with umpires and
balls and strikes.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
Well, because we see it on TV, how it could
be right with the little framing of the strike zone.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
I miss it.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
Yeah, it's it's it's been as bad as I've ever
seen it. So I'm like on board now with the
calling of the balls and strikes fully AI and fully automated.
No but balls and strikes. They get it and they're
doing it now. You know in football, you see with
the first downs. Now they've measured the football and now
they've got the the AI is telling you is this
(46:23):
a first.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
Down or the hawkeye technology? It's Jeremy Renter technology.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
So it's a it's definitely coming. But what do you
think about having an actual manager be a robot in
the dugout well tongue in anywhere, tongue in cheek.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
I brought up the Tanner Scott situation on Saturday Night.
I wonder if that's AI in a situation like that
and it's an AI robot manager, are they going to
take into account a guy's contract and the politics and
sports and that they have them for three more years
or whatever it is. We have to find a way
(46:59):
to get his confidence back, So we put him in
a situation where the numbers say he hasn't been very good.
He just blew the save the night before and he's
got a four and a half e RA on the season.
Why would we go with Tanner Scott? But the human
element is, uh, we don't have a lot of options
down the line, and he has to regain his form
at some point. So we're gonna give him this big
opportunity in a big spot because if he gets the
(47:20):
out it may help his confidence. I think AI might
just go off the numbers there and say, yeah, that's
Jack Dryer. Hey, I's gonna spit out Jack Dryer in
that situation.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Instead, I'm thinking too, like if AI is gonna take over,
like the coaching and managing and sports, what does AI
do when Steph gets on a heater like you did
in the Olympics. Are they gonna keep Oh, we gotta
get the ball to Steph or are they gonna say, well,
Kevin Durant in this situation is probably a more better,
a better option for it, or let's go to someone
(47:52):
else in this situation where Steph was hitting ungodly shots
and couldn't miss. Does AI recognize that in the moment
that a guy's on a heater, right?
Speaker 3 (48:02):
The heater aspect, and that has been debated for a while.
I remember on The Old Man the Three podcast that's
something that JJ Reddick used to talk about. Is it
real or is it just the law of averages? Is
momentum and sports real or is it just law of averages?
And eventually things go the other way. That's been stuff
that has been debated for a while. I come down
(48:24):
in this way usually when I talk about technology and
whether or not these things scare me.
Speaker 1 (48:29):
My voice to text still gets stuff.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
Wrong all the time, Rodney, Yeah, I didn't say duck.
My voice to text still doesn't know what I'm saying
half the time. And we want AI managers and self
driving cars.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
I don't know. I don't feel that comfortable yet.
Speaker 2 (48:46):
Yeah, I've seen some people drive and I'm not comfortable
with the card driving. All right, it's that time, you know,
first time, twenty twenty five NFL season. The Ambassador, the Ambassador,
(49:07):
Eric Dickinson is going to join us. We're going to
get into the NFL Week one and what to expect
all season long from our local teams as well.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
Stay tuned. Adam Auslin and for Fred Rogan am five
seventy LA Sports
Oh, yes, here we go. Let's go, let's go, let's go,
let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Wow, we have a humongous Monday show for you today.
Lots going on, the sports world is going crazy. Week
one of the NFL finishes up tonight with the Vikings
and the Bears. But w a wonderful weekend of not
just college football, but NFL football. And also it is
(00:33):
the opening week of our Ford NFL Spotlight with the Ambassador.
Mister Eric Differson will join the show at one o'clock,
so we will get into everything NFL and around the
league and what's happening and the thoughts from Ed the
ra Ambassador on what he thought about Week one in
(00:53):
the NFL. But before we even get started, I gotta
I gotta bring on my man, my man that I
love to sit in with, my man that always takes
care of me. My man is Adam Austin. That's right,
the double A, double A. I don't know how they
(01:13):
let us both in the building today, Man, I don't
know how that happened.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm living the dream.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
I'm working with my former Carolina quarterback for the Panthers.
I wish you were still under center for them, Like
this is a big deal for me hanging out with
you again today.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Oh brother.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
If I was under sent that last one series, brother,
then then I'd be like, I think, hey, I put
my hand on Hey, come come get me, Come get me.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Look, at least you can see over the offensive line,
unlike Bryce Young, who has to roll out just so
we can find a.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Receiver every time. Wow, I'm sorry, it's rough. I know,
I know, and listen, we're gonna get into the NFL.
But man, does he look small out there or not?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
I remember on Hard Knocks a couple of years ago
when they were doing the Jets, they had an inner
squad scrimmage or there were scrimmage in the New York
Jets with Aaron Rodgers, hence why they were on hard knocks.
And I have stood next to Aaron Rodgers before and
he's listed like six to one, and it felt like
maybe he was an inch taller than me. Bryce Young
(02:08):
looked like he was a foot shorter than Aaron Rodgers
at this practice. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I think he's shorter than Doug Plutie. I think he is.
He's in Muggsy Bolk's territory.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, he'sall I wouldn't go that far. He's a little tiny.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Not only is he tiny, but he's also thin. Yeah right,
he's not. He's thin. And I always like I remember
coming out of USC and and all, not only just
the uh you know, the coaches and training and stuff
like that, but it was like, man, you uh an
offensive line too. It's like, you don't want to hear
this from me off of the line. You need to
boke up a little bit. Yeah, light in the ass, Yeah,
(02:42):
you little light in the ass man. Take all those
hits and get through a seventeen game season. You're gonna
have to be able to uh land on your ass,
land on your back and all that kind of stuff
that's going to take its toll on you if you
are not bolt up a little bit. But he looks
a little frail, little thin see how it goes. But
all right, before we get started, so we all know
(03:05):
you are the host of Clippers Countdown, Halftime, pregame, postgame show,
all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Oh no, you and our man, You and our man
Kevin Figures. Got a new gig though, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah, FNA FNA on FSR, the podcast we've been doing
for years, you've been on it.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I think Fred Rogan's been on it once before.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Well that was yeah, that was the nature of the podcast.
That was the all time low. But we've been a
spin off of the Petros and Money Show. They call
themselves PMS. We're FNA And finally it took some time,
but worth the wait. We got a show now on
FSR on Fox Sports Radio on Friday nights from eleven
to two in the late night hour when we like
(03:49):
it save Harbor hours.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
You know, we can do whatever we want.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, so you came out with us on Friday night
help preview week one of the NFL season. That was
a lot of fun. And now we get to continue
this today here on day in five to seventy.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Because you're late night.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
You know, you remember used to have what it was
a Comedy Central I think it was at the Adult Swim.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Oh yeah, yeah, Adult Swim. They're allowed to do a
little bit more than the cartoon network.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Allowed to do a little bit more and get a
little bit more colorful at that hour.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I'm hunger force.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Are you guys allowed to get a little more colorful
at eleven o'clock with you an hour?
Speaker 3 (04:20):
I'm drawing it mild right now, because we've only done
this for about five weeks and I don't want to
upset Scotch Shapiro, our new boss. But we're gonna test
the waters here and there. We shall see. But we're
on nationally Friday nights on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Check us out.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well cool Adam Austin in for Fred Rogan today and tomorrow. Right,
you're here tomorrow as well tomorrow going nowhere exactly. Fred
is doing some investigating reporting somewhere in the Coachella Valley,
so we'll find if he can. He's got any holes
in the desert that he can talk about that when
he comes, right.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Were you gonna talk to a sidewinder snake or Gila
monster and get some inside information?
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Who knows? Who knows what he's going to do.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
But but all right, man, let's get started. We're going to
talk NFL. Like I mentioned in the tease, Eric Dickerson, Yes,
the Hall of Famer E. D. The Rambath is going
to join us. It is the first episode of our
fourth NFL Spotlight that we'll be doing every single week
on Mondays with Eric.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Uh, he's back again.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
I think this might be the fourth or fifth year
we've done it with Eric is always a It's always
a good thing because Adam, you know Ed, we start
the first five minutes talking about football and then it
takes a sideways turn and it goes to something else,
and uh, he's he's he's got a million and one stories.
And the crazy part of it is someone that has
(05:40):
those kind of stories. They're not just made up, they're
they're real life stories that he draws from. So it'll
always be interesting with Ed when he comes on. But
we'll try to get as much NFL and football and
college football because it's you know, SMU Mustangs are they're
coming back now now that now that they can, now
that they can outwardly pay money and nobody's gonna look
(06:02):
under the hood. They can pay a little bit out
there and they got a lot of money.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I mean the hood of the car that Hed got.
We should be able to ask him today. We got
to ask him how much would you make today in
the l Wow, you're making more than you did with
the rams with the Coast.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
He would be like, Uh, what's the guy? Uh just
transferred to Georgia to Carson Beck, right, he would be
Carson Beck times ten because you would look up at
ed with Eric Dickerson is in his ninth year in
college football.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
No, he's not going to be a doctor, but he
can diagnose the defense.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
He decided not to go to the NFL because he
didn't want to take a pay cut. That's that's where
he would be when it comes to nil and what's
going on at SMU. But it's good to see them back,
all right, man, Let's get into a Dodgers. Dodgers Dodgers,
Oh boy, they have been on a skid and uh
skid in half basically in the month of August and
(07:00):
even early September. They struggled, struggled on this road trip
and went to Baltimore and almost gets swept. Thank god
for the big time stopper. The guy who's been the
most consistent I think all year from a starting pitching
standpoint is Clayton Kershaw comes in, strikes out eight I
(07:21):
believe in five and the third and five and two
thirds and really gives them a boost. Obviously Old Tany
had a big day as well, but Adam as the Dodgers,
you know, really head into the meat of September with
you know what they've got, played one hundred and forty
three games now, got nineteen games left all season long.
(07:45):
At the time, Well, they'll find a way to turn
it on. They'll find a way to get it going.
They'll get healthy. Once they get healthy, they're gonna be this.
They're gonna be that. Do you feel confident in the
Dodgers the way they're playing right now with nineteen games
left in the regular season going into the playoffs, Because
right now it looks like they are, whether they win
(08:07):
the division or not, probably going to be in that
wildcard series. So how confident are you and this team
right now?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I gotta be honest, I'm still traumatized after what happened
on Saturday with Yamamoto being two strikes away from having
a no hitter, and going from that, Okay, you lost
the no hitter. Andy Pajz was playing a double off
the wall for some reason instead of trying to extend
himself or run into the wall and give a great
(08:36):
effort there to preserve.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
The no hitter.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
You go from that to unraveling and imploding and losing
the game that you were up three to nothing in
where Blake Trinon, who hasn't looked like himself all season long,
been in and out, has had injuries, has been over
taxed over the years. Probably maybe it's kept catching up
to him. I heard David about say talking about that
he can't get it out, called himself out for it
(08:59):
post game.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I do love that.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
And then you go to the guy that blew it
for you the night before, in Tanner Scott. He blows
another save. That is I mean, you want to talk
epic fail. That's one of the worst regular season losses
I think I've ever seen Rodney. That's not hyperbolic, that's
not hyperbole. That was as bad as it gets. Now
they did respond and the stopper was there for Himan
(09:23):
Kershaw yesterday, but they've won one series out of their
last six.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Like this is.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
We've gone from just win two out of three to
just don't get swept with the Dodgers. That's how it's
felt as of late. That's scary.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
It is, uh, extremely scary, and it's I was you
had to bring up the Saturday when I get it
because I was sick to my stomach. I'm at the
USC game in the Coliseum and we're monitoring it and
it got to be three and oh so when it
(09:59):
hit to seventh any more and more people that are
around were paying attention to Okay, what's going on. He's
gonna throw a no hitter. He's got a no hitter going.
He's got a no hitter. It's just started to go
reverberate around the stadium. He's got a no hitter going.
He's got a no hitter going. And then he goes
it to the eighth and he gets he gets the
one out, and you're like, oh, okay, okay, he's gonna ride.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
This bad boy out. And then the home run happens.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
You're like, oh, of all things, I mean, that's just
a backbreaker, the home run and boom, boom, boom. And
you know, obviously when a guy is going like that,
as a manager, you got to let him go and
see if he can get the no hitter. And once
it's blown, Dave Roberts went and got him and brought
in trying him, thinking, okay, it's three to one. At
(10:43):
least we can get two outs, we can get two outs,
get the win. One at least, get the win. One out,
we can get the win. And they don't get the win.
And you know, David Bassey said that that was the
rock bottom moment for the Dodgers, like you know.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
It said.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I think Kevin spoke to Tim Kates about it. He said, well,
there's the only way to go up rock bottom. Now
everything's going to turn around. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
There was a line in Friends back on NBC in
the nineties from Jennifer Aniston who once said, there's rock
bottom fifty feet a crap and then me like they
might find a way to dig themselves to the moment
at some point, with how bad things have been, we
said rock bottom before.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I was shocked that they were able to respond on Sunday. Yeah,
I mean, thank god it was Clayton pitching. But I
was shocked that they were able to come back and
even get a win and not get swept in that
game because of the devastation that happened the day before.
And this has kind of been a pattern. I feel
bad for Yamamoto because he's pitched his ass off this
year and he has just not gotten any kind of
(11:51):
run support. And then when you have it, all you
want is your relievers to come in and close the door,
and that has been a problem all season long. I right,
some people saying that even with the home run and
Yamamoto leaving, you know, letting that happen. Should Dave Roberts
(12:14):
have just let him finish the game instead of bringing
in any reliever. Given the fact that the reliever and
the relief Tanner Scott, who was you know, up getting
loose and Blake trying to have not been themselves and
have struggled, do you just leave Yamamoto even with the
home run? Do you leave a man to just go
finish it out?
Speaker 3 (12:33):
I mean, that's an indictment on the bullpen right now.
If you have to leave in a guy who's at
what one hundred and twelve pitches or whatever it was
he lost the no hitter. You can't hold onto two runs.
You can't. You got two runs and you need one
out to get out of the game. That should be
an easy decision for there right now. I Tanner Scott
(12:54):
is in this place right now, and he came out
with the quote on Friday night where he said, it
feels it's terrible after blowing that game. I have to
figure it out.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Quote.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Baseball hates me right now, Rodney. I'm not trying to
play armchair psychologist or anything like that, but this sounds
like a guy who has defeated himself, who feels like
anything that can go wrong has and will go wrong
whenever he steps on the mound. Right now, that's scary
as well.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
It's extremely scary for a guy that's supposed to be
your closer. If you don't pitch with confidence, I don't
know how you can pitch it all. And if you're
if you're feeling like that, and look, look, we we
live in an age where it is media heavy. Everybody
(13:45):
wants an interview, everybody wants to know what happens, and
there's many outlets, and it is you're contractually obligated to
answer questions after a game, so he's gonna get asked,
and there's only so many times that you can say,
I don't know, I don't know what's going to happen.
I don't know why I can't finish. I don't know
why I'm not performing the way I think I can.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
We saw that from Tyler Glasna early in the season
and he's out right now, but he's supposed to be
back for the series against the Rockies, but he ran
out of answers. There's nothing else you can say.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Moki ran out of answers. Remember Mooki was struggling for
that month and a half two months, and nobody worked
harder than Moki. Was doing everything extra. He was in
the batting cage, he was out early, he was doing
everything he could think about. And then finally he was like,
I don't know, I don't know. All I can do
is just keep on going out and playing. But yeah,
(14:38):
I get the way it looks as baseball hates me
right now, to the point of when you have to
be the guy that shuts it down at the end
of the game. The confidence level when it shook like that,
you're pitching not to lose. And that's the way the
Dodgor's been playing, is playing not to lose as opposed
(14:59):
to going out there with a better team, with a
better we got better players. This is impose our will.
It is, man. We got a three run lead, we
got a five run lead. We just got to try
not to lose this game. We're going to try not
to lose this game. And that's the way Tanner Scott
is pitching right now. And when you pitch like that,
all of a sudden, the mistakes start to happen. You
(15:20):
start leaving that fastball right in the middle of the
plate as opposed to you know, on the black high
and inside low it outside and a pacific a specific
spot that it's not a home run, it's maybe a
ground out to third. But because you're trying to be
too careful, because you're thinking about what if this happens,
(15:42):
what if I give up this home run? What if
I give up blow this stage.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
You're afraid to fail. You're afraid to fail.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
And look, yes, these guys are professionals, they're they're making
a lot of money and all that kind of stuff,
but they're also human and that seeps in from time
to time. It is I don't know what you do.
If you're Dave Roberts, I don't know what you do.
Some suggest it that let deck Dryer be your back
end guy. He's been the most consistent all year long
(16:10):
coming out of the pen. I think he's thrown from
a bullpen stead, but I think he's throwing more any
than anybody. And let him shake it all the way
up for these next nineteen games. Give trying to you know,
maybe give him the sixth inning. Only don't put him
in the back end. Don't let don't let Tanner Scott
be the you know, be the save guy, move him
around a little bit and let let Dryer or even
(16:32):
Robeleski come in and do something. Let let Banda just
close it out until Vessia maybe gets back. Do something different,
but don't put Tanner in that situation. I don't know
if that works.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
Tarror, what do you get a contract for seventy two
million dollars? Yeah, coming off the last couple of years,
he's been lights out, whites out, Yes, So maybe it's
the pressure of the expectations of being a Dodger. It's
just different. Maybe he's been a tough luck loser. Baseball
does hate him right now. There's just certain guys I
(17:04):
think you have to live and die with to some extent,
like he either figures it out or there's this huge
ripple effect throughout our bullpen where everybody is gonna have
to make up or pick up the slack for him,
and that's probably asking too much. I think the reason
he went with him to close that game on Saturday
(17:24):
after blowing the game on Friday night, and even with
how bad of a season he has had is Dave
Roberts said, if he can get out of this jam
right here, right maybe that can turn the tide for
him and he can gain some confidence. Now instead it
goes the other way and he's feeling even worse about himself.
But I get why he would do something like that.
And you mentioned the Dodgers finding ways to lose. They're
(17:47):
inventing ways to lose like they're Thomas Edison right now.
I've never seen anything like that game on Saturday. It's
like they forgot how to win. Yeah, that's alarming to me.
A team this talented that we keep saying they'll get
it together. They're too talented, they'll figure it out eventually.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
But if a team like.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
This, wait, couldn't even get out of the inning. He
couldn't get one out. He called himself out afterwards for
not being able to get one damn out. But for
a team that is this talented, that we keep saying,
just wait, just wait, they'll get it together, is it
an urgency or lack thereof excuse going on? We speculated
about that, But when you hear their manager and Dave
(18:30):
Roberts going, hey, let's go, it's time to click in,
he has a sense of urgency. He knows these games matter.
So you can say, oh, you want that just wait
for the playoffs and the Dodgers can get it together
and on paper there'll still be the most talented team
when the playoffs start. Great, But if the manager thinks
these games matter, I think it's fair for the fans
(18:51):
to be this invested. Even in a game like that
on Saturday that you blow and you have time to
make up for it, that's fair game to me. They
have to figure this out and just have a little
bit of momentum going into the playoffs. I would think, No,
I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
You can't go in limping in like they're limping in
right now and with basically it's one thing to be hurt,
but also to go in there with a lack of
confidence that you can win a series, or you can
win a critical game of Game three, a game five,
a game seven in a series. And I don't think
that collectively as a team they feel that way. Adam,
(19:26):
you know, you've been around sports a long time. You
know how things can click, and all it takes is
one little thing. All it takes is one thing to happen,
and all of a sudden you get on a roll
and teams figure out a way. They they just can't lose,
just like the Dodgers are losing. It could flip the
other way at some point. We just haven't seen it
this year. Do you think that still can happen with
(19:47):
this team?
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Because they still have three MVPs at the top of
the lineup, because Otani has still look this good, Mookie's
been much better over the last month. Freddy's been a
little bit up and down. I think he had like
a platinum sombre yesterday. It didn't matter. They still won
the ball game. And the starting pitching has been pretty solid.
They figure out the bullpen, they get more consistent with
(20:11):
driving in runs, they've left too many runners in scoring
position obviously over the last few months. Munsey's coming back, though,
and there is a direct correlation between him being in
the lineup and this Dodgers team hitting and being contagious
on that end, with passing the baton from one guy
to another that has a lot or a wide sample
(20:35):
size the last two years with Munsey without Munsey, and
just what a difference he makes per runs per game
for this Dodgers team. So I still feel like if
they're somewhat healthy, they're going to be fine. But on
the other hand, if they're not, and it looks like
they're heading toward that new dangerous wild Card scenario where yes,
(20:55):
you get all three games at home, but it's a
best out of three series if you lose the series,
and we reflect on this season and go, you know what,
they just weren't right after July fourth, They've been twenty
three and thirty two, and the entire time we kept
making excuses for them, and the truth was they were
a bad team hiding and playing site and we cover
(21:17):
for them for too long because of past history and
then being the World Series champions. That is a possibility.
Do I think they'll get it together? Yes, But if
they don't, we had all this evidence that we chose
to overlook to say, hey, come on, they're still the Dodgers,
They're still too talented.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
You talk about a lingering effect. If they don't get
it together, the pit in Dodger fans stomach in the
offseason is going to be enormous and it's going to
be the longest offseason until spring training starts.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Again. Do they play Colorado, And oftentimes we've said Colorado
is the perfect It's the right in medicine when you're
strug They got the elixir.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Yes, but Jack, they went to Colorado, they split with
them in a four game series. They didn't they didn't
win the series. They split with them, and it usually
is a recipe to get yourself right. They're coming to
Dodger Stadium, Colorado. How important I can't believe I'm even
saying this. How important is this Colorado series for the Dodgers.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
If you want any chance of being the two seed
in the NL, you gotta sweep them, if you want
any chance, if that hasn't already gotten away from them,
and just to find themselves and what their identity has
been over the past year, because they have flashes of it,
right the Will Smith home run against Arizona's to salvage
(22:43):
that series and not get swept. They keep having these
moments that pull us back in to thinking that they're
just coasting and there's a little bit of a malaise
because of the World Series hangover. But history also says
team to go back to back was in ninety nine
two thousand with the Yankees, And you can even say,
(23:05):
just the last team to win a World Series and
then get back there and lose that was the Phillies
in eighth nine it is so difficult. It is so hard.
So what you're seeing right now is what we've seen
from a lot of these teams over the years that
try to repeat. But if they're gonna have a chance
to get rolling now, you would think Colorado would be
(23:25):
the team to get them on a little bit of
a run. Here, find yourself, put it together, put it
together for a week. Please, please, that's all we're asking you,
got that, right, Hey?
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Just look around.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
The Wild Wild NL West is brought to you by
wild Fork from Valencia to Incinnitas and in between. Find
your wild Fork at Wildforkfoods dot com. All right, Adam,
since we got you here, we got to bring it
up man, Red and I touched on this last week.
It's still kind of some talk out there about the Clippers,
(24:00):
Steve Bomber and his deal with Kawhi Leonard. Uh, you're
the Clipper guy, Man, We got to get your take
on it. Brother, stay tuned. Oh yes, happy, happy Monday.
I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I know
I did. The Trojans are two and oh very happy
about that. I don't want to hear cupcakes. I don't
(24:21):
want to hear we patted our schedule. I don't want
to hear any of that.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
That's some extra frosting on those.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Hey hey, I like sprinkles too.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Those are the Clay Helton sprinkles there.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Does How does you see la Field right now? How
about that? I don't want to go there. I don't.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I don't want to pile on. I'm not gonna pile
on because I love Deshon Falter, my teammate in Carolina.
You're a Carolina guy. Philly and the NFC Championship.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Game the best ever. I don't.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I'm glad you brought that up because I you know,
when when you see clips and highlights of different NFL
games and moments and things like that, I don't ever
see that clip. Right It was one of the best,
what six seven yard runs in NFL history, let alone
in a championship game in Philly. He broke like seventeen
(25:10):
tackle and got in the end zone.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
I don't know if Derrick Henry had that many guys
bounce off him before.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
It's an all timer.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
It's an all timer. If you got a chance, go
check it out, go look it up. Deshaun Foster run
against Philadelphia in the two thousand and three. Yeah, two
thousand and three, probably a year was two thousand and four.
It was January two thousand and four Championship game against Philly.
Also is touchdown in the Super Bowl where he broke
(25:40):
Rodney Harrison's wrist.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Hey, I wanted him in.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
You tell me why didn't John Fox have him starting
when we knew Stephen Davis had the knee issue. That
was the first time he touched the ball in that
Super Bowl to Sean Foster.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
It went for six.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
It was but if you remember, Stephen Davis had the
big run to put us right there before half that game.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
Up, Hey, what were you there or something like that?
How dare you have a better memory on that day?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
All right, Adam, you are here filling in for Fred today,
and we love when you when you join man, I
don't want any other hosts with you, so you might guy, but.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
You are here now, you're buttering me up here. I
am ready to set it up.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
I had to set it up because last week the
story came out. The story came out about the Clippers
Steve Balmer and Kawhi Leonard, and there was some suspicion
about a company that Steve Balmer owned and Kawhi had
an endorsement deal with and now the NBA, and they're
investigating whether this is circumventing the salary cap because that
(26:41):
is not allowed. That Kawhi, I believe it, he got
twenty eight million dollars from this company to be a spokesperson,
and is that an infraction on the salary cap given
the fact that Steve Balmer owns three percent of this company.
We talked a little bit about it last week, gave
our thoughts. Steve Bomber had some quotes, You've been all
(27:02):
over this, Adam.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
What say you? Adam?
Speaker 3 (27:04):
Now, let me throw out the disclaimer first of all,
because I feel like I'm in a no win situation.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
Full disclosure.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I work for the Clippers. I work for Steve Bamber
or the Clipper station here on a five seventy LA
sports season starts. I think October twenty second is Game one,
so I'm embedded with this team. I love Steve Balmer,
I love Kawhi, I love the Clippers. Yes, obviously I'm compromised.
My point of view is just where are the facts
(27:31):
so far they've come out from Pablo Torre and then
what's been acknowledged by Steve Balmer in the interview he
did Friday night on the Evil four Letter.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I think that was Friday, Thursday, Yeah, Thursday. It's been
a rough week.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Days are running together for Clipper Nation right now, and
Steve Balmer kind of spoke to that. I think the
main reason he did that, and it felt impromptu because
it came out of nowhere that all of a sudden,
after the US opened he was going to be on ESPN,
was because he wanted to address the fans and let
him know, yeah, we're going through this tough time together.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Well. I was happy about that because he addressed it
right away.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
He didn't let it fester and fester and fester for
weeks and weeks and weeks. He he wanted to address it.
I think that anybody also, whether it's from AFAR intimately,
like you know, you're in the organization, you know the organization,
Well you've interacted with him that people that know Steve
Bomber I would believe ninety nine percent believe he's a
(28:31):
stand up guy. Yeah, and he's a guy of integrity
and all of those things.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
I had a surreal moment this season, Rodney where pregame
we can watch the guys, warm up. I'm there three
hours before tip off and I'm sitting courtside talking with
a reporter as Steve Balmer sits one seat to my left,
the fifth or sixth richest man in the world. And
(28:56):
I couldn't help but hear his conversation. He was happening
with a businessman, telling him about the Intuit Dome and
how this thing was designed, and he was just as
excited and speaking with the same passion he has publicly,
where everyone makes fun of him for seeming like a fan,
because he is, and it's awesome. And to go from
(29:17):
their former owner to Steve Balmer, it's been a complete
blessing for us. But I can just tell you that's
who he is behind the scenes. I got a front row,
so to speak, view of who he is as a
person there. Now, what's going on with this investigation is
Pablo tore On. Pablo Tory finds out he's doing investigative
reporting and this company Aspiration.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Just to give the.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Cliffs notes here, they received it looks like fifty million
dollars from Steve Balmer as an investor. They were also
investing in the Clippers three hundred million over I think
twenty three years to be a sponsor because they're trying
to reduce carbon footprints or neutral carbon footprints. There, they're
doing some green work for the world.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
We thought.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Now the issue is they went bankrupt. All of their
court filings became public and Pablo Torre found out some
of the details on who else was investing in this
company or who else was dealing with this company, and
Kawhi Leonard was showing up on their payments to endorsers
(30:28):
for you mentioned twenty eight million. That was over four years,
seven million a year. So he's inferring that is this
a way for Steve Bamber to circumvent the salary cap
He invested fifty million and now this company is paying
Kawhi Leonard twenty eight million to be an endorser for them.
Now that's not how of the norm. You look at
(30:49):
a team like the Denver Nuggets. They have a sponsor
with Western Union. They also have an individual deal with
Nikola Jokish to do their commercials, so there's a lot
of entanglement the differences.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
But is ownership a part of Western Union?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Yes, there are a team sponsor.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Also to believe there is any ownership in Western Union.
That's what people would say, there's no the owner the
invest back and then the owner of the Nuggets does
not own a piece of Western Union, correct, right.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
That's a good point.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
And also the fact that Nikola Jokicch is obviously out
there as a spokesman doing commercials for them. To our
knowledge right now, we haven't seen Kawhi do any commercials
for Aspiration. We haven't seen him retweet anything on social media,
So people are wondering, why is he being paid this
much money?
Speaker 1 (31:37):
What are they getting out of it?
Speaker 2 (31:39):
We do we know when that deal happened, and then
when they filed for bankruptcy, because that's an answer. It's like, well,
before I had a chance to do any kind of
you know, spokesperson deals or whatever, do a commercial, the
company filed for bank rubaca, so they're out of business,
so it didn't work out.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
That's a good point. I think it was going back
to twenty twenty one. Late in twenty twenty one, he's
coming off the ACL he gets an extended contract with
the Clippers, when the Clippers initially made an investment in
the company and they with them being an endorser for
the Clippers, and then months later, Kawhi was seen on
(32:16):
their paperwork documents of being sponsored by them as well.
So we're talking I think two years between him signing
with them and them going bankrupt somewhere around about. You know,
I don't have the exact dates, and I know these
are things, these are allegations, and we say allegedly a
lot when we're talking about these things to protect ourselves.
So I just I can't be as accurate as I
(32:38):
like to be with that. But I think about two years, Roddy, Yeah,
So they end up going bankrupt, and now people are
wondering what the extent of the Clippers' involvement was and
if Kawhi was being paid under the table, because if
you remember back in twenty nineteen, when Kawhi signed with
the Clippers, there was an investigation done by the NBA
(32:58):
then because team were saying Uncle Detis, who is kind
of his representative, was asking for a lot of sweeteners.
Oh you want to sign Kawhi?
Speaker 1 (33:06):
Yeah, what the plane and all kinds of other stuff.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Right, So the NBA investigator to see is that how
the Clippers eventually got him. They found no wrongdoing. However,
there was a statement made by Sam Amick of The
Athletic back then saying, quote talking about Adam Silver, Adam
Silver sees the salary cap circnvention as a cardinal sin
(33:29):
in the NBA and will always keep a watchful eye
on that front. If any relevant evidence of improper benefit
surfaces in the future, the league will reopen the investigation
and pursue the charges yet again. Sam Amock with Pablo
Torreon last week after the news broke said his vibe
that he got from the NBA at that time was
(33:51):
this is a to be continued situation going back to
that investigation in twenty nineteen. So was there enough to
warrant them reopening what happened in twenty nineteen. I don't know.
These are all things that are being speculated about, and
some of it is reckless reporting, and some of it
is people saying a radio host like, oh, I know
Kawhi got this also. Now someone came out there I
(34:14):
think it was from a Boston reporter saying that, and
pablotry is now confirmed this We don't know if it's true.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
But Kawhi also has stock.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Options for twenty million dollars Now they're worth nothing now,
but at the time that could bring up the salary
that they were paying him, not from twenty eight million,
or just that it's twenty eight million plus twenty so
forty eight million.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
And now people are reading.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
The tea leaves and going, well, Steve Balmer invested fifty
Kawhi is getting forty eight million. What's going on here?
But are you able to connect those dots and say,
because Pablo Tory couldn't, he could just imply he didn't
have any paperwork that showed there was money going from
Steve Balmer to Aspiration that was directly to Kawhi. That
(34:57):
hasn't been proven. The NBA is investigating, and they got
the same investigative team that did the reporting and the
finding that took a week on Donald Sterling to get
him banned for life by Adam silver Back in twenty fourteen,
to eventually lead to Steve Bomber being the owner here.
So we will see. I am waiting for the facts
(35:18):
of the investigation to come out. I understand a lot
of people think it looks suspicious right now, completely understand that.
I also think there are some explanations that you know,
some people aren't discussing, like how well, how much can
you trust this company to begin with, because they were
convicted of fraud and their co founder was convicted of
(35:39):
two counts of wire fraud.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
And even Steve Bomber said, they scammed me, right, they
scammed me out of fifty million dollars, which you know
to him he finds it in the couch, but still
fifty million dollars.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
It's fifty million dollars.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
So if you want to say, what are they paying
Kawi for, Well, this isn't your typical company. They were
a highly dysfunctional, mismanaged and frauding people. It could be
that they're paying Kawhi so they can say, hey, we
have these celebrities on our books.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
When they go to the future.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
Investors or possible investors, we have Robert Downey Jr. We
have Drake, we have Kawhi. Why don't you invest in
this company too? And he's being used as adding credibility
to their company that was scamming everybody.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Well, here's my thing, and I said this last week,
is that, first of all, this is not Steve Balmer's company,
like a lot of people were saying, it's like, oh,
Steve Bomber owns he owns three percent of that company
he invested into. The company doesn't run it, not on
the board, doesn't do anything he invested into the company.
So that being said, from an NBA investigation standpoint, are
(36:46):
you now going to investigate every single owner and check
out what their investments are, what their percentage ownerships are,
and some of these other businesses that some of the
athletes on their team may have endorsement deals with or
even maybe invest with. It could be from you know,
(37:07):
you see it all the time. Everybody, more and more
every day are investing DC athletes investing in you know,
whether it be Draft Kings, whether it be Sofi. You know,
we see both quarterbacks talking about so far and many
guys talking about so far. Is there an interest with
the Chargers and the Rams and that ownership and SOFI
being at the naming rights of the stadium cryptocrypto dot
(37:29):
com arena? Is there any connection there? I mean, there's
so many of these owners that have interests in hundreds
and thousands of different businesses that if you dig deep enough,
you might find a connection that that particular owner owns
a percentage of Tesla and all of a sudden, Tesla
(37:51):
somebody's driving the new Tesla and got an endorsement deal
for Tesla.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
Yeah, I think that's That's something else people brought up.
Do the other owners want Pandora's box opened where their
records are being looked at?
Speaker 1 (38:05):
Now?
Speaker 3 (38:05):
The dynamic is so interesting in the NBA and throughout
sports because you have a commissioner that works for the owners.
In this case, he also is asked to possibly punish
an owner that he works for. I think a lot
of this comes down to what do the other owners want?
How do they view Steve Bomber, Because even between billionaires,
(38:26):
there can be a discrepancy in how much one guy's
worth versus another. Steve Bomber's the richest sports owner in
North America, He's the sixth or fifth richest person in
the world. Do they see that as he has unfair
advantages that we don't have and we want to take
him down Because we've already seen the new CBA with
(38:47):
that second apron that penalizes everybody that everybody's scared of
that was put in to stop Steve Bomber and Joe Lacup.
So are those same owners wanting to go after Steve
Bomber for this? If there's enough evidence to do so,
or are they going to be worried that they could
be the next to be investigated.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
I don't know. They usually stick together anyway. Good stuff
at them all right?
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Is the human element in sports leaving us right before
our very eyes. We'll get into that next and five
seventy uh Yeah. Today's Afternoon Delight is yeat by Lotto
and Ice Spice. This single dropped over the weekend, along
(39:33):
in music video that racked over three million views within
the first day of its posting. The collaboration between the
two throws Ice on the rumor that two that the
two MC's have an unspoken beef over the past few years.
Lotto further squashed the notion of any anonymously when she
(39:53):
told Rolling Stone, I feel like if we ever spoke
and I asked her what's the issue, it'd be like
a blank stare it really no issue whatsoever? Especially from
me again, Today's Afternoon Delight is Yeah by Lotto and
Ice Spice Beef.
Speaker 3 (40:14):
This is a new Spice girl. I was unaware of
this with ginger Spices and baby Spies and posh Ice Spice.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
Okay, Gary Spice, do you want to be my love?
Speaker 2 (40:24):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (40:24):
Yes, yes, Oh, yeah, you're a Spice Girl fan.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Huh, Spice World forever, h Adam.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Did you hear this story now?
Speaker 2 (40:35):
I mean obviously it's the uh I want to see
the ballers part of the Oakland organization. Yeah, and Oakland
obviously notorious for for the Billy Bean and moneyball and
all of that and putting analytics into baseball and really
were the catalysts for for all of that. Now they're
(40:58):
talking about you Ai for managers in baseball.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
I mean, does Tanner Scott get in the other night
if AI was making that decision. I'm just wondering, like.
Speaker 1 (41:13):
Maybe there's something to it. Now, this is a little.
Speaker 3 (41:15):
Wacky because I guess the Oakland Bawlers have also done
something where on a fan appreciation night they let them
choose the lineup right right, So they're just taking it a
step further.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
That's where Fred got that from. Oh that was his idea.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
Fred said that the other day. I was wondering where
he got that from. He said, you know, why don't
we just let the fans decide. Fans decide who the
light when the Dodgers really struggle, and they's been struggling
all season long, so there was a stretch, I think
four or five game stretch where they lost and friends like,
just let the fans decide the line up.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
We'll do anything. Yeah, we'll do anything.
Speaker 2 (41:47):
I think Tomalis sorta did that way back in the
eighties and he did a one game and it worked,
and so why why not chick things up and let
the fans do it? But man, this is scary though,
because look, we all know and the Dodgers are as
good as anybody. Andrew Friedman stand cast and you know
he came from Tampa Bay, where analytics were huge down there,
(42:08):
and they use it. Their staff is as big as
anybody when it comes to the analytics staff here the Dodgers,
the data is so great and you use it. But
here's the thing. What was the major criticized criticism of
Dave Roberts early on was he didn't manage He just
(42:31):
let it happen with the data and didn't go for
the feel of the game right right, just the front
off exactly. And then it was moments later on where
he was like, I'm gonna leave this guy in I
decided to leave like he left trying in beginn of
trying and last year in the World Series to go
get it out, and he did, and he started to
go with the feel of the game, and obviously two
(42:53):
World Series later, he's like, I'm glad that that's you know,
there's a there's a balance, right, there's a balance between
the analytics, the data and also getting the feel of
the game. My fear is that it will start to
take over. Now you've got to have coaches and managers
because they got to be able to decide whether to steal,
whether the butt, whether they take a pitch or whatever,
(43:13):
balls and strikes, how you gonna call it for now?
For now, time to steal, Let's go. But it's like
it is. Look, the Internet was great. You were too
young to know when it first hit, but it was
a great, great tool.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
I got those all CDs in my mind.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
I remember those.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
You're talking about a scam on thousand three hours of
Internet where we had Prodigy on the fifty six came
out of them.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
And the dial up and all that kind of stuff.
But man, it changed the world.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
Obviously this is going in the direction, but it feels
like it's going at such an accelerated pace that it's
going to hit you tomorrow. And if this happens in sports. Look,
it was already it's it was already there when I
was playing, meaning the data and it wasn't you know,
we didn't call it always analytics and this is what
(44:08):
we're doing and all that. But we would get readouts
on on Thursday, Wednesday and Thursday, and we would take
it home and go, Okay, on first and ten, this
is what they play most of the time. Seventy percent
of the time, they're gonna be in mann and man
coverage on third down and five or less. So we're
gonna call our plays accordingly to the data. And sometimes
(44:31):
you're most of the time you're right, and you know,
obviously once in a while you're wrong because teams will
go against it. But the data was oft always used.
Those those sheets that Sean McVay has and any Redhaub,
all that's data driven. All this is like, Okay, first
and ten, these are ten plays we run on first
ten because that's what they're doing on first and ten,
third and five, fourth down. This is what we're doing.
(44:53):
And they've got a list and it's like they calling
the play before the previous play is over because they
know the down and distance and what to call and
it's based on the data. So when this comes about,
I'm like, oh, it's it's going so fast and it's scary.
Speaker 3 (45:10):
It almost feels like we're already kind of AI interpreters.
We're a buffer between just going full AI with the robots.
And by the way, I've always been pro robots behind
the plate. If there's a way to get the strike
zone right, which there is, the pitch FX know about it.
This is the only thing for good reason. But that's
(45:33):
one way that could actually speed up the game. If
you want the hump still there calling strikes and balls
because he's got a microphone in his ear or whatever
and it tells him what to say.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
I'm fine with that, but.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
I do so it's totally against it until this year.
Watching was that bad. This year it has been the
worst year I think I've ever seen with umpires and
balls and strikes.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
Well, because we see it on TV, how it could
be right with the little framing of the strike zone.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
I miss it.
Speaker 2 (46:02):
Yeah, it's it's it's been as bad as I've ever
seen it. So I'm like on board now with the
calling of the balls and strikes fully AI and fully automated.
No but balls and strikes. They get it and they're
doing it now. You know in football, you see with
the first downs. Now they've measured the football and now
they've got the the AI is telling you is this
(46:23):
a first.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
Down or the hawkeye technology? It's Jeremy Renter technology.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
So it's a it's definitely coming. But what do you
think about having an actual manager be a robot in
the dugout well tongue in anywhere, tongue in cheek.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
I brought up the Tanner Scott situation on Saturday Night.
I wonder if that's AI in a situation like that
and it's an AI robot manager, are they going to
take into account a guy's contract and the politics and
sports and that they have them for three more years
or whatever it is. We have to find a way
(46:59):
to get his confidence back, So we put him in
a situation where the numbers say he hasn't been very good.
He just blew the save the night before and he's
got a four and a half e RA on the season.
Why would we go with Tanner Scott? But the human
element is, uh, we don't have a lot of options
down the line, and he has to regain his form
at some point. So we're gonna give him this big
opportunity in a big spot because if he gets the
(47:20):
out it may help his confidence. I think AI might
just go off the numbers there and say, yeah, that's
Jack Dryer. Hey, I's gonna spit out Jack Dryer in
that situation.
Speaker 2 (47:31):
Instead, I'm thinking too, like if AI is gonna take over,
like the coaching and managing and sports, what does AI
do when Steph gets on a heater like you did
in the Olympics. Are they gonna keep Oh, we gotta
get the ball to Steph or are they gonna say, well,
Kevin Durant in this situation is probably a more better,
a better option for it, or let's go to someone
(47:52):
else in this situation where Steph was hitting ungodly shots
and couldn't miss. Does AI recognize that in the moment
that a guy's on a heater, right?
Speaker 3 (48:02):
The heater aspect, and that has been debated for a while.
I remember on The Old Man the Three podcast that's
something that JJ Reddick used to talk about. Is it
real or is it just the law of averages? Is
momentum and sports real or is it just law of averages?
And eventually things go the other way. That's been stuff
that has been debated for a while. I come down
(48:24):
in this way usually when I talk about technology and
whether or not these things scare me.
Speaker 1 (48:29):
My voice to text still gets stuff.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
Wrong all the time, Rodney, Yeah, I didn't say duck.
My voice to text still doesn't know what I'm saying
half the time. And we want AI managers and self
driving cars.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
I don't know. I don't feel that comfortable yet.
Speaker 2 (48:46):
Yeah, I've seen some people drive and I'm not comfortable
with the card driving. All right, it's that time, you know,
first time, twenty twenty five NFL season. The Ambassador, the Ambassador,
(49:07):
Eric Dickinson is going to join us. We're going to
get into the NFL Week one and what to expect
all season long from our local teams as well.
Speaker 1 (49:16):
Stay tuned. Adam Auslin and for Fred Rogan am five
seventy LA Sports
Roggin And Rodney News
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