September 1, 2026 • 37 mins
In the third hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain chat with Jon Wilner about the Apple Cup this week, CFP changes, USC’s attendance issue, plus UCLA, Cal, and his weekly pick, then they discuss their belief level the ‘26 M’s before Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer talks about Dejan Joveljic’s debut, injuries with his team, and New York next.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Duke of Duke Seafood, letting you know that
this hour of Softie and Dick on your home for
the Huskies and Kraken is proudly brought to you by
Duke Seafood. Why not make it a Duke's night tonight?
Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com on Sports Radio 93.3.
KJR FM.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's time for our weekly Pac-12 conversation with San Jose
Mercury News reporter John Wilner. Brought to you by Simply Seattle.
Our friends at SimplySeattle.com have the most amazing collection of
all things Seattle. Seahawks gear, UW hats, and the largest
selection of Sonics.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Gear anywhere in the world. Learn more at SimplySeattle.com.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
All right, big thanks to our friends at SimplySeattle.com. Whatever
you got your eyes on the website, get ready for
the Huskies, the Hawks, whatever. KJR 15 for 15% off anything,
all the time, every time at SimplySeattle.com. Here he is
off to a 1-0 start, by the way, on the air,
nailing North Carolina and the points. They won outright, outright.
(00:57):
Over TCU and Ireland last Saturday. We'll see what he
can come up with and try to make it 2-0.
But I've got John, I've got you at 26-5 in
your last 31 picks on the year, going back to
the end of the 2024 season. So that means one
of two things are going to happen. Either A, you're
going to continue this ridiculous hot streak, or B, you're
(01:21):
about to totally crash and burn and fall off the
face of the earth and explode on the air this
season the rest of the way.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So what's it going to be, big boy?
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Well, I would say explosion is coming. But you never know.
I hope somebody's benefited. I certainly haven't.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Well, you should be benefiting. I told you last year,
you're in the wrong business. I mean, nobody really cares
to read your columns.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
You should be.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Handicapping, man.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
You should be making money in Vegas, for God's sakes.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
There's a lot to go over. Let's just start with
the Apple Cup on Sunday. I don't know if you
heard about the latest. I don't know if it's a controversy, Dick,
but the latest little snafu, I guess, is that Cougar
Marching Band is not coming to the game. What year
did the Husky Band have their accident? Was it 2019, 2018,
whatever year it was? Outside of that year, the Husky
(02:13):
and Cougar bands have been at every single Apple Cup
in my lifetime, and they're not coming this year because
they're pissed off. that UW did not give them good
enough free tickets for the game on Sunday. So they're
taking their tubas and they're going home.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
How about that?
Speaker 5 (02:27):
A little spice to the rivalry. My understanding is that
Washington State has been offered, the band has been offered
the exact same seats that Oregon's band receives in Husky
Stadium or any other opposing team's band receives. So, It
may be different than it's been in the past, but
(02:49):
I don't sense that Washington State is getting treated any
differently than any other UW opponent.
Speaker 6 (02:56):
Right.
Speaker 7 (02:56):
They're just whining. Whining to whine, I guess.
Speaker 8 (03:00):
John, what's the game going to look like, in your opinion?
You've done some research on the Cougs. You've done some
research on the Dawgs. What are we going to see
on Sunday?
Speaker 5 (03:11):
Oh, boy, I don't know that it's going to be
real competitive. I just, you know, I'd love to see
a game like two years ago goes down to the
last couple minutes. You know, I'm always in favor of
exciting games. But, man, I don't know. I was looking.
Washington's offensive line outweighs Washington State's defensive front by 50
pounds a man. I believe it's 322 pounds on average
(03:36):
for the UW line and, like, what, 270-something? for Washington
State's defensive front. I just don't know that the Cougars
are going to be able to hold up. Now, if
Washington gets a little pass happy, that could offset the advantage.
But if I'm the dogs, man, I would just pound
the thing until Washington State stops it and wear them
(03:56):
down and just dominate the ball.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Yeah, I saw where they had the third heaviest offensive
line in college football. That's what Twitter says, so who
knows if that's true or not. The ninth heaviest offensive
line in college football. But I know that since we
last spoke, maybe you've been kind of digging around a
little bit on the series and keeping this thing going.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
It's funny, I was talking to.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
greg bell this morning on his show that every time
pat chun or jed fish talk about the apple cup
they talk about how they want it to continue but
dot dot dot we want to continue but scheduling may
not be in our control we want it to continue
but we have to do financially what's best for udub
so as it sits right now is it possible that
(04:37):
this is one of the final three apple cups that
we'll see for a while do you believe.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
That Yeah, no, I think there's a chance of that. And,
you know, Washington State says the same thing. I talked
to their athletic director, John Harlow, a few weeks ago,
and he kind of said, you know, I talked to Pat.
We understand the importance of the game in the state,
but dot, dot, dot. You know, we've got to stay flexible.
You know, from their standpoint, a lot of the calculation
(05:03):
is the Pac-12 trying to figure out the best strategy,
scheduling strategy to get that group of six bid in
the playoff. Washington has got a lot of things to consider, right?
The budget, seven home games, the limited flexibility. If you
commit to the home-and-home series with Washington State, you really
can't play a home-and-home series with anybody else. If the
(05:27):
playoff expands to 24, are the Big Ten and SEC
going to try to do a crossover series that would
commit Washington to play in Florida one year and Arkansas
the next? And how would that work with the Apple Cup?
It's very complicated now. And I think that there's, I
don't know that it's better than 50-50, but I certainly
think there's a decent chance that once we get through
(05:47):
the game in 28, that might be it for some
period of time.
Speaker 8 (05:54):
We heard both Jed Fish yesterday in person at Husky
Stadium and Pat Chun on the Husky show last night
both say that the schedule might not be in our control.
Speaker 7 (06:06):
Now, do you think they mean one.
Speaker 8 (06:08):
Non-conference game not being under their control because it's a
potential crossover with the SEC? Or do you think there'll
be a time where the Big Ten controls all the
team's non-conference schedules?
Speaker 5 (06:20):
I think that we could get to that point. I
have not heard that there is anything imminent on that front,
but certainly if there's a crossover series with the SEC
or if the Big Ten implements a requirement that you
have to play 10 P4 teams, the ACC, SEC, and
(06:42):
Big 12 all have that. The Big Ten does not.
If the Big Ten implements that, then, again, Washington is
going to have to find a way to make that
work with the need to have seven home games for
the budget. So I think that that might be what
they're referring to at this point. But, you know, eventually...
(07:04):
We have no idea what scheduling is going to look
like five, seven years out in terms of how much
control the schools have and how much control the conferences have.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, well, John Wilner is with us. John, I know
you did.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Maybe you were there at the USC San Jose State
game at the Coliseum over the weekend. The crowd obviously
looked terrible in the Coliseum, and it was hot down there,
and we're getting games that are getting played earlier and
earlier into August every single season, but USC put a
statement out about it.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
They got ripped by Paul Feinbaum and others for that.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
What was your kind of reaction to the reaction to
the horrible crowd that USC had on Saturday?
Speaker 5 (07:40):
I can't believe it was such a story. I really don't.
I've been watching USC games, going to USC games, watching
USC games for a long time. And if you had
told me they're playing San Jose State in August... and
this is the replacement game for Notre Dame. I mean,
USC told its fans, we're not going to play Notre
(08:02):
Dame this year. We're playing San Jose state instead. And
it's a hundred degrees. I would have said there's going
to be 20,000 people in that stadium. You know, that
was a no brainer. So I was not surprised at all.
And I'm just mystified that it has become such a story.
I think USC did add to it by putting the
statement out, you know, Stanford was also empty. Stanford stadium
(08:23):
has been empty for years, but, I just think it's
a little bit much ado about nothing that they're going
to have a 70, 80,000 people in the Coliseum for
big 10 games.
Speaker 8 (08:34):
What's your wild idea of starting college football in mid August, John,
even earlier than we do now.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Even earlier.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
I think we college football needs to start playing on
what is week negative one. So basically two Saturdays ago,
it is, there is no competition other than NFL exhibition
games and, And it is wide open territory for the
sport to move its schedule up. That would allow it
(09:03):
to do, one, finish the championship game in early January,
which I think is what everybody wants. Because if you
start on week negative one, you can play your regular
season finales, Thanksgiving weekend, with the buys, and that solves everything.
the calendar problem. The other issue that nobody's talking about
(09:25):
is the NFL is going to go to that 18th game. Now,
I don't know if it's going to be in two
years or at the next. uh cba with the players
the nfl is going to go to the 18th game
and everybody in college football who's following that thinks that
they're going to put that game on labor day weekend
which would mean that what is currently a wide open
(09:46):
weekend for college football is going to get eaten up
by the nfl right so if you want to stay
out from under the nfl you start a little bit earlier.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Why did ucla wait until like a week before the
season starts to fire their ad.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
I have no idea. It is weird timing. There's no
doubt about that. The move itself is not a big surprise.
He has been unpopular. for a long time. The Chip
Kelly situation, the Deshaun Foster hire, both were very poorly
received by the UCLA constituents. Their budget is a mess.
(10:23):
So I don't think anybody was real surprised that they
made the change, but I do think, yes, the week
before Bob Chesney's first game is a little bit weird,
and they're bringing in a guy who's been an executive
with the Lakers. He's going to work pro bono on
an interim basis and I don't know that that's going
to work either. They've got to get somebody in permanently
(10:44):
as soon as they can.
Speaker 8 (10:45):
Staying in L.A., you did a story recently on Lincoln Riley.
Why should we believe, John, that he's anything more than
a 9-3 coach that racks up 45 and 50 points
but gives up 40 points to every single game?
Speaker 5 (11:00):
I don't think so. I mean, I think the same thing.
I want to see it, that he can be 11-1,
10-2 with a good defense, and actually he runs the
ball on third and three, or third and one. I
haven't seen that yet since he's been at USC. He
(11:21):
had great playoff teams at Oklahoma, but that was a
little bit different. Big 12 back then, a lot different
than the Big 10 right now. I'm with you, Dick.
I want to see it.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Is there a surprise team in the Big Ten that
we're going to see this year? I'm not saying like
Indiana from two years ago. I'm talking about like a Minnesota,
for example, or a Michigan State that nobody's talking about.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
They've got, what, seven ranked teams, I think, guys?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
So almost half the conference, about 40% of the conference
is ranked. Is there a surprise team in this Big
Ten that we're not talking about that maybe by the
end of the year we will be talking about, John?
Speaker 5 (11:55):
I do, too. UCLA, because I do think Bob Chesney
knows what he's doing. Their schedule is there's a lot
of winnable games. And also Wisconsin, partly for the same reason.
Wisconsin had the hardest schedule in the country last year.
This year, like, there's no Ohio State. There's no Indiana.
They have flipped it. And you guys know, watching the
(12:17):
Washington schedules from year to year, who you miss is
almost as important as who you're playing. And Wisconsin gets
a big break this year. They put more money into NIL.
So I could see Wisconsin ended up like 7-5, 8-4,
kind of surprised.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I'm looking at UCLA's schedule.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
At Cal, San Diego State, Purdue, Maryland, then Oregon, but
then Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's crazy.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
They'll be ranked by the end of October. They might
have eight or nine wins. But how about Cal? Is
our old buddy Tosh LaPoi going to do some magic
in Berkeley, you think? Because I know there's people talking
about Tosh LaPoi. If he ends up killing it at Cal,
then he might be a hot candidate down the road.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Well, he's certainly got a great reputation as a recruiter.
They've done a nice job in the transfer portal. They
had a top 20 class with the portal. And, you know,
the ACC, I don't know that it's open at the
very top, but it's kind of open in that, like,
you know, 3-4-5 window. And Cal's got good enough players.
(13:17):
They certainly have got a good enough quarterback. He's terrific,
you know, to actually move up onto the top tier
and win. you know, that would be a big breakthrough
from them. They have been in the 6-6, 7-5 window
for a long time, but they're putting more money into football.
They got a recruiter. We'll see. I think they got
(13:38):
a shot to actually do something this year.
Speaker 8 (13:40):
Well, Tosh can now have $ 3, 000 in a.
Speaker 7 (13:43):
Coffee cup if he wants to.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
That's right. Doesn't matter.
Speaker 7 (13:45):
You know, it doesn't matter anymore. John Wildner joining us.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
John, what's... You said it, Dick, not me, but I
am silently agreeing. Yeah.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
I love it. Not so silently agreeing.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
You know, it's interesting.
Speaker 8 (13:56):
Colin Coward, I heard him the other day, he said
he was talking to Kevin Warren, the old Big Ten commissioner.
And they both agreed that the four West Coast Big
Ten schools have given the conference creativity, coaching, and skill
position players, and that the conference has benefited as much
from them as they have from being in the conference.
Speaker 7 (14:16):
Do you agree with that statement?
Speaker 9 (14:18):
I certainly do agree.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
I mean, Oregon in the conference, absolutely. I mean, the
Ducks have been in the playoff both years. They won
the Big Ten their first year. No doubt about that.
I mean, I'm not sure that UCLA, for instance, has
been super beneficial to the Big Ten to this point.
You know, it's going to take time. I even think
(14:41):
after two years, we don't really know how this thing
is going to play out long-term. But, yeah, I can
see why the Big Ten thinks it's been beneficial. I mean,
it certainly gets their teams exposed to a whole part
of the country that they hadn't gotten before, and there's
a lot of Big Ten alums out on the West Coast. So, yeah,
there's certainly been some benefits, but we'll see. I'm not
(15:03):
convinced that it's also, you know... But it's different for
each school in some ways, right? More beneficial for some
than others.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Well, John, before you go, you're 1-0.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
You got North Carolina last week, by the way, with
the upset over TCU.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
So the Wendalorian is off to a great start at 1-0.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
You got a full slate of Big Ten games this weekend,
by the way, ending on Sunday with the Apple Cup.
And the Wisconsin-Notre Dame game is starting this week. It
was already started, I guess, but Thursday, September 3rd. We've
got a bunch of games, including Rutgers in Minnesota, Illinois.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
What do you like this week to make it 2-0, baby?
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Well, I actually was going to make a request. Can
I pick two games?
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Of course.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Because I feel compelled to pick the Apple Cup, but
that would not be my first choice.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
All right.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
Okay. You know, otherwise, I definitely think I would take USC.
I don't even know what the number is against Fresno,
but I will take USC and give the points.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
I believe it's 22.5 was the number that I saw.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Yeah, 22.5.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
All right, so USC giving 22.5.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
Gotcha. Gotcha.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
I'll take them. I think it's a big advantage that
they've already played a game, and I think that their
performance against San Jose State was a little underwhelming, so
the number is probably a little smaller than it should be.
All right. And I will take the Huskies.
Speaker 9 (16:23):
All right.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Huskies are giving, I'll tell you, it's 23 and a
half right now.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
See, I would have wanted more. After what happened last year,
the gap between the sport is flattening out at the top,
but it is becoming more and more vertical when you
go through the tiers. And I think that, you know,
it's getting harder for Washington State against Washington. It's getting harder.
(16:49):
Boise State against Oregon is another example. I think it's
going to be tough for the Broncos to come close
to doing what they did in Eugene two years ago.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
All right, we'll see what happens, John. Great stuff, and
we've got a full weekend of games and the first
dog game to talk about next Tuesday on the air.
So great stuff, and we'll talk in a week, man.
Speaker 6 (17:06):
Thanks, John.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Thanks a lot, guys. All right, John Willner with us
on the radio show. We're going to break. A lot
more to get to.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Seahawks getting going a week from tomorrow against the Patriots.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
We've got the Mariners in Boston. Apple Cup on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
A lot more to get to on a busy, busy
Tuesday right here on 93.3 KJRFM.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
This is Duke of Duke Seafood, and this hour is
brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why don't you make
it a Duke's night tonight? Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com. Now,
back to Softie and Dick. on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR-FM.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
All right, we're back on a busy Tuesday night. Brian
Schmetzer will join us on the radio show. A couple
of goals from the new guy and got a draw, right?
She'll have won an MLS game in like 90 freaking
days or May whatever, May 15th against San Jose, something
like that, but we'll talk to Brian later. I would
assume he's in a semi-decent mood today compared to where
(18:01):
he's been the last couple of months. So we'll talk
to Brian at 545 tonight. I do wonder if you
guys are getting ready to buy your Mariner playoff tickets
with the arrival of Laz Montes, who becomes one of
only a handful of Mariners to Homer in his Major
League debut, joining Kyle Lewis, Kenji Jojima, Greg Dobbs, Alvin Davis,
and Jamie Nelson.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Saw that list. That's a hell of a list. Back
in 83.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
The funny thing about that list is whether There's six
guys on it, and three of the six had their
home run against Boston, by the way.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
It's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Helps to be in Fenway Park. Well, only one of
them was at Fenway. The other two, I believe, were
in Seattle. But they just said versus for everyone. So
unless it was five home games or they just were going,
you know, not telling us who was home and away.
But Laz Montes, man, I'm telling you, he's going to
put this team on his back. He will carry them
to a Major League Baseball playoff berth and to a
(18:54):
World Series.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
And we will refer to him as the Messiah. And
my head is up my ass. Okay. I mean, I
don't know.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
I am so fricking schizophrenic right now with this baseball team.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
It's unbelievable. And I blame them. The only reason why
is because of the crappy, terrible division. They play the crappy,
terrible division.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Hasn't been as crappy the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
What are, what's going on with the Astros and Rangers
right now? They're playing.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
They started already. Rangers up 1-0. Astros, White Sox are
tied bottom one. I mean, look, they're six games out.
After today, they got 23 games left. One with Boston,
two with Houston, three with Texas. The other 17 games, Dick,
are against teams that are currently 98 games under.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
500.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Colorado, the Angels.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
And the A's.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
So I will stick with my original prediction that I
think at the end of the year, the last week
of the year, there's going to be a path.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
You can squint a little bit, maybe. You may have
to like.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
to open your eyes up like Marty Feldman, but you
will be able to see a path for these.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
I can't even do it. I can't even do it.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 8 (19:57):
I mean, if you're talking about, if you're talking about
there are four games out with four games to play
and they need to win four and Houston needs to
lose four.
Speaker 7 (20:04):
Yeah, I could see that happening.
Speaker 6 (20:06):
That's not a path.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
That's not a path.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
I think four games out with seven to go, something
like that, you know, seven or eight games to go.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Last week of the year.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
I just think that this thing is, again, and I
understand your point. I understand Jackson's point. And I sense
that Jackson, you're, I feel like you're, you're done. Like
you're in the life raft. You're already on the way.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Jackson beat me there. What was the name of the,
the boat that showed up? Carpathia. Is that right? You're
already on the way over there.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
I got my towel around my shoulders and everything. Jackson's
starting to walk to the life raft. And I'm sitting
there with the orchestra.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (20:40):
There you go yeah you are you are right there
yes eating it all up i'm with the violin you're
you're still watching the post-game show soft i am i
watched it last night crazy.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
I like being angry yeah i have figured out i
like being angry what's that call what's the term for
that by the way yes i'm a masochist i like
being pissed off i like turning on the post-game show
after getting kicked to the nuts and watching brad adam
goof around with the red socks mascot and not show
the julio play not show the julio play and then
I like hearing Dan Wilson rock back and forth like
(21:10):
he's got to pee desperately.
Speaker 9 (21:12):
I never do this but I'm just going to read
and I'll take out the swear words because we were
obviously reacting to the game on our group chat here
yesterday so this is I think right after the Red
Sox win And then you send the gif of the
guy hitting himself with the frying pan, which was just amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
He was wearing a towel. So here's word for word
what I said.
Speaker 9 (21:36):
Gotta be honest, I'm kind of just done until they
get it back to two or three games. There's too
much other great sports going on in the city right now.
I honestly don't care.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Okay, so when they get to two or three games,
then we can wake you up.
Speaker 8 (21:49):
They all have their head up their ass, and that's
a lousy take, right? Yeah, I'm with Jackson. I mean,
I don't think it's going to happen. Part of me
doesn't even want it to happen if I thought there
was the chance that Jerry DiPoto would see a rally
in September and go, Oh, see, I did a great
job putting this team together and we don't need to
do anything with the manager and we don't need to
(22:10):
spend any money in the offseason. I mean, that seriously
worries me. So there is a significant part of me
that's like, hey, just go down, Titanic. Like, go down
into the depths. Like, be 74 and 88 depths of hell.
So you absolutely have to change things. But then, yes,
(22:30):
there's the Mariner fan in me. It'd be like, hey,
it'd be cool if they were two games back with
six to play. And I actually had something to watch.
Speaker 9 (22:36):
So I'm sorry. I read the wrong text. This is
the text I wanted to read. don't need that one
i'm tired of having the same conversation every day about
their stupidity they're so stupid they're making it hard to
even talk about because it's the same every day who
wrote that not me oh okay i'm so tired i
totally agree with him and dick you put out the
(22:58):
thing yesterday about like all these dumb moments they keep
having the jerry thing there's so much and like we're
gonna have to do like a special friday bracket of
all of the dumb moments of 2026 well because there's
a bracket four.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
Of them let's list them so you got julio twice
yes well there's three julio's three there's the diving for
the ball last night there's the throwing the ball in
the stands when they with one out then there's.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
The uh having the soft toss with the fan.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
When ferrer was on the mound oh yeah for a
ball yeah okay number four i would say there's the
gif or gif whatever you want to call it of
uh josh nailer bouncing his head off the infield sliding
into third base remember that one at.
Speaker 8 (23:35):
Least that wasn't that was very funny but that wasn't
a mental mistake that.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Kind of It's kind of like a symbolic of the season.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Bazzardo. That's for Bazzardo not covering home plate.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
Randy.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Randy twice. With Castillo.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Down the line, that's five. I mean, he's got to
find three more. We got to find three more. It'd
be easy. Three more brain farts.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
We will have a brain fart bracket when the year
comes to an end to pick the biggest brain fart.
of the 2026 Mariner baseball season. So, all right, so
you guys have gone on record. You don't give a damn.
You want to be woken up. You want to go
into a coma. You ever see the movie Passengers with
Chris Pratt, by the way? Remember that? We're going to
wake you up when the M's are two games back.
I'm going to be the one that's alive. I'm going
(24:15):
to be the one that's awake talking to the Android bartender.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
What are the odds?
Speaker 8 (24:19):
Honestly, what's the odds that the Mariners at some point
get two games back?
Speaker 6 (24:24):
20?
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Oh, that's high.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Oh, lower than 20? 10%. What do you think?
Speaker 3 (24:34):
As I sneeze.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Bless you.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
What do I think? I don't know. I mean, is
there a.
Speaker 8 (24:39):
Well, you're the one that keeps talking about the schedule
where they're playing the Toledo Mudhens for three weeks.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
In a row.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I'm just looking at the schedule and I see 98.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
I mean, there's a chance that by the end of
this Red Sox series, they could play those teams and
there are 100 games under 500 combined.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
That's true.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
100.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
I mean, that is amazing. Have you ever remembered doing
a schedule projection? for september and seeing 17 games against
three teams that are 98 games under 500 i don't
know if i've ever uttered those words in my life
let alone on this radio show that is incredible so
and look your point about how when you're playing bad
baseball doesn't matter you're exactly right because the blue jays
(25:16):
are a mediocre team and they got spanked for three
games in a row for the most part So I
get it. But I just, again, the division is so bad.
The schedule is so easy. I think there's one more tease.
It may just be a tease, Dick.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
But I think there's one more tease. There's one more
Marilyn Monroe with the skirt flying up in the air
before the season comes to an end. Only question is,
do you fall for it?
Speaker 8 (25:39):
Well, your point has validity because it's... Well, thank you.
If the Mariners were playing the Tigers who are 11
games under and the Twins that are six games under
and those type of teams, I'd be like, well, they're just—
I know they suck, but they're just as sucky as
the Mariners are. These are terrible teams. This is a
(25:59):
new level of suck of the Angels, the A's, and
the Rockies. That's like an all-time level of suck. This
is like suck history here we're making.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I mean, they're 100 lost teams.
Speaker 7 (26:09):
Like, all three of them are 100 lost teams.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Go 14-3. And those 17 games.
Speaker 7 (26:14):
Here's the problem.
Speaker 9 (26:16):
14-3. I think that the percentage chance that they go
14-3 is just a little bit higher than the chance
that they go 3-14.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Like, this baseball team, would it.
Speaker 9 (26:27):
Blow your mind?
Speaker 3 (26:28):
No, it wouldn't blow my mind.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
It wouldn't blow my mind if they lose this game
right here.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
No, they're not going to watch.
Speaker 9 (26:35):
That is my level of belief in the 2026 Mariners.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
Well, here's the funny thing. If they go 14-3 and
then split the other six, including tomorrow's game of Boston,
two with Houston, three with Texas, they end the year
with 82 wins.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
And they're over 500. And they win the division.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
We're going to break Brian Schmetzer. Hey, we'll see if
Brian Schmetzer agrees. Does he have any hope left for
the Mariners? What does he have more hope for? His
own team?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Or the Mariners next?
Speaker 1 (27:06):
This is Duke of Duke Seafood, and this hour is
brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why don't you make
it a Duke's night tonight? Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com. Now,
back to Softie and Dick. On Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
All right, we're back on a busy Tuesday night. Mike
Florio coming up 607, 608, 610, 11. You know, whenever
we damn well want to get to Mike Florio because
we are in charge and.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Not him, by the way, on the radio show.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Stupid idiot.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
We'll talk some NFL with Mike, Terry, and Arnold, the
whole thing, what's going on with that, what's happening there.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Holy moly, look at that, man.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Jeez. Anyway, joining us right now on the radio show,
we're just having this conversation on the air last segment.
I wonder if Brian Schmetzer of the Sounders coming off
a draw with Chicago. A couple goals from the new
guy was helpful, by the way. Brian, who's got a
better chance of making the postseason this year? You guys
or the Mariners? Answer that question for us.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
Well, I'm going to tell you this, that I'm a
true believer. I believe in my team. and I'm going
to get to that in a second.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
All right.
Speaker 6 (28:09):
But I'm also a Mariners believer. I mean, I just
looked it up on chat, GTP.
Speaker 7 (28:15):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
Bad news is they're 10 games under.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
500.
Speaker 6 (28:18):
But, you know, positive news is they could do it.
I mean, they've got the easiest schedule out of the
remaining teams. I heard your segment, and, yeah, actually I'm
a little fired up because, you know, we're going.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
To make the playoffs.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 5 (28:33):
I love it.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
We're going to do this.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I love it.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
At seven wins, we need at least four more out
of 13 more games. And so, you know, we're going.
Speaker 5 (28:43):
To do it.
Speaker 6 (28:45):
I'm telling you, we're going to do it.
Speaker 7 (28:46):
He's got me believing.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
I love it.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
He's got me believing in both teams. I was already
believing in the Sounders because of the coach of the Sounders.
I wasn't really believing in the Mariners because of the
manager of the Mariners.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
I know we're going off script here a little bit, Brian,
but the schedule after they play Boston– The rest of
the way, they got 22 games left, and 17 of
them are against teams that are currently 98 games under.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
500.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Does that stuff matter?
Speaker 5 (29:11):
I know, I heard that.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Would it matter to you as a coach, honestly?
Speaker 6 (29:16):
What do you mean? Would that matter to me?
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Would that be something that would give you hope? Because
a lot of coaches would say, you know what, we
don't care who we play. The schedule doesn't matter. It's
all about us, like cliches and crap like that. Would
that give you some hope if you were Dan Wilson, privately?
Speaker 6 (29:32):
Well, internally, as a coaching staff, we'd probably talk about, well, hey, look,
we got New York Red Bull coming into town, and
we've got to beat them. And then we've got to
go to the Galaxy that sold off a couple of
their best players. And then, you know, we've got Colorado
who's making some changes. We talk about stuff internally, but
externally to the players, we're going to say, hey, I
(29:53):
don't give a crap who they put out in front
of us. We're going to try and win the game.
Speaker 8 (29:58):
Well, you got an unbelievable debut from your new star,
Dejan Jovovich. Thoughts on his two-goal debut, and was it
the best in Sounders' history?
Speaker 7 (30:07):
You've been around for a lot of them.
Speaker 6 (30:09):
Well, that certainly was a tremendous debut. I mean, we've
had guys come on and, you know, really make a difference,
but two goals right away. And, Dick, where I'm going
with this is, you know, maybe the quality of the
two goals because fans that were at the stadium got–
a taste of what Deion can do. That first goal,
(30:29):
if you watch his movement, we got the play, we
got a little overload on the right-hand side, and his
movement to, like, dip his shoulder to the left and
then sprint to the right to get to that ball.
He knew where the ball was going. And then the
second goal, I mean, Albert passes him a pretty simple pass,
top of the box, but his technique that he hits
(30:52):
the ball with that adds that little extra juice that
beats a goalkeeper for pace, and Brady's a good goalkeeper.
He was the third goalkeeper on the U.S. national team. Yeah,
those are, man, if he could do that on a
weekly basis, he'll be winning some games and making the
playoffs for sure.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Hey, Brian, do me a quick favor. Brian Schmetzer with us.
Give me like two seconds of silence. Are you watching
TV back there?
Speaker 3 (31:18):
What's going on?
Speaker 6 (31:19):
My wife is watching tennis.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Okay, that's what I thought. I thought I heard something
going on over there.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Just so we're all on the same page, that you're
doing the radio show and you guys are watching TV
at the same time.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
You're multitasking. Well, how is he fit?
Speaker 6 (31:34):
I'm not watching TV. I am on my computer listening
to your radio show like a good listener.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I love it. That's a drop, by the way.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
How is this guy fit into the locker room, honestly,
with the guys and kind of assimilated with the.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Team, you think?
Speaker 6 (31:51):
That's so good. Look, I said it before. I mean,
I'm really happy that Craig was on our side on
this one. He was listening to what we wanted, what
we needed. He was our number one choice, and he
was able to deliver. He was able to push it
across the line, humble kid, hardworking kid. You know, he's
(32:13):
got a wife and a new baby, just a family guy.
He goes home. He thinks about soccer. He thinks about
his wife and kids, thinks about chess as well. He's
a chess master, of course. I'm sure you guys heard that. But,
you know, just really humble guy, wants to put the
work in. I haven't told anybody this, but in the
(32:35):
locker room when I gave him the two game balls
for his first two goals as Seattle Sounders, he didn't
talk about the goals. He didn't talk about anything. He
just said, you know what? Thanks, Coach. And look, guys,
I'm so happy to be here. And I'm not going
to talk about the goals. I'm just going to talk
about the fact that we're going to do this. I
believe that we can make the playoffs. You want to
talk about hope? It's coming from that player's mouth. That's
(32:58):
a way bigger statement than I can make as a
coach because I He's talking to his teammates.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
That is cool. That is cool.
Speaker 7 (33:04):
Brian Schmetzer joining us.
Speaker 8 (33:05):
Does he remind you of any other striker you've coached before?
Speaker 6 (33:09):
Well, somebody asked me in the scrum today about Raul
Ruiz Diaz, about being just a clinical finisher. And, you know,
Dayon is different than Raul. Raul was a little more flashy.
You know, Raul scored some really highlight real goals. I
think Dayon is just going to be a good, consistent striker.
He can help in the build-up, too. You saw some
of the plays where he was able to just make
(33:32):
things look so simple, Dick, just like the ball comes
to him and he can play it one touch or
he just connects passes. So Raul was probably a little
more flamboyant. But Deion, you know, very, very talented technical
soccer player.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Well, all right, this was the big move, right? The
big $ 6 million move. Do you feel like you've got
to make another move before the transfer window deadline? And
if so, what position would we think needs to be
addressed the most?
Speaker 6 (33:59):
Oh, look, I know Craig's working hard. It is the
end of the window. Deals are coming across his desk
left and right. So, you know, I got faith in
him that if the right deal comes around and another
attacking piece, you know, we talk about stuff every day
about what we need. Can we get a short-term piece?
Can we get a long-term piece? Look, we got guys
(34:20):
coming back from injury. Jordan, that's going to help the attacking.
Jesus will be back. We've got some pretty good attackers today.
On the squad, obviously, Pedro was the one big injury,
and he's out for the year. But Craig's working hard,
and you never know. Deals at the last minute, they
could cross a line.
Speaker 8 (34:40):
So how do you value getting reps for a young
player that you've developed versus bringing in a slightly better player?
Speaker 6 (34:49):
Well, if you're talking about Osase De Rosario and us
putting him on loan, that is kind of, again, it's
a tricky one because, look, Osase was a starter at
the beginning of the year, and him and Masovsky were
nose and nose about who was going to be the guy.
They were fighting for that center forward spot. But Masovsky's
30 years old. Osase's a little younger. We're going to
(35:12):
send him out on loan and hopefully find consistency. and
it's for him so he can become a better soccer player.
Then when he comes back to us, hopefully that will
pay some dividends.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
All right, well, roll on. Jordan Morris back from their injuries.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
Give us the update on how they're doing, and do
you think they're ready to go and maybe play a
full 90?
Speaker 6 (35:32):
Well, I think Christian's a little closer than Jordan, hint, hint. So,
you know, I think Christian's going to be there. Jordan
and Asani Dotson, they're a little bit behind as far
as what they're– You know, training loads have been. So
we'll see. Tomorrow's a big training day. You know, we're
going to we're going to try out some different looks,
see what it looks like with Jordan in there. Jordan
(35:54):
not because, look, you know, he's going to come on
the field. We might have to still start a couple
of young guys in the beginning and see how the
game starts to unfold. And then we'll bring veteran guys
in there to try and close the deal.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
How about you?
Speaker 7 (36:06):
I'm our what's his status and timeline?
Speaker 6 (36:08):
He's, that's, Dick, that's not a good one. It's still,
you know, he's still three weeks out. I mean, it's not,
it hasn't been healing as well as we would have liked.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
All right, well, before you go, New York coming to
town Saturday, 5 o'clock pregame over on the AM side,
9.50 AM. And give us some thoughts on New York
and what you're going to see this weekend.
Speaker 6 (36:31):
Well, New York Red Bull play a very distinctive style, Softie.
They are a high-pressing team. They will just run and run.
They've got good athletes. They press higher up the field,
try and turn the ball over. That's how they generate
a lot of their chances. And so we have to
be ready for that. And we'll be trying, again, some
(36:51):
different schemes and training for us to keep possession. Yep.
or if we need to, just bypass their pressure and
hit the ball a little bit more direct to guys
running behind. So good team, Forsberg, quality player. Cade Cowell
was a guy that sold to Mexico a couple years
ago for $ 6- 7 million. He came back in the league today.
(37:14):
They've got a quality squad, so not going to be
an easy game at all. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
All right, go get them, and I appreciate you tuning
into the radio show. Apparently your wife couldn't give a
damn because she's watching tennis, but we appreciate your dedication
to our program every day, man. Thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
And I will not make that mistake again. She's not
going to be clinking dishes, making me dinner, or– putting
up a bottle of wine or watching tennis while we
do the program.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
How dare she make you dinner? My God. All right, Brian,
you're the man. Go get him on Sunday and we'll
talk in a week. All right.
Speaker 6 (37:49):
All right.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Take care guys. Brian Schmetzer with us. We're going to break.
This is Duke of Duke Seafood, letting you know that
this hour of Softie and Dick on your home for
the Huskies and Kraken is proudly brought to you by
Duke Seafood. Why not make it a Duke's night tonight?
Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com on Sports Radio 93.3.
KJR FM.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's time for our weekly Pac-12 conversation with San Jose
Mercury News reporter John Wilner. Brought to you by Simply Seattle.
Our friends at SimplySeattle.com have the most amazing collection of
all things Seattle. Seahawks gear, UW hats, and the largest
selection of Sonics.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Gear anywhere in the world. Learn more at SimplySeattle.com.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
All right, big thanks to our friends at SimplySeattle.com. Whatever
you got your eyes on the website, get ready for
the Huskies, the Hawks, whatever. KJR 15 for 15% off anything,
all the time, every time at SimplySeattle.com. Here he is
off to a 1-0 start, by the way, on the air,
nailing North Carolina and the points. They won outright, outright.
(00:57):
Over TCU and Ireland last Saturday. We'll see what he
can come up with and try to make it 2-0.
But I've got John, I've got you at 26-5 in
your last 31 picks on the year, going back to
the end of the 2024 season. So that means one
of two things are going to happen. Either A, you're
going to continue this ridiculous hot streak, or B, you're
(01:21):
about to totally crash and burn and fall off the
face of the earth and explode on the air this
season the rest of the way.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So what's it going to be, big boy?
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Well, I would say explosion is coming. But you never know.
I hope somebody's benefited. I certainly haven't.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Well, you should be benefiting. I told you last year,
you're in the wrong business. I mean, nobody really cares
to read your columns.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
You should be.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Handicapping, man.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
You should be making money in Vegas, for God's sakes.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
There's a lot to go over. Let's just start with
the Apple Cup on Sunday. I don't know if you
heard about the latest. I don't know if it's a controversy, Dick,
but the latest little snafu, I guess, is that Cougar
Marching Band is not coming to the game. What year
did the Husky Band have their accident? Was it 2019, 2018,
whatever year it was? Outside of that year, the Husky
(02:13):
and Cougar bands have been at every single Apple Cup
in my lifetime, and they're not coming this year because
they're pissed off. that UW did not give them good
enough free tickets for the game on Sunday. So they're
taking their tubas and they're going home.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
How about that?
Speaker 5 (02:27):
A little spice to the rivalry. My understanding is that
Washington State has been offered, the band has been offered
the exact same seats that Oregon's band receives in Husky
Stadium or any other opposing team's band receives. So, It
may be different than it's been in the past, but
(02:49):
I don't sense that Washington State is getting treated any
differently than any other UW opponent.
Speaker 6 (02:56):
Right.
Speaker 7 (02:56):
They're just whining. Whining to whine, I guess.
Speaker 8 (03:00):
John, what's the game going to look like, in your opinion?
You've done some research on the Cougs. You've done some
research on the Dawgs. What are we going to see
on Sunday?
Speaker 5 (03:11):
Oh, boy, I don't know that it's going to be
real competitive. I just, you know, I'd love to see
a game like two years ago goes down to the
last couple minutes. You know, I'm always in favor of
exciting games. But, man, I don't know. I was looking.
Washington's offensive line outweighs Washington State's defensive front by 50
pounds a man. I believe it's 322 pounds on average
(03:36):
for the UW line and, like, what, 270-something? for Washington
State's defensive front. I just don't know that the Cougars
are going to be able to hold up. Now, if
Washington gets a little pass happy, that could offset the advantage.
But if I'm the dogs, man, I would just pound
the thing until Washington State stops it and wear them
(03:56):
down and just dominate the ball.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Yeah, I saw where they had the third heaviest offensive
line in college football. That's what Twitter says, so who
knows if that's true or not. The ninth heaviest offensive
line in college football. But I know that since we
last spoke, maybe you've been kind of digging around a
little bit on the series and keeping this thing going.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
It's funny, I was talking to.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
greg bell this morning on his show that every time
pat chun or jed fish talk about the apple cup
they talk about how they want it to continue but
dot dot dot we want to continue but scheduling may
not be in our control we want it to continue
but we have to do financially what's best for udub
so as it sits right now is it possible that
(04:37):
this is one of the final three apple cups that
we'll see for a while do you believe.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
That Yeah, no, I think there's a chance of that. And,
you know, Washington State says the same thing. I talked
to their athletic director, John Harlow, a few weeks ago,
and he kind of said, you know, I talked to Pat.
We understand the importance of the game in the state,
but dot, dot, dot. You know, we've got to stay flexible.
You know, from their standpoint, a lot of the calculation
(05:03):
is the Pac-12 trying to figure out the best strategy,
scheduling strategy to get that group of six bid in
the playoff. Washington has got a lot of things to consider, right?
The budget, seven home games, the limited flexibility. If you
commit to the home-and-home series with Washington State, you really
can't play a home-and-home series with anybody else. If the
(05:27):
playoff expands to 24, are the Big Ten and SEC
going to try to do a crossover series that would
commit Washington to play in Florida one year and Arkansas
the next? And how would that work with the Apple Cup?
It's very complicated now. And I think that there's, I
don't know that it's better than 50-50, but I certainly
think there's a decent chance that once we get through
(05:47):
the game in 28, that might be it for some
period of time.
Speaker 8 (05:54):
We heard both Jed Fish yesterday in person at Husky
Stadium and Pat Chun on the Husky show last night
both say that the schedule might not be in our control.
Speaker 7 (06:06):
Now, do you think they mean one.
Speaker 8 (06:08):
Non-conference game not being under their control because it's a
potential crossover with the SEC? Or do you think there'll
be a time where the Big Ten controls all the
team's non-conference schedules?
Speaker 5 (06:20):
I think that we could get to that point. I
have not heard that there is anything imminent on that front,
but certainly if there's a crossover series with the SEC
or if the Big Ten implements a requirement that you
have to play 10 P4 teams, the ACC, SEC, and
(06:42):
Big 12 all have that. The Big Ten does not.
If the Big Ten implements that, then, again, Washington is
going to have to find a way to make that
work with the need to have seven home games for
the budget. So I think that that might be what
they're referring to at this point. But, you know, eventually...
(07:04):
We have no idea what scheduling is going to look
like five, seven years out in terms of how much
control the schools have and how much control the conferences have.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, well, John Wilner is with us. John, I know
you did.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Maybe you were there at the USC San Jose State
game at the Coliseum over the weekend. The crowd obviously
looked terrible in the Coliseum, and it was hot down there,
and we're getting games that are getting played earlier and
earlier into August every single season, but USC put a
statement out about it.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
They got ripped by Paul Feinbaum and others for that.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
What was your kind of reaction to the reaction to
the horrible crowd that USC had on Saturday?
Speaker 5 (07:40):
I can't believe it was such a story. I really don't.
I've been watching USC games, going to USC games, watching
USC games for a long time. And if you had
told me they're playing San Jose State in August... and
this is the replacement game for Notre Dame. I mean,
USC told its fans, we're not going to play Notre
(08:02):
Dame this year. We're playing San Jose state instead. And
it's a hundred degrees. I would have said there's going
to be 20,000 people in that stadium. You know, that
was a no brainer. So I was not surprised at all.
And I'm just mystified that it has become such a story.
I think USC did add to it by putting the
statement out, you know, Stanford was also empty. Stanford stadium
(08:23):
has been empty for years, but, I just think it's
a little bit much ado about nothing that they're going
to have a 70, 80,000 people in the Coliseum for
big 10 games.
Speaker 8 (08:34):
What's your wild idea of starting college football in mid August, John,
even earlier than we do now.
Speaker 6 (08:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Even earlier.
Speaker 5 (08:41):
I think we college football needs to start playing on
what is week negative one. So basically two Saturdays ago,
it is, there is no competition other than NFL exhibition
games and, And it is wide open territory for the
sport to move its schedule up. That would allow it
(09:03):
to do, one, finish the championship game in early January,
which I think is what everybody wants. Because if you
start on week negative one, you can play your regular
season finales, Thanksgiving weekend, with the buys, and that solves everything.
the calendar problem. The other issue that nobody's talking about
(09:25):
is the NFL is going to go to that 18th game. Now,
I don't know if it's going to be in two
years or at the next. uh cba with the players
the nfl is going to go to the 18th game
and everybody in college football who's following that thinks that
they're going to put that game on labor day weekend
which would mean that what is currently a wide open
(09:46):
weekend for college football is going to get eaten up
by the nfl right so if you want to stay
out from under the nfl you start a little bit earlier.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Why did ucla wait until like a week before the
season starts to fire their ad.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
I have no idea. It is weird timing. There's no
doubt about that. The move itself is not a big surprise.
He has been unpopular. for a long time. The Chip
Kelly situation, the Deshaun Foster hire, both were very poorly
received by the UCLA constituents. Their budget is a mess.
(10:23):
So I don't think anybody was real surprised that they
made the change, but I do think, yes, the week
before Bob Chesney's first game is a little bit weird,
and they're bringing in a guy who's been an executive
with the Lakers. He's going to work pro bono on
an interim basis and I don't know that that's going
to work either. They've got to get somebody in permanently
(10:44):
as soon as they can.
Speaker 8 (10:45):
Staying in L.A., you did a story recently on Lincoln Riley.
Why should we believe, John, that he's anything more than
a 9-3 coach that racks up 45 and 50 points
but gives up 40 points to every single game?
Speaker 5 (11:00):
I don't think so. I mean, I think the same thing.
I want to see it, that he can be 11-1,
10-2 with a good defense, and actually he runs the
ball on third and three, or third and one. I
haven't seen that yet since he's been at USC. He
(11:21):
had great playoff teams at Oklahoma, but that was a
little bit different. Big 12 back then, a lot different
than the Big 10 right now. I'm with you, Dick.
I want to see it.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
Is there a surprise team in the Big Ten that
we're going to see this year? I'm not saying like
Indiana from two years ago. I'm talking about like a Minnesota,
for example, or a Michigan State that nobody's talking about.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
They've got, what, seven ranked teams, I think, guys?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
So almost half the conference, about 40% of the conference
is ranked. Is there a surprise team in this Big
Ten that we're not talking about that maybe by the
end of the year we will be talking about, John?
Speaker 5 (11:55):
I do, too. UCLA, because I do think Bob Chesney
knows what he's doing. Their schedule is there's a lot
of winnable games. And also Wisconsin, partly for the same reason.
Wisconsin had the hardest schedule in the country last year.
This year, like, there's no Ohio State. There's no Indiana.
They have flipped it. And you guys know, watching the
(12:17):
Washington schedules from year to year, who you miss is
almost as important as who you're playing. And Wisconsin gets
a big break this year. They put more money into NIL.
So I could see Wisconsin ended up like 7-5, 8-4,
kind of surprised.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I'm looking at UCLA's schedule.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
At Cal, San Diego State, Purdue, Maryland, then Oregon, but
then Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's crazy.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
They'll be ranked by the end of October. They might
have eight or nine wins. But how about Cal? Is
our old buddy Tosh LaPoi going to do some magic
in Berkeley, you think? Because I know there's people talking
about Tosh LaPoi. If he ends up killing it at Cal,
then he might be a hot candidate down the road.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Well, he's certainly got a great reputation as a recruiter.
They've done a nice job in the transfer portal. They
had a top 20 class with the portal. And, you know,
the ACC, I don't know that it's open at the
very top, but it's kind of open in that, like,
you know, 3-4-5 window. And Cal's got good enough players.
(13:17):
They certainly have got a good enough quarterback. He's terrific,
you know, to actually move up onto the top tier
and win. you know, that would be a big breakthrough
from them. They have been in the 6-6, 7-5 window
for a long time, but they're putting more money into football.
They got a recruiter. We'll see. I think they got
(13:38):
a shot to actually do something this year.
Speaker 8 (13:40):
Well, Tosh can now have $ 3, 000 in a.
Speaker 7 (13:43):
Coffee cup if he wants to.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
That's right. Doesn't matter.
Speaker 7 (13:45):
You know, it doesn't matter anymore. John Wildner joining us.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
John, what's... You said it, Dick, not me, but I
am silently agreeing. Yeah.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
I love it. Not so silently agreeing.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
You know, it's interesting.
Speaker 8 (13:56):
Colin Coward, I heard him the other day, he said
he was talking to Kevin Warren, the old Big Ten commissioner.
And they both agreed that the four West Coast Big
Ten schools have given the conference creativity, coaching, and skill
position players, and that the conference has benefited as much
from them as they have from being in the conference.
Speaker 7 (14:16):
Do you agree with that statement?
Speaker 9 (14:18):
I certainly do agree.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
I mean, Oregon in the conference, absolutely. I mean, the
Ducks have been in the playoff both years. They won
the Big Ten their first year. No doubt about that.
I mean, I'm not sure that UCLA, for instance, has
been super beneficial to the Big Ten to this point.
You know, it's going to take time. I even think
(14:41):
after two years, we don't really know how this thing
is going to play out long-term. But, yeah, I can
see why the Big Ten thinks it's been beneficial. I mean,
it certainly gets their teams exposed to a whole part
of the country that they hadn't gotten before, and there's
a lot of Big Ten alums out on the West Coast. So, yeah,
there's certainly been some benefits, but we'll see. I'm not
(15:03):
convinced that it's also, you know... But it's different for
each school in some ways, right? More beneficial for some
than others.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Well, John, before you go, you're 1-0.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
You got North Carolina last week, by the way, with
the upset over TCU.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
So the Wendalorian is off to a great start at 1-0.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
You got a full slate of Big Ten games this weekend,
by the way, ending on Sunday with the Apple Cup.
And the Wisconsin-Notre Dame game is starting this week. It
was already started, I guess, but Thursday, September 3rd. We've
got a bunch of games, including Rutgers in Minnesota, Illinois.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
What do you like this week to make it 2-0, baby?
Speaker 5 (15:42):
Well, I actually was going to make a request. Can
I pick two games?
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Of course.
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Because I feel compelled to pick the Apple Cup, but
that would not be my first choice.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
All right.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
Okay. You know, otherwise, I definitely think I would take USC.
I don't even know what the number is against Fresno,
but I will take USC and give the points.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
I believe it's 22.5 was the number that I saw.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Yeah, 22.5.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
All right, so USC giving 22.5.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
Gotcha. Gotcha.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
I'll take them. I think it's a big advantage that
they've already played a game, and I think that their
performance against San Jose State was a little underwhelming, so
the number is probably a little smaller than it should be.
All right. And I will take the Huskies.
Speaker 9 (16:23):
All right.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
Huskies are giving, I'll tell you, it's 23 and a
half right now.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
See, I would have wanted more. After what happened last year,
the gap between the sport is flattening out at the top,
but it is becoming more and more vertical when you
go through the tiers. And I think that, you know,
it's getting harder for Washington State against Washington. It's getting harder.
(16:49):
Boise State against Oregon is another example. I think it's
going to be tough for the Broncos to come close
to doing what they did in Eugene two years ago.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
All right, we'll see what happens, John. Great stuff, and
we've got a full weekend of games and the first
dog game to talk about next Tuesday on the air.
So great stuff, and we'll talk in a week, man.
Speaker 6 (17:06):
Thanks, John.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Thanks a lot, guys. All right, John Willner with us
on the radio show. We're going to break. A lot
more to get to.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Seahawks getting going a week from tomorrow against the Patriots.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
We've got the Mariners in Boston. Apple Cup on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
A lot more to get to on a busy, busy
Tuesday right here on 93.3 KJRFM.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
This is Duke of Duke Seafood, and this hour is
brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why don't you make
it a Duke's night tonight? Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com. Now,
back to Softie and Dick. on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR-FM.
Speaker 4 (17:39):
All right, we're back on a busy Tuesday night. Brian
Schmetzer will join us on the radio show. A couple
of goals from the new guy and got a draw, right?
She'll have won an MLS game in like 90 freaking
days or May whatever, May 15th against San Jose, something
like that, but we'll talk to Brian later. I would
assume he's in a semi-decent mood today compared to where
(18:01):
he's been the last couple of months. So we'll talk
to Brian at 545 tonight. I do wonder if you
guys are getting ready to buy your Mariner playoff tickets
with the arrival of Laz Montes, who becomes one of
only a handful of Mariners to Homer in his Major
League debut, joining Kyle Lewis, Kenji Jojima, Greg Dobbs, Alvin Davis,
and Jamie Nelson.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Saw that list. That's a hell of a list. Back
in 83.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
The funny thing about that list is whether There's six
guys on it, and three of the six had their
home run against Boston, by the way.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
It's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Helps to be in Fenway Park. Well, only one of
them was at Fenway. The other two, I believe, were
in Seattle. But they just said versus for everyone. So
unless it was five home games or they just were going,
you know, not telling us who was home and away.
But Laz Montes, man, I'm telling you, he's going to
put this team on his back. He will carry them
to a Major League Baseball playoff berth and to a
(18:54):
World Series.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
And we will refer to him as the Messiah. And
my head is up my ass. Okay. I mean, I
don't know.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
I am so fricking schizophrenic right now with this baseball team.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
It's unbelievable. And I blame them. The only reason why
is because of the crappy, terrible division. They play the crappy,
terrible division.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Hasn't been as crappy the last couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
What are, what's going on with the Astros and Rangers
right now? They're playing.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
They started already. Rangers up 1-0. Astros, White Sox are
tied bottom one. I mean, look, they're six games out.
After today, they got 23 games left. One with Boston,
two with Houston, three with Texas. The other 17 games, Dick,
are against teams that are currently 98 games under.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
500.
Speaker 6 (19:35):
Colorado, the Angels.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
And the A's.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
So I will stick with my original prediction that I
think at the end of the year, the last week
of the year, there's going to be a path.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
You can squint a little bit, maybe. You may have
to like.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
to open your eyes up like Marty Feldman, but you
will be able to see a path for these.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
I can't even do it. I can't even do it.
I'm sorry.
Speaker 8 (19:57):
I mean, if you're talking about, if you're talking about
there are four games out with four games to play
and they need to win four and Houston needs to
lose four.
Speaker 7 (20:04):
Yeah, I could see that happening.
Speaker 6 (20:06):
That's not a path.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
That's not a path.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
I think four games out with seven to go, something
like that, you know, seven or eight games to go.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Last week of the year.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
I just think that this thing is, again, and I
understand your point. I understand Jackson's point. And I sense
that Jackson, you're, I feel like you're, you're done. Like
you're in the life raft. You're already on the way.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Jackson beat me there. What was the name of the,
the boat that showed up? Carpathia. Is that right? You're
already on the way over there.
Speaker 6 (20:32):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
I got my towel around my shoulders and everything. Jackson's
starting to walk to the life raft. And I'm sitting
there with the orchestra.
Speaker 5 (20:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (20:40):
There you go yeah you are you are right there
yes eating it all up i'm with the violin you're
you're still watching the post-game show soft i am i
watched it last night crazy.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
I like being angry yeah i have figured out i
like being angry what's that call what's the term for
that by the way yes i'm a masochist i like
being pissed off i like turning on the post-game show
after getting kicked to the nuts and watching brad adam
goof around with the red socks mascot and not show
the julio play not show the julio play and then
I like hearing Dan Wilson rock back and forth like
(21:10):
he's got to pee desperately.
Speaker 9 (21:12):
I never do this but I'm just going to read
and I'll take out the swear words because we were
obviously reacting to the game on our group chat here
yesterday so this is I think right after the Red
Sox win And then you send the gif of the
guy hitting himself with the frying pan, which was just amazing.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
He was wearing a towel. So here's word for word
what I said.
Speaker 9 (21:36):
Gotta be honest, I'm kind of just done until they
get it back to two or three games. There's too
much other great sports going on in the city right now.
I honestly don't care.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Okay, so when they get to two or three games,
then we can wake you up.
Speaker 8 (21:49):
They all have their head up their ass, and that's
a lousy take, right? Yeah, I'm with Jackson. I mean,
I don't think it's going to happen. Part of me
doesn't even want it to happen if I thought there
was the chance that Jerry DiPoto would see a rally
in September and go, Oh, see, I did a great
job putting this team together and we don't need to
do anything with the manager and we don't need to
(22:10):
spend any money in the offseason. I mean, that seriously
worries me. So there is a significant part of me
that's like, hey, just go down, Titanic. Like, go down
into the depths. Like, be 74 and 88 depths of hell.
So you absolutely have to change things. But then, yes,
(22:30):
there's the Mariner fan in me. It'd be like, hey,
it'd be cool if they were two games back with
six to play. And I actually had something to watch.
Speaker 9 (22:36):
So I'm sorry. I read the wrong text. This is
the text I wanted to read. don't need that one
i'm tired of having the same conversation every day about
their stupidity they're so stupid they're making it hard to
even talk about because it's the same every day who
wrote that not me oh okay i'm so tired i
totally agree with him and dick you put out the
(22:58):
thing yesterday about like all these dumb moments they keep
having the jerry thing there's so much and like we're
gonna have to do like a special friday bracket of
all of the dumb moments of 2026 well because there's
a bracket four.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
Of them let's list them so you got julio twice
yes well there's three julio's three there's the diving for
the ball last night there's the throwing the ball in
the stands when they with one out then there's.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
The uh having the soft toss with the fan.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
When ferrer was on the mound oh yeah for a
ball yeah okay number four i would say there's the
gif or gif whatever you want to call it of
uh josh nailer bouncing his head off the infield sliding
into third base remember that one at.
Speaker 8 (23:35):
Least that wasn't that was very funny but that wasn't
a mental mistake that.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Kind of It's kind of like a symbolic of the season.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Bazzardo. That's for Bazzardo not covering home plate.
Speaker 6 (23:45):
Randy.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Randy twice. With Castillo.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Down the line, that's five. I mean, he's got to
find three more. We got to find three more. It'd
be easy. Three more brain farts.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
We will have a brain fart bracket when the year
comes to an end to pick the biggest brain fart.
of the 2026 Mariner baseball season. So, all right, so
you guys have gone on record. You don't give a damn.
You want to be woken up. You want to go
into a coma. You ever see the movie Passengers with
Chris Pratt, by the way? Remember that? We're going to
wake you up when the M's are two games back.
I'm going to be the one that's alive. I'm going
(24:15):
to be the one that's awake talking to the Android bartender.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
What are the odds?
Speaker 8 (24:19):
Honestly, what's the odds that the Mariners at some point
get two games back?
Speaker 6 (24:24):
20?
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Oh, that's high.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Oh, lower than 20? 10%. What do you think?
Speaker 3 (24:34):
As I sneeze.
Speaker 7 (24:35):
Bless you.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
What do I think? I don't know. I mean, is
there a.
Speaker 8 (24:39):
Well, you're the one that keeps talking about the schedule
where they're playing the Toledo Mudhens for three weeks.
Speaker 6 (24:43):
In a row.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I'm just looking at the schedule and I see 98.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
I mean, there's a chance that by the end of
this Red Sox series, they could play those teams and
there are 100 games under 500 combined.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
That's true.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
100.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
I mean, that is amazing. Have you ever remembered doing
a schedule projection? for september and seeing 17 games against
three teams that are 98 games under 500 i don't
know if i've ever uttered those words in my life
let alone on this radio show that is incredible so
and look your point about how when you're playing bad
baseball doesn't matter you're exactly right because the blue jays
(25:16):
are a mediocre team and they got spanked for three
games in a row for the most part So I
get it. But I just, again, the division is so bad.
The schedule is so easy. I think there's one more tease.
It may just be a tease, Dick.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
But I think there's one more tease. There's one more
Marilyn Monroe with the skirt flying up in the air
before the season comes to an end. Only question is,
do you fall for it?
Speaker 8 (25:39):
Well, your point has validity because it's... Well, thank you.
If the Mariners were playing the Tigers who are 11
games under and the Twins that are six games under
and those type of teams, I'd be like, well, they're just—
I know they suck, but they're just as sucky as
the Mariners are. These are terrible teams. This is a
(25:59):
new level of suck of the Angels, the A's, and
the Rockies. That's like an all-time level of suck. This
is like suck history here we're making.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I mean, they're 100 lost teams.
Speaker 7 (26:09):
Like, all three of them are 100 lost teams.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Go 14-3. And those 17 games.
Speaker 7 (26:14):
Here's the problem.
Speaker 9 (26:16):
14-3. I think that the percentage chance that they go
14-3 is just a little bit higher than the chance
that they go 3-14.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
Like, this baseball team, would it.
Speaker 9 (26:27):
Blow your mind?
Speaker 3 (26:28):
No, it wouldn't blow my mind.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
It wouldn't blow my mind if they lose this game
right here.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
No, they're not going to watch.
Speaker 9 (26:35):
That is my level of belief in the 2026 Mariners.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
Well, here's the funny thing. If they go 14-3 and
then split the other six, including tomorrow's game of Boston,
two with Houston, three with Texas, they end the year
with 82 wins.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
And they're over 500. And they win the division.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
We're going to break Brian Schmetzer. Hey, we'll see if
Brian Schmetzer agrees. Does he have any hope left for
the Mariners? What does he have more hope for? His
own team?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Or the Mariners next?
Speaker 1 (27:06):
This is Duke of Duke Seafood, and this hour is
brought to you by Duke Seafood. Why don't you make
it a Duke's night tonight? Reserve your table today at dukesseafood.com. Now,
back to Softie and Dick. On Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
All right, we're back on a busy Tuesday night. Mike
Florio coming up 607, 608, 610, 11. You know, whenever
we damn well want to get to Mike Florio because
we are in charge and.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Not him, by the way, on the radio show.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Stupid idiot.
Speaker 4 (27:35):
We'll talk some NFL with Mike, Terry, and Arnold, the
whole thing, what's going on with that, what's happening there.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Holy moly, look at that, man.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Jeez. Anyway, joining us right now on the radio show,
we're just having this conversation on the air last segment.
I wonder if Brian Schmetzer of the Sounders coming off
a draw with Chicago. A couple goals from the new
guy was helpful, by the way. Brian, who's got a
better chance of making the postseason this year? You guys
or the Mariners? Answer that question for us.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
Well, I'm going to tell you this, that I'm a
true believer. I believe in my team. and I'm going
to get to that in a second.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
All right.
Speaker 6 (28:09):
But I'm also a Mariners believer. I mean, I just
looked it up on chat, GTP.
Speaker 7 (28:15):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (28:15):
Bad news is they're 10 games under.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
500.
Speaker 6 (28:18):
But, you know, positive news is they could do it.
I mean, they've got the easiest schedule out of the
remaining teams. I heard your segment, and, yeah, actually I'm
a little fired up because, you know, we're going.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
To make the playoffs.
Speaker 6 (28:32):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 5 (28:33):
I love it.
Speaker 6 (28:34):
We're going to do this.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I love it.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
At seven wins, we need at least four more out
of 13 more games. And so, you know, we're going.
Speaker 5 (28:43):
To do it.
Speaker 6 (28:45):
I'm telling you, we're going to do it.
Speaker 7 (28:46):
He's got me believing.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
I love it.
Speaker 8 (28:48):
He's got me believing in both teams. I was already
believing in the Sounders because of the coach of the Sounders.
I wasn't really believing in the Mariners because of the
manager of the Mariners.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
I know we're going off script here a little bit, Brian,
but the schedule after they play Boston– The rest of
the way, they got 22 games left, and 17 of
them are against teams that are currently 98 games under.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
500.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Does that stuff matter?
Speaker 5 (29:11):
I know, I heard that.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Would it matter to you as a coach, honestly?
Speaker 6 (29:16):
What do you mean? Would that matter to me?
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Would that be something that would give you hope? Because
a lot of coaches would say, you know what, we
don't care who we play. The schedule doesn't matter. It's
all about us, like cliches and crap like that. Would
that give you some hope if you were Dan Wilson, privately?
Speaker 6 (29:32):
Well, internally, as a coaching staff, we'd probably talk about, well, hey, look,
we got New York Red Bull coming into town, and
we've got to beat them. And then we've got to
go to the Galaxy that sold off a couple of
their best players. And then, you know, we've got Colorado
who's making some changes. We talk about stuff internally, but
externally to the players, we're going to say, hey, I
(29:53):
don't give a crap who they put out in front
of us. We're going to try and win the game.
Speaker 8 (29:58):
Well, you got an unbelievable debut from your new star,
Dejan Jovovich. Thoughts on his two-goal debut, and was it
the best in Sounders' history?
Speaker 7 (30:07):
You've been around for a lot of them.
Speaker 6 (30:09):
Well, that certainly was a tremendous debut. I mean, we've
had guys come on and, you know, really make a difference,
but two goals right away. And, Dick, where I'm going
with this is, you know, maybe the quality of the
two goals because fans that were at the stadium got–
a taste of what Deion can do. That first goal,
(30:29):
if you watch his movement, we got the play, we
got a little overload on the right-hand side, and his
movement to, like, dip his shoulder to the left and
then sprint to the right to get to that ball.
He knew where the ball was going. And then the
second goal, I mean, Albert passes him a pretty simple pass,
top of the box, but his technique that he hits
(30:52):
the ball with that adds that little extra juice that
beats a goalkeeper for pace, and Brady's a good goalkeeper.
He was the third goalkeeper on the U.S. national team. Yeah,
those are, man, if he could do that on a
weekly basis, he'll be winning some games and making the
playoffs for sure.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
Hey, Brian, do me a quick favor. Brian Schmetzer with us.
Give me like two seconds of silence. Are you watching
TV back there?
Speaker 3 (31:18):
What's going on?
Speaker 6 (31:19):
My wife is watching tennis.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Okay, that's what I thought. I thought I heard something
going on over there.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Just so we're all on the same page, that you're
doing the radio show and you guys are watching TV
at the same time.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
You're multitasking. Well, how is he fit?
Speaker 6 (31:34):
I'm not watching TV. I am on my computer listening
to your radio show like a good listener.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I love it. That's a drop, by the way.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
How is this guy fit into the locker room, honestly,
with the guys and kind of assimilated with the.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Team, you think?
Speaker 6 (31:51):
That's so good. Look, I said it before. I mean,
I'm really happy that Craig was on our side on
this one. He was listening to what we wanted, what
we needed. He was our number one choice, and he
was able to deliver. He was able to push it
across the line, humble kid, hardworking kid. You know, he's
(32:13):
got a wife and a new baby, just a family guy.
He goes home. He thinks about soccer. He thinks about
his wife and kids, thinks about chess as well. He's
a chess master, of course. I'm sure you guys heard that. But,
you know, just really humble guy, wants to put the
work in. I haven't told anybody this, but in the
(32:35):
locker room when I gave him the two game balls
for his first two goals as Seattle Sounders, he didn't
talk about the goals. He didn't talk about anything. He
just said, you know what? Thanks, Coach. And look, guys,
I'm so happy to be here. And I'm not going
to talk about the goals. I'm just going to talk
about the fact that we're going to do this. I
believe that we can make the playoffs. You want to
talk about hope? It's coming from that player's mouth. That's
(32:58):
a way bigger statement than I can make as a
coach because I He's talking to his teammates.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
That is cool. That is cool.
Speaker 7 (33:04):
Brian Schmetzer joining us.
Speaker 8 (33:05):
Does he remind you of any other striker you've coached before?
Speaker 6 (33:09):
Well, somebody asked me in the scrum today about Raul
Ruiz Diaz, about being just a clinical finisher. And, you know,
Dayon is different than Raul. Raul was a little more flashy.
You know, Raul scored some really highlight real goals. I
think Dayon is just going to be a good, consistent striker.
He can help in the build-up, too. You saw some
of the plays where he was able to just make
(33:32):
things look so simple, Dick, just like the ball comes
to him and he can play it one touch or
he just connects passes. So Raul was probably a little
more flamboyant. But Deion, you know, very, very talented technical
soccer player.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Well, all right, this was the big move, right? The
big $ 6 million move. Do you feel like you've got
to make another move before the transfer window deadline? And
if so, what position would we think needs to be
addressed the most?
Speaker 6 (33:59):
Oh, look, I know Craig's working hard. It is the
end of the window. Deals are coming across his desk
left and right. So, you know, I got faith in
him that if the right deal comes around and another
attacking piece, you know, we talk about stuff every day
about what we need. Can we get a short-term piece?
Can we get a long-term piece? Look, we got guys
(34:20):
coming back from injury. Jordan, that's going to help the attacking.
Jesus will be back. We've got some pretty good attackers today.
On the squad, obviously, Pedro was the one big injury,
and he's out for the year. But Craig's working hard,
and you never know. Deals at the last minute, they
could cross a line.
Speaker 8 (34:40):
So how do you value getting reps for a young
player that you've developed versus bringing in a slightly better player?
Speaker 6 (34:49):
Well, if you're talking about Osase De Rosario and us
putting him on loan, that is kind of, again, it's
a tricky one because, look, Osase was a starter at
the beginning of the year, and him and Masovsky were
nose and nose about who was going to be the guy.
They were fighting for that center forward spot. But Masovsky's
30 years old. Osase's a little younger. We're going to
(35:12):
send him out on loan and hopefully find consistency. and
it's for him so he can become a better soccer player.
Then when he comes back to us, hopefully that will
pay some dividends.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
All right, well, roll on. Jordan Morris back from their injuries.
Speaker 4 (35:26):
Give us the update on how they're doing, and do
you think they're ready to go and maybe play a
full 90?
Speaker 6 (35:32):
Well, I think Christian's a little closer than Jordan, hint, hint. So,
you know, I think Christian's going to be there. Jordan
and Asani Dotson, they're a little bit behind as far
as what they're– You know, training loads have been. So
we'll see. Tomorrow's a big training day. You know, we're
going to we're going to try out some different looks,
see what it looks like with Jordan in there. Jordan
(35:54):
not because, look, you know, he's going to come on
the field. We might have to still start a couple
of young guys in the beginning and see how the
game starts to unfold. And then we'll bring veteran guys
in there to try and close the deal.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
How about you?
Speaker 7 (36:06):
I'm our what's his status and timeline?
Speaker 6 (36:08):
He's, that's, Dick, that's not a good one. It's still,
you know, he's still three weeks out. I mean, it's not,
it hasn't been healing as well as we would have liked.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
All right, well, before you go, New York coming to
town Saturday, 5 o'clock pregame over on the AM side,
9.50 AM. And give us some thoughts on New York
and what you're going to see this weekend.
Speaker 6 (36:31):
Well, New York Red Bull play a very distinctive style, Softie.
They are a high-pressing team. They will just run and run.
They've got good athletes. They press higher up the field,
try and turn the ball over. That's how they generate
a lot of their chances. And so we have to
be ready for that. And we'll be trying, again, some
(36:51):
different schemes and training for us to keep possession. Yep.
or if we need to, just bypass their pressure and
hit the ball a little bit more direct to guys
running behind. So good team, Forsberg, quality player. Cade Cowell
was a guy that sold to Mexico a couple years
ago for $ 6- 7 million. He came back in the league today.
(37:14):
They've got a quality squad, so not going to be
an easy game at all. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:19):
All right, go get them, and I appreciate you tuning
into the radio show. Apparently your wife couldn't give a
damn because she's watching tennis, but we appreciate your dedication
to our program every day, man. Thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
And I will not make that mistake again. She's not
going to be clinking dishes, making me dinner, or– putting
up a bottle of wine or watching tennis while we
do the program.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
How dare she make you dinner? My God. All right, Brian,
you're the man. Go get him on Sunday and we'll
talk in a week. All right.
Speaker 6 (37:49):
All right.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
Take care guys. Brian Schmetzer with us. We're going to break.
Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain News
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