May 6, 2026 • 38 mins
In the first hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain chat with Mike Florio about the NFL wanting an 18-game season, the schedule release coming, plus Kenneth Walker and Russell Wilson stories, then the guys react to the latest development in the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini situation before they celebrate the Mariners’ win over the Braves.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
It really is a fun day when the NFL schedule
comes out. But we'll find out from Mike Florio in
about seven or eight minutes from now, hopefully when that
day is going to be keeping an eye on the Manminers,
obviously with Game three against the Braves. I want to
get your guys' take on something. I put a tweet out.
I made a tweet this morning and it got Petros
(00:25):
replied to it with his take on it, and I
want to get your take on it. Corbyn Smith replied
to it with his thoughts on it. I said, outside
of a live sporting event, it's amazing how little I
watch ESPN. I used to be destination TV for me
every single day, and I don't feel like I'm missing
anything by not watching. Now there's reasons for it, right,
(00:47):
and it's not one or two. There's a lot of
reasons thrown into a big stew of why I'm not
watching ESPN. But it kind of struck me and I
actually put this tweet out last night. The days are
all blending together. It was nine thirty. At nine it
was sitting in bed, probably half asleep, and saying, you
know what, I'm going to make a point right now
on social media, and I sent this thing out last night. Okay,
So I'm in the business. You're in the business. We're
(01:09):
all in the business combined. We have like ninety years
in sports talk radio on this radio show. If there's
any demographic of people that should be watching more ESPN
than anybody else, it's us because we work in the industry.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
We want to be up to date.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
We want to know what the hell is going on,
right We want to kind of get a feel for
what's happening out there. They're the world wide sports leader,
the mothership, blah blah blah. And I just feel like
outside of a game, which honestly isn't that often. Maybe
you know, a football game every now and then, maybe
a baseball game every now and then. But now NBC's
(01:47):
got Sunday Night Baseball, so that's off the table. I'm
not watching really at all. For a lot of reasons.
How about you, guys.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I think that I'm with you. And for a couple
of reasons. One, I get my sports news elsewhere. I
don't need ESPN.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Like twenty years ago, if you have Fox Sports that
you watch it, you move on. I'm getting there. I'm
getting there. I didn't.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I didn't need I don't need ESPN now. Twenty years ago,
I needed to watch Sports Center to find.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Out what happened, right.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
And then also I cannot stand First Take anymore. I
used I was a big fan. It got so steven A.
Smith yelling over people dominated, and then people just screaming
over each other all the time. It just and so
Dallas cowboy dominated. All those all those things that people
(02:37):
say about First Take, they're true. I know this because
I watched it for a long time. Yeah, and I
don't anymore. Colin Coward, in my opinion, is so much smarter,
is so much better radio slash TV than First Take is,
and the and the Guys at twelve o'clock. Nick Wright
is fantastic at twelve o'clock with his show as well.
So I get everything I need from Fox Sports.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Sizzy to answer your question of why and this. So
this doesn't go for only ESPN. This goes for most
I think sports talk channels that have these kinds of shows,
And honestly, these networks decide to throw on these two
three for whatever hour long shows where they have three
personalities all gammering at once. And sorry, Dick I'm gonna
(03:19):
include Nick Right in this conversation because I don't like
Nick Right, and I don't like that entire show, and
because it falls in line with the problem of all.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Of these shows.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
They talk to the lowest common denominator sports fan in
the United States. They talked to the fan. Well, most
likely somebody out there knows about the Yankees, knows about
the Lakers, knows about the Cowboys. So let's focus on
those three teams over all else because that's the majority fan.
And then you just have exactly what you said. How
can I just make myself a social media clip and
(03:49):
say something that's going to get disagreement that's going to
cost somebody to get, you know, interact with me on
social media. That's what these shows have become. And they're
so friggin annoying that I used to watch any of them.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I well, good for you. Well, look, I mean I
to be angry. Well, he's passionate. Don't watch the show.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I'm not disagreeing with anything you guys are saying. And
I'm counting on you uh to give me a real
uh representation of what's going on, because I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I don't watch it enough. To know.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
I don't have any idea if if, if what you're
saying is accurate. I assume it is because you saw
it in your reporting. Based on what you see, I
just haven't watched it in so long that I have
no idea my life the way that I consume sports media.
You mentioned Fox Sports, how to watch Fox Sports.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Either.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Where I get my news is on Twitter and on
social media Instagram. You do clips from those people that, yes,
but I feel like I have everything I need, Like,
for example, Huio Rodriguez home run today, I just saw
the damn thing on Twitter. Why would I have to
watch Sports Center for a recap show. I'm watching it
right now whenever I want to watch it. Why would
I have to turn it on? I do agree that
(04:59):
I feel like when I do stumble onto the magazine shows,
if you will first take PTI whatever the hell they're
called now on on ESPN and on Fox, that there's
a lot of yelling going on, a lot of talking
over each other going on. I used to be a
big fan of steven A. Smith, and in some ways
I still am a big fan of steven A.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Smith.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I have found out in the last few months that
I don't give a damn about anything non NBA that
comes out of his mouth.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Nothing. I just don't And I'm not saying that's fair
or unfair.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Look, this is all personal preference, right, All of this
is personal preference and personal opinions.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
An NBA correct, there's no right or wrongs.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
And I used to love hearing his takes on the NBA,
and now I feel like when he tries to talk
baseball or college football or the NFL, I'm like, why
do I care?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Why am I watching?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
And then I flip on a TV show because I
want to hear experts that have played the game, participated
in the game, that have rubbed elbows with the greatest
players of all time and know how to relay those stories.
And I feel like they're they're throwing people on the
air that have none of that, none of that.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I just had an epiphany last night that it's just
amazing to me how little, outside of a sporting event
I watch ESPN these days.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Let's get to Mike Florio right now.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
It's time for a weekly conversation with Pro Football Talks
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Speaker 2 (06:36):
Here's Softian Din.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
All right, bet Thanks to our friends at simply Seattle
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Here he is the heavyweight champion baby of the NFL
Press Corps. Our friend from PFT Live, I have ProFootball
(07:00):
Talk dot Com, the NFL and NBC Michael Florio with
us on the radio program, Michael.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
How are you.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
Hello about holes?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Hello about hole?
Speaker 1 (07:11):
A couple of spot Great to hear your voice again.
Always love having your own.
Speaker 6 (07:17):
What did you wanted a bat?
Speaker 7 (07:18):
While I was on hold waiting patiently for this to
get started?
Speaker 6 (07:21):
What were you crying about?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I wasn't whinding about anything.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I just made a point, which I would think for
a guy that works for NBC, you would love, I
tweeted out last night to outside of a live sporting event.
It's amazing to me how little I watch ESPN, never SportsCenter,
magazine shows, talk shows. Couldn't care less and don't feel
like I'm missing anything. Mike, how about you?
Speaker 6 (07:43):
Well, there is content on there that is very compelling.
I have to give him that.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
But yeah, I was in my twenties when Sports Center
was at its peak, and those days are over and
they're never coming back.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
It makes me wonder why.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
They even do it right, What audience this Sports Center serve?
Who out there is just generally interested in sports? When
I used to watch it, I would suffer through the
stuff I didn't care about to get to the stuff
I did care about.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
Why would anyone consume that?
Speaker 7 (08:15):
Now? You can find whatever you're interested in clips online,
social media.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
There are so many different ways to consume the sports
you're interested in.
Speaker 7 (08:26):
Now, maybe there are some people who just are generally
interested in any in all sports, and they want to
sit there and be served up whatever they choose.
Speaker 6 (08:33):
To talk about. But I'm surprised it still exists.
Speaker 7 (08:35):
I just think it's such a key part of ESPN history.
That the idea of getting rid of it is unthinkable,
but I've got at some point they'll retire it and
they'll move on because the world has moved on.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, Mike, we do listen and watch your talk show,
and you mentioned on your talk show this week that
this could be the last seventeen game season in the NFL,
and you also brought up the possibility that players could
be limited to seventeen games played even if we have
an eighteen game schedule.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Is that right?
Speaker 7 (09:08):
Yeah, And let me start with the possibility that this
will be the last seventeen game season. No date has
been ticked for Super Bowl sixty two to be played
in Atlanta February twenty twenty eight. The reason no date
has been selected is they are holding out for the
possibility that a deal will be done with the NFL
Players Association to have a seventeen game season grow to
(09:32):
eighteen games by twenty twenty seven. If you're not going
to try to expand the season by twenty seven, there's.
Speaker 6 (09:39):
No reason to not have a firm.
Speaker 7 (09:41):
And clear date for the Super Bowl when you're twenty
one months away from it. That's unheard of. You got
to lock in convention center for the week. You got
to have thousands of hotel rooms lined up. They haven't
done it because they're still keeping the door open for
an eighteen game season by twenty twenty seven. Whether that
happens or not, I don't know, But until they tell
us the Super Bowl will be February thirteen, twenty twenty.
Speaker 6 (10:04):
Eight, it's still a possibility.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
And as to eighteen games with each player limited to seventeen,
I caught win to that a few months ago.
Speaker 6 (10:11):
It is just a possibility.
Speaker 7 (10:12):
As a way to get the rank and file to
agree to an eighteen game season is one thing to
get union management to understand, you know what, they're going
to lock us out when the CBA expires anyway, and
they're going to get eighteen games because we'll cave in
and give them what they want. It's another thing to
convince the players who will.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Vote on it to go along with that.
Speaker 7 (10:34):
And it was a close vote when they agreed to
go from sixteen to seventeen. So I think one way
to convince the rank and file to vote yes is
to do this whole eighteen with a limit of seventeen.
And the reality is a lot of guys are going
to miss the game anyway due to injury.
Speaker 6 (10:48):
At some point there aren't going to be a lot
of tough decisions.
Speaker 7 (10:50):
And if you accept quarterbacks, kickers, punters, because they have
rules that protect them and make them safer, It's something
that I think they could pull off if that's the
only way to get to eighteen. But if they would
even put that on the table, it just shows how
desperate and intent they are on getting to eighteen games
and also sixteen international games played every single year.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Mike Florio with US Mike, I'm looking at last year's
NFL schedule release was on May fourteenth, which is next
Thursday on the twenty twenty sixth calendar. Why is it
so hard to pin down when the NFL schedule's coming
out and when will it come out because.
Speaker 7 (11:27):
It doesn't come out until the commissioner says it's ready,
So they don't announce when they're going to have the
announcement until they know that the schedule is ready to
be announced. Mike North, the VP of broadcast Planning for
the NFL, explaining that a couple of weeks ago in
a podcast appearance that at the end of the day,
they're not done until the Commissioner says they're done, and
(11:49):
they are looking at every one of these windows, every
one of these games. They want the standalone windows to
have the biggest possible audiences. And two hundred and seventy
games continue to be wide open. Only two have been
set forty nine Ers Rams in Australia Thursday, September ten
and Ravens Cowboys in Brazil Sunday, September twenty seven.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
The rest of them are going into.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
The direction, but they're not going to announce it until
the Commissioner believes it's set.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I don't think it'll be longer than a week after Wednesday.
Speaker 7 (12:21):
May thirteenth. But that's why they don't tell us it's coming.
They don't tell us it's coming until they know it's done.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Mike, you talked to Ken Walker this week. We kind
of had a feeling that last year would be his
last year in Seattle, kind of middle of the season,
but you got some information out of him.
Speaker 7 (12:38):
Well, he had that feeling too, whether it was the
contract discussions are lack.
Speaker 6 (12:42):
Thereof the vibe he was getting.
Speaker 7 (12:44):
He knew during the twenty twenty five season that he
would not be returning to the Seahawks and that makes
what he ultimately.
Speaker 6 (12:50):
Accomplished even more impressive. He had the ultimate carrot dangling
for him to go out have a strong finish to
the season.
Speaker 7 (12:57):
The injury to Zach Charbonnay in the Division round of
the playoffs. It kicked in my new colleague Mike Tomlins
saying one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity, and Ken
Walker literally ran with it all the way to the
Super Bowl MVP award in a contract is gonna pay
a twenty seven million guaranteed over the first two years.
It's a damn good deal and it tells you that
they plan.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
To use him.
Speaker 7 (13:18):
You don't give all running back that kind of money.
Last year they paid between Isaiah pa Checko and Kareem
Hunt between two and three million total. They're paying thirteen
to five this year alone to Kenneth Walker the third.
So he's going to get a chance to flourish in
Seattle or in Kansas City. Excuse me, after his time
in Seattle ends.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, Mike Florio with US.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Mike Russell Wilson told The New York Post he's got
an offer from the Jets, but he also could do TV.
Do you believe that Russell Wilson does have an offer
from the Jets. Do you believe he's got a standing
offer to go join a TV network?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
And what do you think he does?
Speaker 7 (13:54):
He's suggesting that Russell Wilson wouldn't be telling the truth.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I'm confused, Yes I am, Yes, I am.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
Why wouldn't you take him at his word?
Speaker 7 (14:01):
I have no reason to think he's not telling the truth.
If he says it publicly and it's untrue, that can
be quickly debunked with anything, And it wouldn't necessarily be
a statement from the Jets or CBS, but they could
leak to someone that it's not true. I think between
the two options, if he's got an offer to take
one of the seats that the NFL today on CBS
take it, you don't see many guys who were the
(14:24):
highest paid players in the NFL decide to continue to
hang around and hold a clipboard. And it's the ultimate
slap in the face for a guy who still subjectively
believes he's good enough to be a starting quarterback to
go to New York and be the backup to the
guy who was his backup his final years in Seattle.
Joe Flacco is the only guy who continued to hang
(14:45):
around and hang around, and he's still in the NFL
after his time as a starter ended, a guy who
was once the highest paid player in the NFL franchise.
Quarterbacks who have made so much money, they don't need
to keep playing. They don't want to stand around and
be anything other than the guy. I don't think Russell
Wilson wants to continue to be a backup, which happened
after three games last year when he was bench for
(15:06):
Jackson Dart, And I think.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
He wants to stay in New York.
Speaker 7 (15:08):
What better way to stay in New York than to
have a pregame show set in New York. Once you
get that seat, they don't really fire people all that often,
although they do reshuffle from time to time, as we
know a NBC. So it's an opportunity that doesn't come
around very often. If he takes it, and if he
does well, he'll have that job for as long as
he was it.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Mike.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Is there any possibility at all of a reunion between
Aaron Rodgers and the Thing'll Hacket in Arizona?
Speaker 6 (15:35):
I don't think so.
Speaker 7 (15:36):
I believe what happened here when the Steelers played that
weird chess move last week at a time when no
one knew there was a chess game even happening, including
Aaron Rodgers. It sparked speculation because the Steelers did it
to get themselves compensatory draft pick consideration if Rogers signs
another team, so that gets people thinking.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
Well, maybe he's getting ready to side with another team.
Speaker 7 (15:59):
And then you look at the full roster of thirty
two teams and you say where would he signed, And
the only other place he would sign is Arizona.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
And that's been the case for two months. We've been talking.
Speaker 7 (16:09):
About how the Steelers and the Cardinals are the only
two viable options for starting jobs for Aaron Rodgers since
free agency started, and the Cardinals have never shown any
interest in him.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
If the Cardinals were going to pursue him, they would
have done it by now.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
You don't wait until after the draft to make a
run at Aaron Rodgers unless you have some double secret
thing going on that absolutely no one knows you're talking about,
and then all of a sudden they're gonna unveil Aaron
Rodgers is the Cardinals.
Speaker 6 (16:32):
But I'll submit this to you, why would Aaron Rodgers want.
Speaker 7 (16:35):
To play for the worst team in the toughest division
in the NFL. Right now, you've got the two best
teams from last year in the Seahawks and Rams. In
the division, you got the forty nine Ers, who are
always going to be tough to be You're struggling if
you're the Cardinals and they play all the teams of
the NFC East this year, they play all the teams
(16:56):
of the AFC West. Yeah, they got the fourth place schedule,
but you know what, the Lions at the fourth place
schedule too, They got to play them.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
It's gonna be a long year for the Cardinals. I
don't know why Aaron Rodgers would want to.
Speaker 7 (17:06):
Play for them, So I don't think it's going to happen,
But I think the talk has happened because of what
the Steelers did last week.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Okay, well, Mike, before you go, we mentioned Russell Wilson
there weighing the offer from the Jets to be Gino's
backup with New York. Frank Reich came out the other
day he's the current OC of the Jets and said
Gino Smith is perfect for this system. I think Aaron
Glenn may have said the same thing. Is that just
a couple of coaches pumping the tires of their guy
(17:32):
to make him feel good about their belief in him.
Or does the NFL actually think that maybe there's another
renaissance coming for Gino Smith In New.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
York, they had options. They had a starting job to
offer to any of the quarterbacks who were available. They
traded for Gino Smith.
Speaker 7 (17:48):
Now, they didn't give up much, but they could have
signed a free agent for nothing, and they knew that
it was going to create a little bit of a
pr question mark bringing Geno Smith back to the Jets
years after things there didn't work out. So you don't
bring him back unless you're willing to give up assets
to get him, even though it wasn't much, unless you're
(18:09):
willing to step into the wrath of fireman ed. If
Gino Smith doesn't play well, they could have taken Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
They could have tried to sign Kyler Murray. They could
have I.
Speaker 7 (18:20):
Think two all talking about low is undefeated against the Jets,
not that in MetLife Stadium is an ideal place for
him to play his home games, But they had other
guys they could have gone after. They go after Gino Smith.
That tells me they believe in him, especially because they
weren't afraid of bringing home a guy who if it
doesn't work out, they're gonna look like idiots.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Mike Florio Pro Footballtalk dot Com.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Great stuff, and hopefully by this time next week will
either know when the schedule's coming out or maybe the
schedules already come out.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
So great stuff and we'll talk then passway.
Speaker 6 (18:48):
All right, so you guys, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Mike Florio with us on the radio show.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
We got Mariners, we got Braves, we got the NBA Playoffs,
we got Petros, we got Larry Stone. We got a
lot more to get to on a busy Wednesday right
here on that three to three KJRFM.
Speaker 8 (19:04):
Now back to Softie and Dick Gone, your home for
the Huskies Cracking and the twelfth Man Sports Radio ninety
three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
You know, it's really funny, and this isn't actually it's
not like funny, haha, but more curious funny, like interesting.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Oh that's interesting right now, you guys know what I'm
talking about.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Right by the way, Speaking of that, I'm having like
this just train of thoughts right now in my head.
There's about four or five different streams going on right now.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Maybe, but there's like four or five different rabbits running
around my brain right now, four or five different gerbils
spinning a wheel. Uh, speaking of that about how I
use the word? Interesting there. You ever watched Bob Knight's
favorite word on YouTube? But when he explains the F word, Well,
somebody took it down and if you could find that,
will you please send it to me if anybody out
(19:55):
there has access to it taking off the internet, Well,
it's not on YouTube anymore. And I've I've go I've
yahooed it. I can't, I've binged it. I can't find it.
I thought we recorded it's the funniest frickin' thing ever
where he talks about why he loves the F word
because you can use it in so many different ways. Right, So,
if anybody had and I have no idea why I
thought of that, I'm just coming back here on the air.
I'm thinking about the baseball game going on right now.
(20:17):
I'm thinking about Mike Florio's conversation, and I just thought
about Bob Knight. What I was going to ask Florio
and we ran out of time because remember the last
week we talked about the situation with Mike Rabel and
if he was going to last as the head coach
of the Patriots, And Florio's point was, well, let's see
what comes out between now and the start of the year,
(20:39):
right or whatever. And I cannot believe the shelf life
on this story. When did this thing first come out,
the Mike Rabel Diana Roussini thing?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Remember? Was it a month ago? Was a month ago?
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Let me know, Let me tell you because normally things
like this and I remember when April seventh, April seventh, okay,
a month ago this thing came out, and I remember
telling myself, you know, Diana is going to be fine.
This will go away, something else will take its spots
and she'll be fine.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Well, it's not going away at all.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
TMZ just reported you see this, Jackson, and they've got
documents to back it up that the two of them
booked a private cruise on a boat on a lake
in Tennessee back in June of twenty twenty one, two
months after Diana was pregnant with one of her kids.
And they've got documents signed by both of them before
(21:40):
they went out on this boat together.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Well, and this came then also a year after the
bar photos that were right before COVID hit. And I
don't even think we mentioned this is that her son's
name is is Michael correct?
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Which, Look, I gotta be honest with you, I really
hope that she's not that that she had a baby
with Mike Rabel and decided to name it Michael.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
I mean, it's just not going away, and whether it's
correct information or not correct information, it's all out there.
Like I saw a tweet from someone today who's claiming
that Diana Rossini and her husband that her husband is
asking for a DNA test on both the kids to
confirm that they belonged to her, right. I mean, this
(22:25):
stuff just everything. It's crazy to me the length of
this news cycle. Clarence Hill Junior, who I think used
to or still does, cover the Cowboys in Dallas, there
was a player today that came out I forget who
it was, that said something about how I've never met
Diana Rossini in my life. I have no idea who
(22:46):
she is, and Clarence Hill basically replied and called the
guy a liar on social media that he's got like
receipts that proves that this player and Diana have some
kind of a relationship.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
It's bananas, how much is going on out there.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So, first of all, like I'm just almost disgusted by
the story that it won't go away. Number two, I
feel awful for everybody involved, mostly the spouses and the kids.
By the way, I do feel bad for Diana because
we know her and I'm sure she's in a living
hell right now. But then I'm just kind of wondering, guys.
And the reason why I was going to bring it
up with Mike is I'm starting to wonder if Mike
(23:20):
Rabl is gonna last.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
This isn't going away.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
I mean, Diana's already gone away, like she's gone, she's
out of the spotlight.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Rabel's the one that is in the spotlight now.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Well, I mean, let's it seems like it's been a
long time, right, But it's quote unquote only been a month, right,
he feels like forever right, right, But we don't have
a football game for four months.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
So I think that.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Like most things, the topic dazure dies off now mostly
Usually the topic dazuur dies off in days or weeks. Correct,
this may take a couple of months and be longer
than than most. But do I see it extending to
September to where the point where like this is just
too much of a distraction. You know, training camp has
(24:08):
been nothing but Diana Russini talking, We've got to get
rid of you.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I just would be I'd be really surprised to I.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Don't think he's gonna get bombarded with questions about it
when training camp starts because he won't answer them. But
I'm also really curious what else is out there. Clearly
people are working on this story, right, lots of people
in media like TMZ, like other you know outlets like
the New York Post and the Daily News. Clearly people
are digging and clearly they're investigating, and the more stuff
(24:38):
they find, the more stuff is going to get reported.
And what would make it even juicier, by the way,
is if somebody threw something out there like opening weekend
of the NFL season when the Patriots play their very
first game in defense of their AFC championship. So I mean,
like you said, normally something like this goes away in days,
if not maybe a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
But it's been going on for a month and this
just won't die.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
It's just incredible how it just continues every single day
to be a story on social media. And maybe it's
because I do follow a lot of stuff on social media.
There's jokes, there's memes. Is it a gift for a
Jiff Jackson by the way, technically, Jiff, there's gift gifts
out there.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
People are mocking her, They're mocking Rayble.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Did you see the inside the inside the NBA gun
fishing picture.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Did you see them on the boat?
Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah, they're on the boat in a titanic pose at
the beginning of the front of the boat when the
when the Boston Celtics lost, like all the Celtics, and
then in front it's Diane and Mike.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Raby, which is exactly what I'm talking about. And that's
a mainstream thing. The inside the NBA show. Ernie Johnson
was obviously uncomfortable when that thing came out, right. I mean,
if they'll touch it, then it's it's it's fair game
for everybody, right, I mean normally sometimes things like this, Hey,
it's like the lowest hanging fruit for the scum of
the earth when it comes to media, the tabloids, right whatever,
(25:58):
all that blah blah blah. The un NAE podcasters, Twitter
handles all that this is inside the NBA that's mocking
this thing.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
One thing I don't know, do we know is it
public whether or not Diana's husband actually knew this was
going on for.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
A long time. I haven't heard anything from him.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Everything you read about Diana's husband I take with a
grain of salt because I don't know. This story about
him asking for a DNA test. Who knows if that's
even true, right, I'm just saying it's it's out there,
it gets, it gets thousands of retweets, hundreds of thousands
of people are interacting with this crap, whether it's true
or not true.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
So I don't know, man.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
I mean, the next shoe to fall is Vabel and
his job in New England.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
The thing with New England too, is if they had
a certain maybe type of owner or certain culture of
the organization, where hey, we don't put up with anything
if it happened here, you know, right. But the fact
that it's happening with an organization that has had lots
of cheating scandals, that has had everything Robert Kraft has
has done Miss Rita scandals. The fact that it's with
(27:00):
the Patriots It's why it leads you to believe that there's.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Absolutely nothing that's gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
I mean, they just went to the Super Bowl, right Like,
Rabels seems he's a pretty safe person to keep his job.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
But my god, if that.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Was anywhere else, maybe right then with the real conversation
of is this guy gonna get fired would be a
legitimate conversation.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Not there, don't we see what's gonna happen with this
franchise over the next twelve months anyway. I mean, their
schedule is gonna get much much tougher. They're probably gonna
go like eight to nine this season, and everybody's gonna
be on Rabel's ass at the end of the year anyway,
because he's probably not gonna make the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, well, I mean I think there's a real good
chance that happens. I think there's a real good chance
that Drake May gets proven to be a little bit
of a fraud. I mean, I kind of hate using
that word because you know, the guy's a young player
and he was second in the MVP. But don't I
don't think he's that good. No, he's good, he's a
good player, But second is the MVP. No is it
fair that he hits the CJ. Stroud year two?
Speaker 6 (27:55):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (27:55):
From his layer one, that's what I see happening to
Drake Man. Let's see that all of a sudden, Oh,
c J. Stroud might not be a top five to
six quarterback in the NFL like we thought he was
going to be after year one.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
They've got who are their opponents they play this year?
They got Green Bay, Minnesota, Denver, the Raiders, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Miami,
the Jets, Road Chicago, Detroit, a bounce back Kansas City team,
a good Charger team, the Seahawks Jacksonville and then Buffalo
Miami Jets almost all playoffs. Could absolutely see them going
(28:29):
eight to nine or seven to ten this year.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
All right, we're gonna break. Here's what we're gonna do
when we come back.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Hopefully we're talking about a big series win by the
MS over the Braves. Next on ninety three three KJRFM, Now.
Speaker 8 (28:45):
Back to Softie and Dick on your home for the Huskies,
Krakin and the twelfth Man Sports Radio ninety three point
three kjr FM AM for Deep.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Let's set our.
Speaker 9 (28:57):
Field, the right base, hit the other, he's his way home.
Coler Young stands up at second base. He delivers in
the eighth inny A three one, Mariners lead the three
two stroke three car it's over, Dubon challenging.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Now it's over. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
In the words of cousin Eddie, that's a real nice,
serious win, Clark, real nice over Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
This is the way baseball goes.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Boys, you get swept by Kansas City, you come back
and win a series against the best team in baseball.
It is unbelievable how this game works. It's also unbelievable
watching Cole Young work. By the way, another clutch hit,
another clutch RBI hit for Cole Young, who delivers and
gives the Mariners some insurance and the MS take two
(30:00):
went a three against the Land and win three to one.
Jose Ferrer pitches all three games in the series. We
were just talking off the air about this with Anders
in the studio. He's not available, Moonho's not available after
what happened last night. Well, actually Frere is available because
they got no choice but to throw Jose Ferrer. You
got Matt Olson coming up in the ninth inning, who
crushes righties. You had to get a left handed pitcher
(30:23):
out there in Jose Ferrera or excuse me, a yeah,
a lefty in Jose Ferrer. And the only way to
do that is to have him pitched in four out
of six games, in every game of the Brave series.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
And he did it, and he was phenomenal. Go was
fantastic underrated play in this game.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
The huge pickoff move by Bizardo to Josh Naylor first base.
I came seeing a play at first base where the
runner was called out, where he was more nonchalant getting back.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
With the bag.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
And here's the thing about that. Hore Matteo was the
guy that got picked off. He was a pinch runner.
They brought him in to steal second base or to
score and he gets picked off.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I mean, how pissed off are you? If you're a
break are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (31:03):
They bring this kid and off the bench as a
pitch runner and the first thing he does is get
picked off.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
That was That was a Randy a Rosarina ish base
running move by him.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Well look, man, we said this off the air that
they probably should have swept him. Maybe you can argue
they got a little bit lucky with the way Logan
pitched on Monday with the home runs by JP and
Luke Rayley. But George Kirby yesterday was sensational. His defense
let him down for sure. In that game yesterday. If
you saw that sucker, Brian Wu bounced back, nice roll
(31:33):
bounce back for Brian Wu's six innings of shutout ball.
How many hits one hit today is previous two he'd
allowed sixteen hits combined, gives up one today nine K's
couple of walks. So good to see Brian Wu put
the skids on that nonsense. But I don't know, man,
I'm just kind of thinking that maybe that game on Monday,
(31:55):
with the way they came back there in the fifth inning,
is the game that kind of maybe motivates these guys
a little bit and kind of fires them up. And
now you're on the road to a place like Chicago,
where I know the White Sox Dick are a better
team than what they've been, but the Mariners are a
way better team than Chicago with a way better roster.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Let's keep this thing going. No, absolutely, I.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Mean, I don't know if you can you can buy
into the theory that you know that one win like
that a comeback win will vault you. I mean, the
biggest win of the season up to this point, would
everybody agree up toil that point a couple of days
ago was the Houston comeback win, right right, Well, they
lost five in a row and seven of eight after it,
so it's like, I mean, I just we go back
(32:32):
to what we go back to what Mitch Garver said
when we ask them, you know, is this you know
you kind of think it's Atlanta here? Is this kind
of a big series for you guys early in the year.
And he's like, dude, we got one hundred and sixty.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Yeah, No, I get it, I get it. But I
do think that you can get some motivation going. And
I don't know if baseball players would ever actually admit it,
but young guys need confidence, right and they got a
lot of young guys on this baseball team right now,
especially in their bullpen, that aren't even supposed to be here,
and they're only here because guys are banged up. And
the way that Cooper Criswill came through today, right Jose
(33:03):
Ferrer had a rough start to his Mariner career. The
way he's pitching now in the last couple of games
makes maybe him feel like, Okay, if I had any problems,
I have no idea how mentally or not mentally strong
these guys are. But I do think when you play
every single day that winning breeds confidence. And look, would
I rather have had a win against Atlanta and hope
(33:25):
that that motivates these guys and kind of spurns them
to maybe something bigger and better down the road.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Absolutely, and they got it. They got this serious win.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I just think what we talked about over the offseason,
that the schedule for them was so brutal, at least
on paper in the month of April, that just hanging
around five hundred was going to be considered a little
bit of a victory.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Now it's time to kind of take off.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I mean, now that talk has to stop, because guys,
let's face it, if you look at the American League.
West Dick and Adam Jude put this out today, there
are four teams in this division with a negative run differential, Oakland, Texas,
Houston and the Angels. The Mariners are now plus six
after thirty eight games, sorry, plus four including today's game
(34:08):
after thirty eight by all accounts, when you compare their
roster to what everybody else has in this division.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
They should be running away with this thing. They should
they should be running.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Away with it now, and they should be running away
with it as the year goes on.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
If the A's lose today to the Phillies, there will
be two teams in the American League with winning records right,
two right in the entire league. Camp and the Yankees
Tampa and the Yankees your central leader, the Detroit Tigers
at eighteen and nineteen and the Guardians at eighteen and nineteen.
And the A's, if they lose today, will be the
leaders in the West.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
At eighteen and eighteen. And you can't, I mean, I'm sorry,
you can't piss that away. You just can't.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I mean again, you know last year, how many times
did we talk on the year that one of the
reasons why we were kind of bullish on these guys
is because the league stinks.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I mean, that's part of it, right.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
We talked about that in some ways with the Seahawks
as well, that the league and not this year, but
in previous years, the league's the NFC is going to
be wide open. And I just think this is another
opportunity for the Mariners with a fairly weak American League
and absolutely on paper right now weak American League West.
With the roster they've got, with the pitching they've got,
(35:15):
with the stars they have, they are clearly clearly right now,
and now Correy is out for the year in Houston,
clearly the best team in this division.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
They should win the division.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
I feel that there are, if you did the whole notepad,
pros and cons of the future of the Mariners this year.
I just feel like there are so many more on
the pros line because you have gone through this injury
riddled first six weeks of the season, and nobody has
put you away in the division. In fact, they're only
those two teams I told you about, Yankees and Race.
(35:44):
Those are the only two teams in the American League
with more wins than the Mariners. And yet the Mariners
have They're six and nine.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
And one run games. They've lost nine one run games.
Nobody else has lost more than six in baseball.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
That's going to turn around, because the bullpen's going to
get it.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Ten of the next thirteen games are against the Houston
Astros and the Chicago White Sox, all right, who are
fifteen and twenty three and seventeen and nineteen. They should
clean up. It's time now, right, It's time for these
guys to start cleaning up. So really nice series win
against Atlanta before the MS have a day off and
head out to Chicago. You mentioned Bizardo's pickoff move there
(36:22):
in the eighth inning. Josh Naylor just continues to steal
bases like he was, you know, last year when he
showed up here. Julio Rodriguez had a bomb in this game.
And when I say bomb, I mean a bomb his ops.
By the way, it's funny. I was looking this up
thirty eight games. A year ago, he was at seven
twenty eight with six home runs and seventeen Ribbies. Right
(36:42):
now he's at seven thirty four or five home runs
and seventeen Ribbies. I mean, he basically is the same
guy that he was a year ago at this point
after thirty eight games, but his average is a little
bit better. But you know what that's all about, Dick,
A couple of hits here or there this early in
the year can really drastically change your average. But I
feel like with how Riley kind of banged up a
little bit still and not catching and maybe not having caught.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
His stride, a little bit.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I feel like there's an opportunity here man for forty
four to step up and put this team on his back.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
No, I think you're right.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
I'm trying to figure out why everybody was on him
then if he was hitting this well, I guess it
was just a bad June last year. But remember everybody's
been on him at the All Star break? What's wrong
with Julio? What's wrong with Julio? But you're right, I mean,
Julio wasn't bad. He was bad in April last year,
but he wasn't bad in May. He was seven eighty three. Ops.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
They're trying to figure out what are trying to figure
out his balls last.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Year last Remember they were busting his ball last season,
and you're saying and right now we're not. We're like, hey,
Julio's playing very well, and yet you're just pointing out
the fact that he's playing the same as he was
last year.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
At this time.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Yeah, but I don't know if he's playing that well.
I'm just saying he's the same guy he was a
year ago. Because you mentioned not bad, right, those are
the words he used.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Which is my expectation for Julio prior to July fourth, Well,
just don't be bad, okay. But I think other people
do have a different expectation. So you're asking why other
people would be maybe critical because they expect a star,
whether fair or unfair, And maybe it's unfair, right, Maybe
at this point, after five years, it's unfair to expect
a star, a guy that's gonna transcend the game.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
He's gonna be mussy TV. Everywhere he goes, people want
to watch him play. He's not that guy yet. But
do I expect to be satisfied with a seven thirty
four Ops? No, I don't think he does either. But
the hope is that as the year goes by, he
heats up like he typically does and becomes that star.
For the final maybe three four months of the year,
(38:35):
we'll get a break. Mariners win it. We'll hear from
Dan Wilson maybe later on the show after the series
win against the Braves. Petros Here we go. Baby joins
next on ninety three to three KJARFM.
It really is a fun day when the NFL schedule
comes out. But we'll find out from Mike Florio in
about seven or eight minutes from now, hopefully when that
day is going to be keeping an eye on the Manminers,
obviously with Game three against the Braves. I want to
get your guys' take on something. I put a tweet out.
I made a tweet this morning and it got Petros
(00:25):
replied to it with his take on it, and I
want to get your take on it. Corbyn Smith replied
to it with his thoughts on it. I said, outside
of a live sporting event, it's amazing how little I
watch ESPN. I used to be destination TV for me
every single day, and I don't feel like I'm missing
anything by not watching. Now there's reasons for it, right,
(00:47):
and it's not one or two. There's a lot of
reasons thrown into a big stew of why I'm not
watching ESPN. But it kind of struck me and I
actually put this tweet out last night. The days are
all blending together. It was nine thirty. At nine it
was sitting in bed, probably half asleep, and saying, you
know what, I'm going to make a point right now
on social media, and I sent this thing out last night. Okay,
So I'm in the business. You're in the business. We're
(01:09):
all in the business combined. We have like ninety years
in sports talk radio on this radio show. If there's
any demographic of people that should be watching more ESPN
than anybody else, it's us because we work in the industry.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
We want to be up to date.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
We want to know what the hell is going on,
right We want to kind of get a feel for
what's happening out there. They're the world wide sports leader,
the mothership, blah blah blah. And I just feel like
outside of a game, which honestly isn't that often. Maybe
you know, a football game every now and then, maybe
a baseball game every now and then. But now NBC's
(01:47):
got Sunday Night Baseball, so that's off the table. I'm
not watching really at all. For a lot of reasons.
How about you, guys.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I think that I'm with you. And for a couple
of reasons. One, I get my sports news elsewhere. I
don't need ESPN.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Like twenty years ago, if you have Fox Sports that
you watch it, you move on. I'm getting there. I'm
getting there. I didn't.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I didn't need I don't need ESPN now. Twenty years ago,
I needed to watch Sports Center to find.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Out what happened, right.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
And then also I cannot stand First Take anymore. I
used I was a big fan. It got so steven A.
Smith yelling over people dominated, and then people just screaming
over each other all the time. It just and so
Dallas cowboy dominated. All those all those things that people
(02:37):
say about First Take, they're true. I know this because
I watched it for a long time. Yeah, and I
don't anymore. Colin Coward, in my opinion, is so much smarter,
is so much better radio slash TV than First Take is,
and the and the Guys at twelve o'clock. Nick Wright
is fantastic at twelve o'clock with his show as well.
So I get everything I need from Fox Sports.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Sizzy to answer your question of why and this. So
this doesn't go for only ESPN. This goes for most
I think sports talk channels that have these kinds of shows,
And honestly, these networks decide to throw on these two
three for whatever hour long shows where they have three
personalities all gammering at once. And sorry, Dick I'm gonna
(03:19):
include Nick Right in this conversation because I don't like
Nick Right, and I don't like that entire show, and
because it falls in line with the problem of all.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Of these shows.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
They talk to the lowest common denominator sports fan in
the United States. They talked to the fan. Well, most
likely somebody out there knows about the Yankees, knows about
the Lakers, knows about the Cowboys. So let's focus on
those three teams over all else because that's the majority fan.
And then you just have exactly what you said. How
can I just make myself a social media clip and
(03:49):
say something that's going to get disagreement that's going to
cost somebody to get, you know, interact with me on
social media. That's what these shows have become. And they're
so friggin annoying that I used to watch any of them.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I well, good for you. Well, look, I mean I
to be angry. Well, he's passionate. Don't watch the show.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I'm not disagreeing with anything you guys are saying. And
I'm counting on you uh to give me a real
uh representation of what's going on, because I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
I don't watch it enough. To know.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
I don't have any idea if if, if what you're
saying is accurate. I assume it is because you saw
it in your reporting. Based on what you see, I
just haven't watched it in so long that I have
no idea my life the way that I consume sports media.
You mentioned Fox Sports, how to watch Fox Sports.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Either.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Where I get my news is on Twitter and on
social media Instagram. You do clips from those people that, yes,
but I feel like I have everything I need, Like,
for example, Huio Rodriguez home run today, I just saw
the damn thing on Twitter. Why would I have to
watch Sports Center for a recap show. I'm watching it
right now whenever I want to watch it. Why would
I have to turn it on? I do agree that
(04:59):
I feel like when I do stumble onto the magazine shows,
if you will first take PTI whatever the hell they're
called now on on ESPN and on Fox, that there's
a lot of yelling going on, a lot of talking
over each other going on. I used to be a
big fan of steven A. Smith, and in some ways
I still am a big fan of steven A.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Smith.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I have found out in the last few months that
I don't give a damn about anything non NBA that
comes out of his mouth.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Nothing. I just don't And I'm not saying that's fair
or unfair.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Look, this is all personal preference, right, All of this
is personal preference and personal opinions.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
An NBA correct, there's no right or wrongs.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
And I used to love hearing his takes on the NBA,
and now I feel like when he tries to talk
baseball or college football or the NFL, I'm like, why
do I care?
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Why am I watching?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
And then I flip on a TV show because I
want to hear experts that have played the game, participated
in the game, that have rubbed elbows with the greatest
players of all time and know how to relay those stories.
And I feel like they're they're throwing people on the
air that have none of that, none of that.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I just had an epiphany last night that it's just
amazing to me how little, outside of a sporting event
I watch ESPN these days.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Let's get to Mike Florio right now.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
It's time for a weekly conversation with Pro Football Talks
Mike Florio, brought to you by Simply Seattle tired of
buying and repping the same old Seattle sports gear everyone
else has. For the best Storm Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken, Rainiers, Sounders,
and not to mention, the largest Sonics collection in the world,
check out simply Seattle dot com now with Mike Florio.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Here's Softian Din.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
All right, bet Thanks to our friends at simply Seattle
dot com, you got your eye on something Sea hot
gear for the upcoming season, Madden nidgear for the summer
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anything at simply Seattle dot com. Always use code KJR fifteen.
Here he is the heavyweight champion baby of the NFL
Press Corps. Our friend from PFT Live, I have ProFootball
(07:00):
Talk dot Com, the NFL and NBC Michael Florio with
us on the radio program, Michael.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
How are you.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
Hello about holes?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Hello about hole?
Speaker 1 (07:11):
A couple of spot Great to hear your voice again.
Always love having your own.
Speaker 6 (07:17):
What did you wanted a bat?
Speaker 7 (07:18):
While I was on hold waiting patiently for this to
get started?
Speaker 6 (07:21):
What were you crying about?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I wasn't whinding about anything.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I just made a point, which I would think for
a guy that works for NBC, you would love, I
tweeted out last night to outside of a live sporting event.
It's amazing to me how little I watch ESPN, never SportsCenter,
magazine shows, talk shows. Couldn't care less and don't feel
like I'm missing anything. Mike, how about you?
Speaker 6 (07:43):
Well, there is content on there that is very compelling.
I have to give him that.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
But yeah, I was in my twenties when Sports Center
was at its peak, and those days are over and
they're never coming back.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
It makes me wonder why.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
They even do it right, What audience this Sports Center serve?
Who out there is just generally interested in sports? When
I used to watch it, I would suffer through the
stuff I didn't care about to get to the stuff
I did care about.
Speaker 6 (08:14):
Why would anyone consume that?
Speaker 7 (08:15):
Now? You can find whatever you're interested in clips online,
social media.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
There are so many different ways to consume the sports
you're interested in.
Speaker 7 (08:26):
Now, maybe there are some people who just are generally
interested in any in all sports, and they want to
sit there and be served up whatever they choose.
Speaker 6 (08:33):
To talk about. But I'm surprised it still exists.
Speaker 7 (08:35):
I just think it's such a key part of ESPN history.
That the idea of getting rid of it is unthinkable,
but I've got at some point they'll retire it and
they'll move on because the world has moved on.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Well, Mike, we do listen and watch your talk show,
and you mentioned on your talk show this week that
this could be the last seventeen game season in the NFL,
and you also brought up the possibility that players could
be limited to seventeen games played even if we have
an eighteen game schedule.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Is that right?
Speaker 7 (09:08):
Yeah, And let me start with the possibility that this
will be the last seventeen game season. No date has
been ticked for Super Bowl sixty two to be played
in Atlanta February twenty twenty eight. The reason no date
has been selected is they are holding out for the
possibility that a deal will be done with the NFL
Players Association to have a seventeen game season grow to
(09:32):
eighteen games by twenty twenty seven. If you're not going
to try to expand the season by twenty seven, there's.
Speaker 6 (09:39):
No reason to not have a firm.
Speaker 7 (09:41):
And clear date for the Super Bowl when you're twenty
one months away from it. That's unheard of. You got
to lock in convention center for the week. You got
to have thousands of hotel rooms lined up. They haven't
done it because they're still keeping the door open for
an eighteen game season by twenty twenty seven. Whether that
happens or not, I don't know, But until they tell
us the Super Bowl will be February thirteen, twenty twenty.
Speaker 6 (10:04):
Eight, it's still a possibility.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
And as to eighteen games with each player limited to seventeen,
I caught win to that a few months ago.
Speaker 6 (10:11):
It is just a possibility.
Speaker 7 (10:12):
As a way to get the rank and file to
agree to an eighteen game season is one thing to
get union management to understand, you know what, they're going
to lock us out when the CBA expires anyway, and
they're going to get eighteen games because we'll cave in
and give them what they want. It's another thing to
convince the players who will.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Vote on it to go along with that.
Speaker 7 (10:34):
And it was a close vote when they agreed to
go from sixteen to seventeen. So I think one way
to convince the rank and file to vote yes is
to do this whole eighteen with a limit of seventeen.
And the reality is a lot of guys are going
to miss the game anyway due to injury.
Speaker 6 (10:48):
At some point there aren't going to be a lot
of tough decisions.
Speaker 7 (10:50):
And if you accept quarterbacks, kickers, punters, because they have
rules that protect them and make them safer, It's something
that I think they could pull off if that's the
only way to get to eighteen. But if they would
even put that on the table, it just shows how
desperate and intent they are on getting to eighteen games
and also sixteen international games played every single year.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Mike Florio with US Mike, I'm looking at last year's
NFL schedule release was on May fourteenth, which is next
Thursday on the twenty twenty sixth calendar. Why is it
so hard to pin down when the NFL schedule's coming
out and when will it come out because.
Speaker 7 (11:27):
It doesn't come out until the commissioner says it's ready,
So they don't announce when they're going to have the
announcement until they know that the schedule is ready to
be announced. Mike North, the VP of broadcast Planning for
the NFL, explaining that a couple of weeks ago in
a podcast appearance that at the end of the day,
they're not done until the Commissioner says they're done, and
(11:49):
they are looking at every one of these windows, every
one of these games. They want the standalone windows to
have the biggest possible audiences. And two hundred and seventy
games continue to be wide open. Only two have been
set forty nine Ers Rams in Australia Thursday, September ten
and Ravens Cowboys in Brazil Sunday, September twenty seven.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
The rest of them are going into.
Speaker 7 (12:13):
The direction, but they're not going to announce it until
the Commissioner believes it's set.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I don't think it'll be longer than a week after Wednesday.
Speaker 7 (12:21):
May thirteenth. But that's why they don't tell us it's coming.
They don't tell us it's coming until they know it's done.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Mike, you talked to Ken Walker this week. We kind
of had a feeling that last year would be his
last year in Seattle, kind of middle of the season,
but you got some information out of him.
Speaker 7 (12:38):
Well, he had that feeling too, whether it was the
contract discussions are lack.
Speaker 6 (12:42):
Thereof the vibe he was getting.
Speaker 7 (12:44):
He knew during the twenty twenty five season that he
would not be returning to the Seahawks and that makes
what he ultimately.
Speaker 6 (12:50):
Accomplished even more impressive. He had the ultimate carrot dangling
for him to go out have a strong finish to
the season.
Speaker 7 (12:57):
The injury to Zach Charbonnay in the Division round of
the playoffs. It kicked in my new colleague Mike Tomlins
saying one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity, and Ken
Walker literally ran with it all the way to the
Super Bowl MVP award in a contract is gonna pay
a twenty seven million guaranteed over the first two years.
It's a damn good deal and it tells you that
they plan.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
To use him.
Speaker 7 (13:18):
You don't give all running back that kind of money.
Last year they paid between Isaiah pa Checko and Kareem
Hunt between two and three million total. They're paying thirteen
to five this year alone to Kenneth Walker the third.
So he's going to get a chance to flourish in
Seattle or in Kansas City. Excuse me, after his time
in Seattle ends.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Yeah, Mike Florio with US.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Mike Russell Wilson told The New York Post he's got
an offer from the Jets, but he also could do TV.
Do you believe that Russell Wilson does have an offer
from the Jets. Do you believe he's got a standing
offer to go join a TV network?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
And what do you think he does?
Speaker 7 (13:54):
He's suggesting that Russell Wilson wouldn't be telling the truth.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
I'm confused, Yes I am, Yes, I am.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
Why wouldn't you take him at his word?
Speaker 7 (14:01):
I have no reason to think he's not telling the truth.
If he says it publicly and it's untrue, that can
be quickly debunked with anything, And it wouldn't necessarily be
a statement from the Jets or CBS, but they could
leak to someone that it's not true. I think between
the two options, if he's got an offer to take
one of the seats that the NFL today on CBS
take it, you don't see many guys who were the
(14:24):
highest paid players in the NFL decide to continue to
hang around and hold a clipboard. And it's the ultimate
slap in the face for a guy who still subjectively
believes he's good enough to be a starting quarterback to
go to New York and be the backup to the
guy who was his backup his final years in Seattle.
Joe Flacco is the only guy who continued to hang
(14:45):
around and hang around, and he's still in the NFL
after his time as a starter ended, a guy who
was once the highest paid player in the NFL franchise.
Quarterbacks who have made so much money, they don't need
to keep playing. They don't want to stand around and
be anything other than the guy. I don't think Russell
Wilson wants to continue to be a backup, which happened
after three games last year when he was bench for
(15:06):
Jackson Dart, And I think.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
He wants to stay in New York.
Speaker 7 (15:08):
What better way to stay in New York than to
have a pregame show set in New York. Once you
get that seat, they don't really fire people all that often,
although they do reshuffle from time to time, as we
know a NBC. So it's an opportunity that doesn't come
around very often. If he takes it, and if he
does well, he'll have that job for as long as
he was it.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Mike.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Is there any possibility at all of a reunion between
Aaron Rodgers and the Thing'll Hacket in Arizona?
Speaker 6 (15:35):
I don't think so.
Speaker 7 (15:36):
I believe what happened here when the Steelers played that
weird chess move last week at a time when no
one knew there was a chess game even happening, including
Aaron Rodgers. It sparked speculation because the Steelers did it
to get themselves compensatory draft pick consideration if Rogers signs
another team, so that gets people thinking.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
Well, maybe he's getting ready to side with another team.
Speaker 7 (15:59):
And then you look at the full roster of thirty
two teams and you say where would he signed, And
the only other place he would sign is Arizona.
Speaker 6 (16:06):
And that's been the case for two months. We've been talking.
Speaker 7 (16:09):
About how the Steelers and the Cardinals are the only
two viable options for starting jobs for Aaron Rodgers since
free agency started, and the Cardinals have never shown any
interest in him.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
If the Cardinals were going to pursue him, they would
have done it by now.
Speaker 7 (16:22):
You don't wait until after the draft to make a
run at Aaron Rodgers unless you have some double secret
thing going on that absolutely no one knows you're talking about,
and then all of a sudden they're gonna unveil Aaron
Rodgers is the Cardinals.
Speaker 6 (16:32):
But I'll submit this to you, why would Aaron Rodgers want.
Speaker 7 (16:35):
To play for the worst team in the toughest division
in the NFL. Right now, you've got the two best
teams from last year in the Seahawks and Rams. In
the division, you got the forty nine Ers, who are
always going to be tough to be You're struggling if
you're the Cardinals and they play all the teams of
the NFC East this year, they play all the teams
(16:56):
of the AFC West. Yeah, they got the fourth place schedule,
but you know what, the Lions at the fourth place
schedule too, They got to play them.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
It's gonna be a long year for the Cardinals. I
don't know why Aaron Rodgers would want to.
Speaker 7 (17:06):
Play for them, So I don't think it's going to happen,
But I think the talk has happened because of what
the Steelers did last week.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Okay, well, Mike, before you go, we mentioned Russell Wilson
there weighing the offer from the Jets to be Gino's
backup with New York. Frank Reich came out the other
day he's the current OC of the Jets and said
Gino Smith is perfect for this system. I think Aaron
Glenn may have said the same thing. Is that just
a couple of coaches pumping the tires of their guy
(17:32):
to make him feel good about their belief in him.
Or does the NFL actually think that maybe there's another
renaissance coming for Gino Smith In New.
Speaker 6 (17:40):
York, they had options. They had a starting job to
offer to any of the quarterbacks who were available. They
traded for Gino Smith.
Speaker 7 (17:48):
Now, they didn't give up much, but they could have
signed a free agent for nothing, and they knew that
it was going to create a little bit of a
pr question mark bringing Geno Smith back to the Jets
years after things there didn't work out. So you don't
bring him back unless you're willing to give up assets
to get him, even though it wasn't much, unless you're
(18:09):
willing to step into the wrath of fireman ed. If
Gino Smith doesn't play well, they could have taken Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
They could have tried to sign Kyler Murray. They could
have I.
Speaker 7 (18:20):
Think two all talking about low is undefeated against the Jets,
not that in MetLife Stadium is an ideal place for
him to play his home games, But they had other
guys they could have gone after. They go after Gino Smith.
That tells me they believe in him, especially because they
weren't afraid of bringing home a guy who if it
doesn't work out, they're gonna look like idiots.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Mike Florio Pro Footballtalk dot Com.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Great stuff, and hopefully by this time next week will
either know when the schedule's coming out or maybe the
schedules already come out.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
So great stuff and we'll talk then passway.
Speaker 6 (18:48):
All right, so you guys, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Mike Florio with us on the radio show.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
We got Mariners, we got Braves, we got the NBA Playoffs,
we got Petros, we got Larry Stone. We got a
lot more to get to on a busy Wednesday right
here on that three to three KJRFM.
Speaker 8 (19:04):
Now back to Softie and Dick Gone, your home for
the Huskies Cracking and the twelfth Man Sports Radio ninety
three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
You know, it's really funny, and this isn't actually it's
not like funny, haha, but more curious funny, like interesting.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Oh that's interesting right now, you guys know what I'm
talking about.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Right by the way, Speaking of that, I'm having like
this just train of thoughts right now in my head.
There's about four or five different streams going on right now.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Maybe, but there's like four or five different rabbits running
around my brain right now, four or five different gerbils
spinning a wheel. Uh, speaking of that about how I
use the word? Interesting there. You ever watched Bob Knight's
favorite word on YouTube? But when he explains the F word, Well,
somebody took it down and if you could find that,
will you please send it to me if anybody out
(19:55):
there has access to it taking off the internet, Well,
it's not on YouTube anymore. And I've I've go I've
yahooed it. I can't, I've binged it. I can't find it.
I thought we recorded it's the funniest frickin' thing ever
where he talks about why he loves the F word
because you can use it in so many different ways. Right, So,
if anybody had and I have no idea why I
thought of that, I'm just coming back here on the air.
I'm thinking about the baseball game going on right now.
(20:17):
I'm thinking about Mike Florio's conversation, and I just thought
about Bob Knight. What I was going to ask Florio
and we ran out of time because remember the last
week we talked about the situation with Mike Rabel and
if he was going to last as the head coach
of the Patriots, And Florio's point was, well, let's see
what comes out between now and the start of the year,
(20:39):
right or whatever. And I cannot believe the shelf life
on this story. When did this thing first come out,
the Mike Rabel Diana Roussini thing?
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Remember? Was it a month ago? Was a month ago?
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Let me know, Let me tell you because normally things
like this and I remember when April seventh, April seventh, okay,
a month ago this thing came out, and I remember
telling myself, you know, Diana is going to be fine.
This will go away, something else will take its spots
and she'll be fine.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Well, it's not going away at all.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
TMZ just reported you see this, Jackson, and they've got
documents to back it up that the two of them
booked a private cruise on a boat on a lake
in Tennessee back in June of twenty twenty one, two
months after Diana was pregnant with one of her kids.
And they've got documents signed by both of them before
(21:40):
they went out on this boat together.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
Well, and this came then also a year after the
bar photos that were right before COVID hit. And I
don't even think we mentioned this is that her son's
name is is Michael correct?
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Which, Look, I gotta be honest with you, I really
hope that she's not that that she had a baby
with Mike Rabel and decided to name it Michael.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
I mean, it's just not going away, and whether it's
correct information or not correct information, it's all out there.
Like I saw a tweet from someone today who's claiming
that Diana Rossini and her husband that her husband is
asking for a DNA test on both the kids to
confirm that they belonged to her, right. I mean, this
(22:25):
stuff just everything. It's crazy to me the length of
this news cycle. Clarence Hill Junior, who I think used
to or still does, cover the Cowboys in Dallas, there
was a player today that came out I forget who
it was, that said something about how I've never met
Diana Rossini in my life. I have no idea who
(22:46):
she is, and Clarence Hill basically replied and called the
guy a liar on social media that he's got like
receipts that proves that this player and Diana have some
kind of a relationship.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
It's bananas, how much is going on out there.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So, first of all, like I'm just almost disgusted by
the story that it won't go away. Number two, I
feel awful for everybody involved, mostly the spouses and the kids.
By the way, I do feel bad for Diana because
we know her and I'm sure she's in a living
hell right now. But then I'm just kind of wondering, guys.
And the reason why I was going to bring it
up with Mike is I'm starting to wonder if Mike
(23:20):
Rabl is gonna last.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
This isn't going away.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
I mean, Diana's already gone away, like she's gone, she's
out of the spotlight.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Rabel's the one that is in the spotlight now.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Well, I mean, let's it seems like it's been a
long time, right, But it's quote unquote only been a month, right,
he feels like forever right, right, But we don't have
a football game for four months.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
So I think that.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Like most things, the topic dazure dies off now mostly
Usually the topic dazuur dies off in days or weeks. Correct,
this may take a couple of months and be longer
than than most. But do I see it extending to
September to where the point where like this is just
too much of a distraction. You know, training camp has
(24:08):
been nothing but Diana Russini talking, We've got to get
rid of you.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I just would be I'd be really surprised to I.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Don't think he's gonna get bombarded with questions about it
when training camp starts because he won't answer them. But
I'm also really curious what else is out there. Clearly
people are working on this story, right, lots of people
in media like TMZ, like other you know outlets like
the New York Post and the Daily News. Clearly people
are digging and clearly they're investigating, and the more stuff
(24:38):
they find, the more stuff is going to get reported.
And what would make it even juicier, by the way,
is if somebody threw something out there like opening weekend
of the NFL season when the Patriots play their very
first game in defense of their AFC championship. So I mean,
like you said, normally something like this goes away in days,
if not maybe a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
But it's been going on for a month and this
just won't die.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
It's just incredible how it just continues every single day
to be a story on social media. And maybe it's
because I do follow a lot of stuff on social media.
There's jokes, there's memes. Is it a gift for a
Jiff Jackson by the way, technically, Jiff, there's gift gifts
out there.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
People are mocking her, They're mocking Rayble.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Did you see the inside the inside the NBA gun
fishing picture.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Did you see them on the boat?
Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah, they're on the boat in a titanic pose at
the beginning of the front of the boat when the
when the Boston Celtics lost, like all the Celtics, and
then in front it's Diane and Mike.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Raby, which is exactly what I'm talking about. And that's
a mainstream thing. The inside the NBA show. Ernie Johnson
was obviously uncomfortable when that thing came out, right. I mean,
if they'll touch it, then it's it's it's fair game
for everybody, right, I mean normally sometimes things like this, Hey,
it's like the lowest hanging fruit for the scum of
the earth when it comes to media, the tabloids, right whatever,
(25:58):
all that blah blah blah. The un NAE podcasters, Twitter
handles all that this is inside the NBA that's mocking
this thing.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
One thing I don't know, do we know is it
public whether or not Diana's husband actually knew this was
going on for.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
A long time. I haven't heard anything from him.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Everything you read about Diana's husband I take with a
grain of salt because I don't know. This story about
him asking for a DNA test. Who knows if that's
even true, right, I'm just saying it's it's out there,
it gets, it gets thousands of retweets, hundreds of thousands
of people are interacting with this crap, whether it's true
or not true.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
So I don't know, man.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
I mean, the next shoe to fall is Vabel and
his job in New England.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
The thing with New England too, is if they had
a certain maybe type of owner or certain culture of
the organization, where hey, we don't put up with anything
if it happened here, you know, right. But the fact
that it's happening with an organization that has had lots
of cheating scandals, that has had everything Robert Kraft has
has done Miss Rita scandals. The fact that it's with
(27:00):
the Patriots It's why it leads you to believe that there's.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Absolutely nothing that's gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
I mean, they just went to the Super Bowl, right Like,
Rabels seems he's a pretty safe person to keep his job.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
But my god, if that.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Was anywhere else, maybe right then with the real conversation
of is this guy gonna get fired would be a
legitimate conversation.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Not there, don't we see what's gonna happen with this
franchise over the next twelve months anyway. I mean, their
schedule is gonna get much much tougher. They're probably gonna
go like eight to nine this season, and everybody's gonna
be on Rabel's ass at the end of the year anyway,
because he's probably not gonna make the playoffs.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah, well, I mean I think there's a real good
chance that happens. I think there's a real good chance
that Drake May gets proven to be a little bit
of a fraud. I mean, I kind of hate using
that word because you know, the guy's a young player
and he was second in the MVP. But don't I
don't think he's that good. No, he's good, he's a
good player, But second is the MVP. No is it
fair that he hits the CJ. Stroud year two?
Speaker 6 (27:55):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (27:55):
From his layer one, that's what I see happening to
Drake Man. Let's see that all of a sudden, Oh,
c J. Stroud might not be a top five to
six quarterback in the NFL like we thought he was
going to be after year one.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
They've got who are their opponents they play this year?
They got Green Bay, Minnesota, Denver, the Raiders, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Miami,
the Jets, Road Chicago, Detroit, a bounce back Kansas City team,
a good Charger team, the Seahawks Jacksonville and then Buffalo
Miami Jets almost all playoffs. Could absolutely see them going
(28:29):
eight to nine or seven to ten this year.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
All right, we're gonna break. Here's what we're gonna do
when we come back.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Hopefully we're talking about a big series win by the
MS over the Braves. Next on ninety three three KJRFM, Now.
Speaker 8 (28:45):
Back to Softie and Dick on your home for the Huskies,
Krakin and the twelfth Man Sports Radio ninety three point
three kjr FM AM for Deep.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Let's set our.
Speaker 9 (28:57):
Field, the right base, hit the other, he's his way home.
Coler Young stands up at second base. He delivers in
the eighth inny A three one, Mariners lead the three
two stroke three car it's over, Dubon challenging.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Now it's over. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
In the words of cousin Eddie, that's a real nice,
serious win, Clark, real nice over Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
This is the way baseball goes.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Boys, you get swept by Kansas City, you come back
and win a series against the best team in baseball.
It is unbelievable how this game works. It's also unbelievable
watching Cole Young work. By the way, another clutch hit,
another clutch RBI hit for Cole Young, who delivers and
gives the Mariners some insurance and the MS take two
(30:00):
went a three against the Land and win three to one.
Jose Ferrer pitches all three games in the series. We
were just talking off the air about this with Anders
in the studio. He's not available, Moonho's not available after
what happened last night. Well, actually Frere is available because
they got no choice but to throw Jose Ferrer. You
got Matt Olson coming up in the ninth inning, who
crushes righties. You had to get a left handed pitcher
(30:23):
out there in Jose Ferrera or excuse me, a yeah,
a lefty in Jose Ferrer. And the only way to
do that is to have him pitched in four out
of six games, in every game of the Brave series.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
And he did it, and he was phenomenal. Go was
fantastic underrated play in this game.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
The huge pickoff move by Bizardo to Josh Naylor first base.
I came seeing a play at first base where the
runner was called out, where he was more nonchalant getting back.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
With the bag.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
And here's the thing about that. Hore Matteo was the
guy that got picked off. He was a pinch runner.
They brought him in to steal second base or to
score and he gets picked off.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
I mean, how pissed off are you? If you're a
break are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (31:03):
They bring this kid and off the bench as a
pitch runner and the first thing he does is get
picked off.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
That was That was a Randy a Rosarina ish base
running move by him.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Well look, man, we said this off the air that
they probably should have swept him. Maybe you can argue
they got a little bit lucky with the way Logan
pitched on Monday with the home runs by JP and
Luke Rayley. But George Kirby yesterday was sensational. His defense
let him down for sure. In that game yesterday. If
you saw that sucker, Brian Wu bounced back, nice roll
(31:33):
bounce back for Brian Wu's six innings of shutout ball.
How many hits one hit today is previous two he'd
allowed sixteen hits combined, gives up one today nine K's
couple of walks. So good to see Brian Wu put
the skids on that nonsense. But I don't know, man,
I'm just kind of thinking that maybe that game on Monday,
(31:55):
with the way they came back there in the fifth inning,
is the game that kind of maybe motivates these guys
a little bit and kind of fires them up. And
now you're on the road to a place like Chicago,
where I know the White Sox Dick are a better
team than what they've been, but the Mariners are a
way better team than Chicago with a way better roster.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Let's keep this thing going. No, absolutely, I.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Mean, I don't know if you can you can buy
into the theory that you know that one win like
that a comeback win will vault you. I mean, the
biggest win of the season up to this point, would
everybody agree up toil that point a couple of days
ago was the Houston comeback win, right right, Well, they
lost five in a row and seven of eight after it,
so it's like, I mean, I just we go back
(32:32):
to what we go back to what Mitch Garver said
when we ask them, you know, is this you know
you kind of think it's Atlanta here? Is this kind
of a big series for you guys early in the year.
And he's like, dude, we got one hundred and sixty.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Yeah, No, I get it, I get it. But I
do think that you can get some motivation going. And
I don't know if baseball players would ever actually admit it,
but young guys need confidence, right and they got a
lot of young guys on this baseball team right now,
especially in their bullpen, that aren't even supposed to be here,
and they're only here because guys are banged up. And
the way that Cooper Criswill came through today, right Jose
(33:03):
Ferrer had a rough start to his Mariner career. The
way he's pitching now in the last couple of games
makes maybe him feel like, Okay, if I had any problems,
I have no idea how mentally or not mentally strong
these guys are. But I do think when you play
every single day that winning breeds confidence. And look, would
I rather have had a win against Atlanta and hope
(33:25):
that that motivates these guys and kind of spurns them
to maybe something bigger and better down the road.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Absolutely, and they got it. They got this serious win.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
I just think what we talked about over the offseason,
that the schedule for them was so brutal, at least
on paper in the month of April, that just hanging
around five hundred was going to be considered a little
bit of a victory.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Now it's time to kind of take off.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I mean, now that talk has to stop, because guys,
let's face it, if you look at the American League.
West Dick and Adam Jude put this out today, there
are four teams in this division with a negative run differential, Oakland, Texas,
Houston and the Angels. The Mariners are now plus six
after thirty eight games, sorry, plus four including today's game
(34:08):
after thirty eight by all accounts, when you compare their
roster to what everybody else has in this division.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
They should be running away with this thing. They should
they should be running.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Away with it now, and they should be running away
with it as the year goes on.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
If the A's lose today to the Phillies, there will
be two teams in the American League with winning records right,
two right in the entire league. Camp and the Yankees
Tampa and the Yankees your central leader, the Detroit Tigers
at eighteen and nineteen and the Guardians at eighteen and nineteen.
And the A's, if they lose today, will be the
leaders in the West.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
At eighteen and eighteen. And you can't, I mean, I'm sorry,
you can't piss that away. You just can't.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
I mean again, you know last year, how many times
did we talk on the year that one of the
reasons why we were kind of bullish on these guys
is because the league stinks.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
I mean, that's part of it, right.
Speaker 1 (34:53):
We talked about that in some ways with the Seahawks
as well, that the league and not this year, but
in previous years, the league's the NFC is going to
be wide open. And I just think this is another
opportunity for the Mariners with a fairly weak American League
and absolutely on paper right now weak American League West.
With the roster they've got, with the pitching they've got,
(35:15):
with the stars they have, they are clearly clearly right now,
and now Correy is out for the year in Houston,
clearly the best team in this division.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
They should win the division.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
I feel that there are, if you did the whole notepad,
pros and cons of the future of the Mariners this year.
I just feel like there are so many more on
the pros line because you have gone through this injury
riddled first six weeks of the season, and nobody has
put you away in the division. In fact, they're only
those two teams I told you about, Yankees and Race.
(35:44):
Those are the only two teams in the American League
with more wins than the Mariners. And yet the Mariners
have They're six and nine.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
And one run games. They've lost nine one run games.
Nobody else has lost more than six in baseball.
Speaker 3 (35:57):
That's going to turn around, because the bullpen's going to
get it.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Ten of the next thirteen games are against the Houston
Astros and the Chicago White Sox, all right, who are
fifteen and twenty three and seventeen and nineteen. They should
clean up. It's time now, right, It's time for these
guys to start cleaning up. So really nice series win
against Atlanta before the MS have a day off and
head out to Chicago. You mentioned Bizardo's pickoff move there
(36:22):
in the eighth inning. Josh Naylor just continues to steal
bases like he was, you know, last year when he
showed up here. Julio Rodriguez had a bomb in this game.
And when I say bomb, I mean a bomb his ops.
By the way, it's funny. I was looking this up
thirty eight games. A year ago, he was at seven
twenty eight with six home runs and seventeen Ribbies. Right
(36:42):
now he's at seven thirty four or five home runs
and seventeen Ribbies. I mean, he basically is the same
guy that he was a year ago at this point
after thirty eight games, but his average is a little
bit better. But you know what that's all about, Dick,
A couple of hits here or there this early in
the year can really drastically change your average. But I
feel like with how Riley kind of banged up a
little bit still and not catching and maybe not having caught.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
His stride, a little bit.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
I feel like there's an opportunity here man for forty
four to step up and put this team on his back.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
No, I think you're right.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
I'm trying to figure out why everybody was on him
then if he was hitting this well, I guess it
was just a bad June last year. But remember everybody's
been on him at the All Star break? What's wrong
with Julio? What's wrong with Julio? But you're right, I mean,
Julio wasn't bad. He was bad in April last year,
but he wasn't bad in May. He was seven eighty three. Ops.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
They're trying to figure out what are trying to figure
out his balls last.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Year last Remember they were busting his ball last season,
and you're saying and right now we're not. We're like, hey,
Julio's playing very well, and yet you're just pointing out
the fact that he's playing the same as he was
last year.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
At this time.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Yeah, but I don't know if he's playing that well.
I'm just saying he's the same guy he was a
year ago. Because you mentioned not bad, right, those are
the words he used.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Which is my expectation for Julio prior to July fourth, Well,
just don't be bad, okay. But I think other people
do have a different expectation. So you're asking why other
people would be maybe critical because they expect a star,
whether fair or unfair, And maybe it's unfair, right, Maybe
at this point, after five years, it's unfair to expect
a star, a guy that's gonna transcend the game.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
He's gonna be mussy TV. Everywhere he goes, people want
to watch him play. He's not that guy yet. But
do I expect to be satisfied with a seven thirty
four Ops? No, I don't think he does either. But
the hope is that as the year goes by, he
heats up like he typically does and becomes that star.
For the final maybe three four months of the year,
(38:35):
we'll get a break. Mariners win it. We'll hear from
Dan Wilson maybe later on the show after the series
win against the Braves. Petros Here we go. Baby joins
next on ninety three to three KJARFM.
Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain News
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