October 24, 2025 • 17 mins
Jon Wilner of The San Jose Mercury News joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about UW’s loss to Michigan, Illinois next, UCLA’s streak, gambling, and finances.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time for our weekly Pac twelve conversation with Senose
Mercury News reporter John Wilner, brought to you by simply Seattle.
Our friends at simply Seattle dot com have the most
amazing collection of all things Seattle Seahawks gear. UW had
some the largest selection of sonics gear anywhere in the world.
Learn more at simply Seattle dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
All right, we appreciate his flexibility. Sorry to take away
from the Friday night family dinner. John Wilner normally joins
us on Tuesdays at five, but we had some hockey
to ten two on Tuesdays, so he's with us here
a courtesy of our friends at simply Seattle dot com.
You got your eye on something kJ R fifteen always
for fifteen percent off at simply Seattle dot com. Here
(00:41):
he is the Pope of the pack, the bear to
the Big ten, the boss of the Big twelve, and
the give me something that starts with an A with
an A, the astronaut of the acc whatever, John Wilner
joins us right now. I can think it's something else
for to be inappropriate, joins us right now on the radio.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Show, is that the first thing that came to mind
for me. Just whatever.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I just froze after that, a little bit loopy. How
are you man, I'm good, That's what your phone just
sounded like. Now let's try to get John how.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Are you good? Things? How you guys much better?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, let's uh, let's talk about first of all, what
we saw last Saturday. You dubbed Michigan. We haven't had
you on since that game. We're going to preview of
the game tomorrow with Illinois. But my god, man, Jed
Fish and you dubb tied at seven and a half,
and they got a great shot in the second half
to get a really nice win for the programming in
the offense, and DeMont Williams just fell apart man in
the second half of that game, soll apart.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I mean, it was a lot like the use of
the Ohio State game. Frankly, in both instances, the offense
didn't really do anything in the second half, and Michigan
confused Williams and you know, they can't get Jonah Coleman going.
I can't remember the last time he had a big game.
It was probably maybe Colorado State or you see Davis.
(02:02):
But I think a lot of it starts there other
teams are basically loading up to stop Coleman and they're
gonna dare Williams to beat them from the pocket, and
the good against the good defenses, he hadn't really been
able to do that.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Well, that's leading me into the next question, John, excellent
job there. I mean, how worried should we be that
when he plays at Penn State in Oregon in a Michigan,
Ohio state he just doesn't look the same? Should be
worried or should we remind ourselves he's nineteen years of
age too.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yet, I think that's important thing to keep in mind
for sure, And the fact that you know, he played
so well last year and there was a lot of
hype and then the huge game. Early on, he's shown
so many flashes of what he can be that it's
easy to kind of get to forget that he has
a big learning curve, especially against the best defenses in
(02:58):
the Big Ten. And you know, we saw what happened
against Rutgers, but that is just so misleading. Rutgers defense
is terrible now. Fortunately for the Huskies, you know the schedule,
there's some real winnable games and some mediocre defenses coming up.
But certainly, it seems like they are a big step
away from being able to execute well enough to beat
(03:21):
the best teams in the conference.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, it really feels like this game tomorrow against Illinois
is kind of the difference between maybe an eight win
season and potentially a ten win season if they can
get a bowl win. By the way, So we'll talk
about tomorrow in a second, But John, go back to Jorona,
Cooma for a second. He has not had one hundred
yard game in his last seven Big Ten games going
back to last year.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Are we good? We're good? Somebody talking to John in three?
Speaker 4 (03:45):
I gotcha?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Oh right, yo.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
I don't know what's going on here, man, We're not
paying our phone bill properly. He has not had a
one hundred yard game and seven consecutive Big Ten games
going back to last year. He's averaging three and a
half yards per carry in Big Ten games this season.
And I guess you know, Dick and I were kicking
this around the other day. Do we just chalk that
up to injuries to the offensive line because a lot
(04:07):
of people thought, hey, man, Jodah Coleman is a beast,
doesn't matter, he'll be able to find yards. No, matter
where they are, he's that good and we're finding out
it's not happening like that.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I think some of.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
It is the injuries, and some of it is just
the offensive line. Especially last year it didn't seem like
it was up to the standard of an elite Big
ten offensive line. So, you know, I think it's a
combination of things, all of which start up front. And certainly, again,
if you're a defensive coordinator and you're seeing that, you
know there's a freshman quarterback, there's a lot of things
(04:41):
you can do to kind of get Washington off schedule,
out of sync, and the injuries up front are just
adding to that.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
All right.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
John Softy teased it the Dogs or the dog tomorrow
at Husky Stadium.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
You know, I think Illinois is not nearly as good
as Ohio State, obviously, but way better than Rutgers and
better than Maryland. I think it's gonna be in doubt
with five minutes to go, but I also think Washington
will find a way to win. What's the line right
now for I think I'd probably take the Huskies, but
(05:19):
I do think it will be close. This is not
gonna be like their previous home games against Rutgers and
the non conference it's gonna be tight.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, did you change your mind on that?
Speaker 5 (05:30):
By the way, because you had in the paper you
had plus four point five and this is a different
John Wilner writing in the Seattle Times.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I don't even remember what I wrote. Did I pick Illinois?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, plus four and a half. You didn't say that that.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
You did not specify whether they would win or not.
You just picked plus four and a half.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Oh yeah. I mean, I've been going back and forth
because I do think it's gonna be close. And the
fact Illinois had two weeks to get ready is a
big deal. The fact that the Huskies are coming off
a bruising game and are banged up is a big deal.
And Illinois has got you know, they've got a competent
offense at a good quarterback. So I think this is
(06:11):
going to be a challenging game for the Huskies. But
you know, it's one of those deals where you score
with three minutes to go and you cover a four
point spread.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, we keep basking you every single week if you
CLA is for real and UCLA just keeps winning. I mean,
Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland now they got Indiana and
I got I kind of feel like UCLA can win
by losing if they.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Just cover that spread.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
People might be impressed by UCLA this weekend against Bloomington.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
So are in Bloomington.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Is this where the UCLA train flies off a clifford?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Does it keep charging?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
I don't think they're going to win the game, But
keep in mind the teams you just rattle off. Michigan
State winless in the Big Ten, Maryland I think is
one in three, and Penn State is winless. Those teams
are one and eleven in conference play. UCLA has not
beaten anybody that's good. Well, they played Northwestern close in
(07:06):
the first game with the interim coach, but they've been
beaten up on the bad teams in the Big Ten,
and there's actually a fair amount of bad teams in
the Big Ten. The bottom of the conference is terrible.
But I do think that they will play pretty well.
But it's hard for me to see them winning a
game outright in Bloomington, Indiana. I was in Eugene and
they just took it to the Ducks at the line
(07:28):
of scrimmage. And if you can do that to Oregon,
you could certainly do it to UCLA.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Well, John, Obviously, sports gambling is in the news this week,
there's no question about it. And we haven't gotten a
chance to ask you since the D one Council approved
gambling on pro sports for college athletes. Your thoughts on
that and if D two and D three are going
to fall suit.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
YEP announced that the day before the NBA scandal. If
I'm not mistaken, it was Wednesday, and that had been
something This is a long time coming, and the NCAA
and its membership have been discussing the gambling issue for years,
and especially what they should do about the pro sports situation.
(08:11):
And I think what they're doing is actually the smart,
proactive move, because there's no way they were going to
stop kids from gambling on the NBA or the NFL
or whatever it is. If you put if you make
it legal, you're bringing sunshine to the problem and you
are allowing you are allowing the oversight mechanisms to do
(08:32):
their job, both the casinos themselves and also the firms
like US Integrity that have partnered with the conferences and
are tracking for improper bets. Right.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Well, and here's the issue, and this was brought up
by somebody I know in the industry, in Ky's athletics,
who said the fear that a lot of administrators have
is that when you allow eighteen nineteen twenty year old
kids to gamble on sports, if they get in trouble
and they owe somebody money, what's the easiest way they
(09:03):
can pay them back by influencing a game. They have
that ability, Unlike Joe Q Public and some nineteen year
old in college, is that a concern of yours? John,
that if these kids make mistakes, and let's face it,
they're still kids and they get involved with the wrong people,
they'll be asked to pay it back by throwing games.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I think that's a legitimate fear. But I also don't
know that that issue didn't exist before, right right, I mean,
kids have been gambling. We had that issue with it.
What was it Iowa or Iowa State had all those
kids that were caught. I just think the oversight mechanisms
are really good and should pick up on most of
(09:47):
that stuff. But I think it's inevitable, and it would
have been inevitable to me even if the NCAA had
not legalized it. And quite frankly, I think there's a
better chance of them catching stuff now that they've made
the move they have.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Good Good John tell us about the latest in the
Mountain West PAC twelve case and heat it up again today.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Well, yeah, the Mountain West file the counter claim. It's
mostly procedural role. But what they're saying is the PAC twelve,
Washington State, Oregon State in the conference office. You know,
they maneuvered behind the scenes to undermine and disrupt the
Mountain West and so they're you know, they are claiming
(10:28):
the PAC twelve should be uh losing court on a
certain couple accounts. I don't know that that's gonna that
that's gonna hold up, to be honest, The big thing
is that this case is gonna go for a long time.
It's gonna go well into next year. And so to me,
are the presidents gonna want to go through the discovery process?
(10:50):
Are the presidents gonna want to pay these attorney fees
for the next year? And is the Mountain West gonna
want to Are the schools gonna want to wait not
knowing if they're gonna get the money that's and promised.
I think there's going to be a settlement, would be
in my guests in the next couple months.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
John Wilder is with us.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
You know, guys, it's funny you kind of realize all
of a sudden that five weeks from tomorrow is the
last game of the regular season.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I mean it's going to be over. In five weeks
is the Oregon game.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
So it goes by very fast, and when the offseason comes,
there's going to be a lot of topics that we've
been hitting on, like the one that Dick just brought up,
like the gambling stuff, and like this private equity deal
on the Big Ten that can we now officially say
that Michigan USC have killed this thing.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's dead for today. What's the latest on that.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I don't think it's dead. I think it is taking
a nap now. Whether it wakes up or not, and
what form it takes when it does wake up, I
don't know. Tony Batiki, the Big Ten commissioner, is very
frustrated that this deal got squashed by the two schools.
Didn't expect that to happen. They thought it was going
to pass. So they are working behind the scenes to
(11:53):
come up with an alternate version that might be acceptable
to Michigan and USC. There has been talked it would
go forward without the Wolverines and Trojans on board, which
to me is comical that they could even think that right.
So we'll see, but they want to get it done,
and there's a lot of schools in the conference that
want to get it done, including the Huskies. I am
(12:14):
not convinced it's the right move for Washington. I understand
why the Huskies are considering it, but I do think
that there's some risks to it for sure, and it
would it would involve if it goes to US as scheduled,
Washington would end up on a tier below Oregon with
the revenue.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Wow. Well, and you kind of brought up right there.
First of all, I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I'm surprised that this thing got out before everybody was
on the same page.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's number one, and then number two.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Robert Jones, as the new president, came over coincidentally enough
from Illinois, by the way, and he was on the
air with US two weeks ago on our pregame show,
and I asked him flat out if he would vote
for something like this, the private equity deal, and he
wouldn't answer it.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
He just refused to answer.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
And so look, we heard Michigan and USC through the media,
we're against it. Can you now confirm with us that
Washington is for this equity deal.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
I have been told by somebody who knows that it
was sixteen to two wow, And so that my understanding
is that Washington is in favor of The Huskies are
in a unique situation within the eighteen team conference because
like Oregon, they are getting half shares of revenue. Unlike Oregon,
they don't have Phil Knight, and they have a lot
(13:30):
of stadium debt, a ton of it. So then you
add on the revenue sharing and if you're Washington, you
could see, you know what this this infusion of one
hundred and ten million dollars will help us on a
lot of fronts to compete. The other thing is they're
extending the grand of rights to twenty years. It would
lock all eighteen schools in together for twenty years. I
(13:52):
think Washington also feels like that is attractive because they
would have stability before you're trading away a lot of stuff,
a lot of future flexibility. And I think it is
on the whole for the big ten. I think it's
a bad deal for the biggest brands, Ohio State, Michigan, USC,
(14:12):
Penn State. I think it's a terrible deal for Washington.
I'm kind of on the fence. I can see the
case for but I could also see the case against John.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
What are the odds of a Saudi investment in college
football and more specifically the Big Ten Conference?
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Right?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Well, I mean the Big Ten is kind of its
sole is for sale in some regards. Right, Saudi comes
in with two point four billion, and maybe they're paying
the Big Ten championship over there? You know, I go, well,
I do think that, I do think that that at
some point there's gonna be foreign investment in college athletics.
(14:51):
I don't know if it will be Saudi Arabia, and
I don't know when it's gonna happen, but it will happen.
I mean, this is part of the Big Ten deal. Right.
The firm that would make the investment is part of
the University of California. It's the pension fund. But after
fifteen years they're able to sell their ten percent stake.
(15:11):
And one of the questions nobody knows is sell to Who?
Could they sell to the Saudis, Could they sell to
private equity? Could they sell to the NFL? That's one
of the questions. You know, the public does not know
what are the parameters for this fund in terms of
exiting the deal?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
All right, Doc Fans, Dave Satia, Maither, Gregor Lewis, Mario
Bailey live from King Fod Stadium in Riodd, Saudi Arabia
for today's Big Ten Championship between you dub and Ohio State.
This is husky football from Liarlefield, like freaking crazy.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Go to that.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Absolutely all right, John, You got a winner last week
with a Windo Laurean. You nailed Oregon, just kicking the
snot at a Rutgers. So you're five and three on
the air so far this year. Not a bad start
after eight games. The Windo Lai and his back again
walk on the proper path and we're gonna stay on
(16:04):
the winning road.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Who do you like this week? John?
Speaker 4 (16:07):
The trend is my friend here. I will take the
Bruins in Bloomington.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
And I think it is twenty five twenty.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Twenty six and a half. You're getting Woo.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
I'll take them. Here's the thing. UCLA is five and
oh against the spread in Big Ten games in the
Eastern and Central time zones. They're the only one of
the four West Coast schools that hasn't lost. USC hasn't
won a game against the spread. Washington hasn't won a
game against the spread. The Bruins are perfect five and
oh over the last season and a half in the
(16:39):
eastern half of the country.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
So basically, you should have new Heizel tell his boy
Mick Cronin on the basketball team.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I'm starting plane. That's right, that's right. Yeah, this is
how it's done pretty much. Boy. We've seen the Statue
of Liberty twelve times.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
All right, John, great stuff, and we'll talking actually on Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
All right, man, all right, John Will whose phone just
always lasts every time, right.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
In eighteen minutes and thirty seconds and the whole thing
when you put the.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Quarter in and you only get nineteen minutes.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, Ucla, he likes UCLA. And the points against Indiana.
We're gonna break Rick new Heisel, by the way, speaking
of that, will join us around six forty or so
tonight on ninety three three KJRFM.
It's time for our weekly Pac twelve conversation with Senose
Mercury News reporter John Wilner, brought to you by simply Seattle.
Our friends at simply Seattle dot com have the most
amazing collection of all things Seattle Seahawks gear. UW had
some the largest selection of sonics gear anywhere in the world.
Learn more at simply Seattle dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
All right, we appreciate his flexibility. Sorry to take away
from the Friday night family dinner. John Wilner normally joins
us on Tuesdays at five, but we had some hockey
to ten two on Tuesdays, so he's with us here
a courtesy of our friends at simply Seattle dot com.
You got your eye on something kJ R fifteen always
for fifteen percent off at simply Seattle dot com. Here
(00:41):
he is the Pope of the pack, the bear to
the Big ten, the boss of the Big twelve, and
the give me something that starts with an A with
an A, the astronaut of the acc whatever, John Wilner
joins us right now. I can think it's something else
for to be inappropriate, joins us right now on the radio.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Show, is that the first thing that came to mind
for me. Just whatever.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I just froze after that, a little bit loopy. How
are you man, I'm good, That's what your phone just
sounded like. Now let's try to get John how.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Are you good? Things? How you guys much better?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, let's uh, let's talk about first of all, what
we saw last Saturday. You dubbed Michigan. We haven't had
you on since that game. We're going to preview of
the game tomorrow with Illinois. But my god, man, Jed
Fish and you dubb tied at seven and a half,
and they got a great shot in the second half
to get a really nice win for the programming in
the offense, and DeMont Williams just fell apart man in
the second half of that game, soll apart.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I mean, it was a lot like the use of
the Ohio State game. Frankly, in both instances, the offense
didn't really do anything in the second half, and Michigan
confused Williams and you know, they can't get Jonah Coleman going.
I can't remember the last time he had a big game.
It was probably maybe Colorado State or you see Davis.
(02:02):
But I think a lot of it starts there other
teams are basically loading up to stop Coleman and they're
gonna dare Williams to beat them from the pocket, and
the good against the good defenses, he hadn't really been
able to do that.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
Well, that's leading me into the next question, John, excellent
job there. I mean, how worried should we be that
when he plays at Penn State in Oregon in a Michigan,
Ohio state he just doesn't look the same? Should be
worried or should we remind ourselves he's nineteen years of
age too.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Yet, I think that's important thing to keep in mind
for sure, And the fact that you know, he played
so well last year and there was a lot of
hype and then the huge game. Early on, he's shown
so many flashes of what he can be that it's
easy to kind of get to forget that he has
a big learning curve, especially against the best defenses in
(02:58):
the Big Ten. And you know, we saw what happened
against Rutgers, but that is just so misleading. Rutgers defense
is terrible now. Fortunately for the Huskies, you know the schedule,
there's some real winnable games and some mediocre defenses coming up.
But certainly, it seems like they are a big step
away from being able to execute well enough to beat
(03:21):
the best teams in the conference.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, it really feels like this game tomorrow against Illinois
is kind of the difference between maybe an eight win
season and potentially a ten win season if they can
get a bowl win. By the way, So we'll talk
about tomorrow in a second, But John, go back to Jorona,
Cooma for a second. He has not had one hundred
yard game in his last seven Big Ten games going
back to last year.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Are we good? We're good? Somebody talking to John in three?
Speaker 4 (03:45):
I gotcha?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Oh right, yo.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
I don't know what's going on here, man, We're not
paying our phone bill properly. He has not had a
one hundred yard game and seven consecutive Big Ten games
going back to last year. He's averaging three and a
half yards per carry in Big Ten games this season.
And I guess you know, Dick and I were kicking
this around the other day. Do we just chalk that
up to injuries to the offensive line because a lot
(04:07):
of people thought, hey, man, Jodah Coleman is a beast,
doesn't matter, he'll be able to find yards. No, matter
where they are, he's that good and we're finding out
it's not happening like that.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I think some of.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
It is the injuries, and some of it is just
the offensive line. Especially last year it didn't seem like
it was up to the standard of an elite Big
ten offensive line. So, you know, I think it's a
combination of things, all of which start up front. And certainly, again,
if you're a defensive coordinator and you're seeing that, you
know there's a freshman quarterback, there's a lot of things
(04:41):
you can do to kind of get Washington off schedule,
out of sync, and the injuries up front are just
adding to that.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
All right.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
John Softy teased it the Dogs or the dog tomorrow
at Husky Stadium.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
You know, I think Illinois is not nearly as good
as Ohio State, obviously, but way better than Rutgers and
better than Maryland. I think it's gonna be in doubt
with five minutes to go, but I also think Washington
will find a way to win. What's the line right
now for I think I'd probably take the Huskies, but
(05:19):
I do think it will be close. This is not
gonna be like their previous home games against Rutgers and
the non conference it's gonna be tight.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, did you change your mind on that?
Speaker 5 (05:30):
By the way, because you had in the paper you
had plus four point five and this is a different
John Wilner writing in the Seattle Times.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
I don't even remember what I wrote. Did I pick Illinois?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, plus four and a half. You didn't say that that.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
You did not specify whether they would win or not.
You just picked plus four and a half.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Oh yeah. I mean, I've been going back and forth
because I do think it's gonna be close. And the
fact Illinois had two weeks to get ready is a
big deal. The fact that the Huskies are coming off
a bruising game and are banged up is a big deal.
And Illinois has got you know, they've got a competent
offense at a good quarterback. So I think this is
(06:11):
going to be a challenging game for the Huskies. But
you know, it's one of those deals where you score
with three minutes to go and you cover a four
point spread.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, we keep basking you every single week if you
CLA is for real and UCLA just keeps winning. I mean,
Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland now they got Indiana and
I got I kind of feel like UCLA can win
by losing if they.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Just cover that spread.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
People might be impressed by UCLA this weekend against Bloomington.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
So are in Bloomington.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Is this where the UCLA train flies off a clifford?
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Does it keep charging?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
I don't think they're going to win the game, But
keep in mind the teams you just rattle off. Michigan
State winless in the Big Ten, Maryland I think is
one in three, and Penn State is winless. Those teams
are one and eleven in conference play. UCLA has not
beaten anybody that's good. Well, they played Northwestern close in
(07:06):
the first game with the interim coach, but they've been
beaten up on the bad teams in the Big Ten,
and there's actually a fair amount of bad teams in
the Big Ten. The bottom of the conference is terrible.
But I do think that they will play pretty well.
But it's hard for me to see them winning a
game outright in Bloomington, Indiana. I was in Eugene and
they just took it to the Ducks at the line
(07:28):
of scrimmage. And if you can do that to Oregon,
you could certainly do it to UCLA.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Well, John, Obviously, sports gambling is in the news this week,
there's no question about it. And we haven't gotten a
chance to ask you since the D one Council approved
gambling on pro sports for college athletes. Your thoughts on
that and if D two and D three are going
to fall suit.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
YEP announced that the day before the NBA scandal. If
I'm not mistaken, it was Wednesday, and that had been
something This is a long time coming, and the NCAA
and its membership have been discussing the gambling issue for years,
and especially what they should do about the pro sports situation.
(08:11):
And I think what they're doing is actually the smart,
proactive move, because there's no way they were going to
stop kids from gambling on the NBA or the NFL
or whatever it is. If you put if you make
it legal, you're bringing sunshine to the problem and you
are allowing you are allowing the oversight mechanisms to do
(08:32):
their job, both the casinos themselves and also the firms
like US Integrity that have partnered with the conferences and
are tracking for improper bets. Right.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Well, and here's the issue, and this was brought up
by somebody I know in the industry, in Ky's athletics,
who said the fear that a lot of administrators have
is that when you allow eighteen nineteen twenty year old
kids to gamble on sports, if they get in trouble
and they owe somebody money, what's the easiest way they
(09:03):
can pay them back by influencing a game. They have
that ability, Unlike Joe Q Public and some nineteen year
old in college, is that a concern of yours? John,
that if these kids make mistakes, and let's face it,
they're still kids and they get involved with the wrong people,
they'll be asked to pay it back by throwing games.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I think that's a legitimate fear. But I also don't
know that that issue didn't exist before, right right, I mean,
kids have been gambling. We had that issue with it.
What was it Iowa or Iowa State had all those
kids that were caught. I just think the oversight mechanisms
are really good and should pick up on most of
(09:47):
that stuff. But I think it's inevitable, and it would
have been inevitable to me even if the NCAA had
not legalized it. And quite frankly, I think there's a
better chance of them catching stuff now that they've made
the move they have.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Good Good John tell us about the latest in the
Mountain West PAC twelve case and heat it up again today.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Well, yeah, the Mountain West file the counter claim. It's
mostly procedural role. But what they're saying is the PAC twelve,
Washington State, Oregon State in the conference office. You know,
they maneuvered behind the scenes to undermine and disrupt the
Mountain West and so they're you know, they are claiming
(10:28):
the PAC twelve should be uh losing court on a
certain couple accounts. I don't know that that's gonna that
that's gonna hold up, to be honest, The big thing
is that this case is gonna go for a long time.
It's gonna go well into next year. And so to me,
are the presidents gonna want to go through the discovery process?
(10:50):
Are the presidents gonna want to pay these attorney fees
for the next year? And is the Mountain West gonna
want to Are the schools gonna want to wait not
knowing if they're gonna get the money that's and promised.
I think there's going to be a settlement, would be
in my guests in the next couple months.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
John Wilder is with us.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
You know, guys, it's funny you kind of realize all
of a sudden that five weeks from tomorrow is the
last game of the regular season.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I mean it's going to be over. In five weeks
is the Oregon game.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
So it goes by very fast, and when the offseason comes,
there's going to be a lot of topics that we've
been hitting on, like the one that Dick just brought up,
like the gambling stuff, and like this private equity deal
on the Big Ten that can we now officially say
that Michigan USC have killed this thing.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's dead for today. What's the latest on that.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I don't think it's dead. I think it is taking
a nap now. Whether it wakes up or not, and
what form it takes when it does wake up, I
don't know. Tony Batiki, the Big Ten commissioner, is very
frustrated that this deal got squashed by the two schools.
Didn't expect that to happen. They thought it was going
to pass. So they are working behind the scenes to
(11:53):
come up with an alternate version that might be acceptable
to Michigan and USC. There has been talked it would
go forward without the Wolverines and Trojans on board, which
to me is comical that they could even think that right.
So we'll see, but they want to get it done,
and there's a lot of schools in the conference that
want to get it done, including the Huskies. I am
(12:14):
not convinced it's the right move for Washington. I understand
why the Huskies are considering it, but I do think
that there's some risks to it for sure, and it
would it would involve if it goes to US as scheduled,
Washington would end up on a tier below Oregon with
the revenue.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Wow. Well, and you kind of brought up right there.
First of all, I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I'm surprised that this thing got out before everybody was
on the same page.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
That's number one, and then number two.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Robert Jones, as the new president, came over coincidentally enough
from Illinois, by the way, and he was on the
air with US two weeks ago on our pregame show,
and I asked him flat out if he would vote
for something like this, the private equity deal, and he
wouldn't answer it.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
He just refused to answer.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
And so look, we heard Michigan and USC through the media,
we're against it. Can you now confirm with us that
Washington is for this equity deal.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
I have been told by somebody who knows that it
was sixteen to two wow, And so that my understanding
is that Washington is in favor of The Huskies are
in a unique situation within the eighteen team conference because
like Oregon, they are getting half shares of revenue. Unlike Oregon,
they don't have Phil Knight, and they have a lot
(13:30):
of stadium debt, a ton of it. So then you
add on the revenue sharing and if you're Washington, you
could see, you know what this this infusion of one
hundred and ten million dollars will help us on a
lot of fronts to compete. The other thing is they're
extending the grand of rights to twenty years. It would
lock all eighteen schools in together for twenty years. I
(13:52):
think Washington also feels like that is attractive because they
would have stability before you're trading away a lot of stuff,
a lot of future flexibility. And I think it is
on the whole for the big ten. I think it's
a bad deal for the biggest brands, Ohio State, Michigan, USC,
(14:12):
Penn State. I think it's a terrible deal for Washington.
I'm kind of on the fence. I can see the
case for but I could also see the case against John.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
What are the odds of a Saudi investment in college
football and more specifically the Big Ten Conference?
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Right?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Well, I mean the Big Ten is kind of its
sole is for sale in some regards. Right, Saudi comes
in with two point four billion, and maybe they're paying
the Big Ten championship over there? You know, I go, well,
I do think that, I do think that that at
some point there's gonna be foreign investment in college athletics.
(14:51):
I don't know if it will be Saudi Arabia, and
I don't know when it's gonna happen, but it will happen.
I mean, this is part of the Big Ten deal. Right.
The firm that would make the investment is part of
the University of California. It's the pension fund. But after
fifteen years they're able to sell their ten percent stake.
(15:11):
And one of the questions nobody knows is sell to Who?
Could they sell to the Saudis, Could they sell to
private equity? Could they sell to the NFL? That's one
of the questions. You know, the public does not know
what are the parameters for this fund in terms of
exiting the deal?
Speaker 2 (15:27):
All right, Doc Fans, Dave Satia, Maither, Gregor Lewis, Mario
Bailey live from King Fod Stadium in Riodd, Saudi Arabia
for today's Big Ten Championship between you dub and Ohio State.
This is husky football from Liarlefield, like freaking crazy.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Go to that.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Absolutely all right, John, You got a winner last week
with a Windo Laurean. You nailed Oregon, just kicking the
snot at a Rutgers. So you're five and three on
the air so far this year. Not a bad start
after eight games. The Windo Lai and his back again
walk on the proper path and we're gonna stay on
(16:04):
the winning road.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Who do you like this week? John?
Speaker 4 (16:07):
The trend is my friend here. I will take the
Bruins in Bloomington.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
And I think it is twenty five twenty.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Twenty six and a half. You're getting Woo.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
I'll take them. Here's the thing. UCLA is five and
oh against the spread in Big Ten games in the
Eastern and Central time zones. They're the only one of
the four West Coast schools that hasn't lost. USC hasn't
won a game against the spread. Washington hasn't won a
game against the spread. The Bruins are perfect five and
oh over the last season and a half in the
(16:39):
eastern half of the country.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
So basically, you should have new Heizel tell his boy
Mick Cronin on the basketball team.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I'm starting plane. That's right, that's right. Yeah, this is
how it's done pretty much. Boy. We've seen the Statue
of Liberty twelve times.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
All right, John, great stuff, and we'll talking actually on Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
All right, man, all right, John Will whose phone just
always lasts every time, right.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
In eighteen minutes and thirty seconds and the whole thing
when you put the.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Quarter in and you only get nineteen minutes.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah, Ucla, he likes UCLA. And the points against Indiana.
We're gonna break Rick new Heisel, by the way, speaking
of that, will join us around six forty or so
tonight on ninety three three KJRFM.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.