sports. Eugene. Portions of this show are recorded.
Strap in and be prepared. I love growing the
game. I can guarantee you, any other West Coast
team that's watching this, I'm sure USC is gnashing
their teeth right now saying, how come we couldn't
have thought of this first? Interesting guests.
Kelly Graves, Mike Parker, Coach Mark Waszkowski,
Melissa Lombardi, Max Torres, El Toro, joining
us. Sharp opinions. I think if you're a supporter
of the NBA, that you should at least have some
level of interest in the WNBA because the things
that interest you as a NBA fan should still interest
you as a WNBA fan. That's just my opinion. And
some smiles. Can you guess what position I played
in football? Left out? No, I did not. Yeah, exactly.
I did think about that for a second. But yes,
actually, I did not play. I was not big enough.
Goose tried to kill me today on the golf course.
Advanced warning was given. It just apparently
was not heard. I will dispute that in a court
of law. It's Danny Havel. If you're driving and
you're trying to do this in your head, pull off
the side of the road. I don't need any accidents.
Justin Grossweiner. I love to hear Coach go,
we're going to focus on that bad four game stretch
the rest of the season. We will never do that
again. That may be a good point. I don't know.
Maybe you can do that. Maybe that's another strategy.
Danny and Justin starts now on Fox Sports Eugene
and Fox Sports Newport. Hello neighbors. Welcome
high atop the Delta Tri on the Crystal Palace.
Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports Newport. You are
locked in the fastest 60 minutes in sports. Why?
Because we like you. Danny and Justin, that's
the social media handle. You can find us everywhere.
And also wherever you consume your music or your
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as well. Just type in Danny and Justin or Fast
60 Minutes. Find us, whatever vehicle you're
on, then we're there. Like and subscribe, you
get a nice little notification when we drop the
podcast of this radio program. It's just 49 minutes
on a listen on average, the Danny and Justin
radio show. Good show today, a packed show again.
Paul swine guard who is the public dress announcer
and also does a lot of stuff for mbc and the
peacock for track and field he'll be our first
guest and then adam susman will get another update
timbers have made a change in their manager position
did they get the guy they wanted as interim and
did they lose out on a guy for next year that
they wanted we'll talk to adam susman about that
and also as the break is coming up because of
world cup what happens to the Timbers after the
World Cup break. We'll discuss all of that here
on the old radio program. Dom, aka Hawk, is feeling
much better today after his spurs. Finally got
a win in the NBA Finals. We'll talk about that
in the last segment. So he's gonna have to sit
and wait until we get to that point in the program.
But I'm glad he showed up. He's got a big smile
on his face. He's a happy boy. Don't think he's
ever taken that spurs hat off. I don't think
he's washed it So he definitely hasn't washed
it. No. I can oh yeah now the turns that way
Sorry I jumped in here when I was fine right
over that talk He's putting the buttons together
and making sure we sound good producing the radio
program of Danny Otherwise known as doc right
over here to our right. It's Justin. You know
him as baby J What a boy. I'm thrilled about
the World Cup, by the way. We haven't talked
about it a lot on this show. We'll get to it.
We'll get to it once we listen. We're going to
have a lot of things to talk about in the summertime
because, you know, we do talk a lot of collegiate
athletics here. We kind of stray away because
the guys at Fox Sports, for the most part, I
mean, they're covering it a lot better than we
possibly could. We have a one hour program, so
we have to be mindful of the time that we have.
So we concentrate on the local stuff. Well, high
school's done. um there's the big 10 championships
are done but ncaa track and field championships
are going to be here this weekend that's one
of the reasons we've got paul swangard on the
program today so we'll talk about all that by
the way speaking of hayward field 139 this afternoon
there was a bomb threat called in and they've
evacuated hayward field this is a breaking story
we don't normally have breaking news of a serious
nature on this program So I mean we're not gonna
necessarily talk about that with Paul everybody
be safe Yeah, so they've cleared the area and
you know stay tuned your updated news They're
gonna have all of it for you, so just about 20
minutes ago 25 minutes ago There was a bond threat
called in so I don't know if this has anything
to do or related to the NCAA championships that
are coming up this weekend, but There you go
never want to hear it people doing silly stuff
Let's see what else we got going on Like I said,
I cover the timbers. We're gonna talk Brendan
Soresby tomorrow Everybody's been banging on
this we're gonna have the the minister George
Reister on if you don't think he's got an opinion
on this then you are deleted Literally everything
like me and we can ask to ask him Hey George,
what do you think of the Brendan Soresby thing?
And then that's the interview, you know, he'll
talk for 20 minutes and we'll be done, which
is great That's why I love having George on I
never have to worry about what question I'm gonna
ask George so There you go. So you're looking
forward to world cup absolutely always just to
switch gears real quick Yeah real quick. The
last world cup final was legitimately one of
the best sporting events i've ever watched between
france and argentina went to penalty kicks like
That was awesome. So I know it probably won't
be as good as that because I don't know how it
can be But i'm really excited. I always love
international competition because I love players
that When they play for their country, it just
means more and so you can feel that and I love
it Can I ask just real quick? Yeah, who are y
'all's winners or who do you think is taking
it all taking it home? Well, i've got probably
printed this off because I was looking through
this. I think there's a top five I don't this
is what's hard about it. It's about you know,
your pool play Yeah, and who you're matched up
against you get to the round of six now because
of the way they expanded it It seems to me in
spain. It seems to me spain's kind of the argentina.
I will I think england could be a dark Horses
well thing well what we'll see because they feel
like England's history of World Cup is has not
been good over No, but that's why they could
be a dark horse They always should be good if
you look at who's on their team Brazil. Yeah
as well I will be heavily not for Argentina heavily
heavily rooting for Argentina. I love little
messy So that's so we will be discussing a lot
more World Cup in the coming weeks as it transpires.
But let's quickly head over to the Oregon Man
Clinics hotline at 343 -5673 and welcome in a
first -time guest on our program. He is the PA
announcer and he's done a lot of work on NBC,
Universal, on the Olympics, a lot of track and
field state championships, not state championships,
a lot of track and field national and world championships
and trials. It is Paul Swangar joining us. And
Paul, first of all, we call it the fastest 60
minutes here, so welcome to the program for the
first time. I like it. We're all about fast and
track and field So so when you were I mean when
you were growing up Paul is a itty -bitty child
Is this what you wanted to be when you grew up?
Itty -bitty child, um, you know I had I had I
had I had certainly had aspirations to be involved
in sport and in media in some way and you know
growing up in Eugene, you know, we were lucky
that You know, the sport of track and field was
a huge and vibrant part of the community at the
time. And, you know, my parents would drop me
off at the beginning of a meet at Oregon on a
Saturday and they kind of considered it free,
low cost daycare because they knew the thing
was going to last for eight hours and I would
be entertained by the running, jumping and throwing.
And, yeah, I'm not, you know, you don't necessarily
grow up thinking, oh, I'm going to be the you
know the voice of an iconic venue like Hayward
Field it certainly you know it came to pass but
I you know I just wanted to be involved in sport
in some way and it's been just a treat to you
know kind of focus on a niche and try to do that
as as well as I can and I've you know been able
to see the world and sit on the finish line for
so many great moments, both here and around the
globe. Well, I'm not going to cheat anybody by
asking what your favorite moment is. It's going
to be like saying what your favorite child is.
But I will direct it. This area is. in stadium
announcing versus a broadcast. So and again you've
done it very well with NBC and will continue
to do that as a part of their commentary team
for Summer Olympics. You just recently did it
in Paris as well. So what's the difference and
how do you is there a different preparation and
how you manage in stadium versus a broadcast?
Yeah, I think there are I mean there are dimensions
that are certainly different I mean the the biggest
one is is the difference of getting Immediate
feedback and and having the ability to shape
a moment in a venue, right? So as a PA announcer
your job is to you know All the people see is
they see everything and we're we're a multi -sport,
you know genre Which is pretty unique to track
and field. So there's usually two or three events
going on at the same time, and you're just trying
to direct their attention and make sure they
don't miss anything. Nothing's worse than hearing
a crowd reaction at one end of the stadium while
you're paying attention to an event that's getting
into the blocks and hasn't had that moment. So
that's a big challenge. But then you also have
this ability to... kind of move everybody's attention
onto one thing like a race or like a moment on
a javelin runway and set the stage for an athlete
to compete at their best. And those are just
the great. the great signature moments of the
time I've been able to do it in stadium. And
then on the TV side, all that those folks have
sitting at home, which is a much larger audience,
is what they see on the screen. So that is more
about making sure that you're talking to the
pictures, you're providing context and a reason
to care. And I've been so fortunate to have been
working with this amazing team of you know production
broadcast people at nbc who really you know know
how to do that at a very high level you know
most of the major sports that you probably spend
more time talking about nfl you know what they're
doing with the nba this year has been great major
league baseball but you know when when track
and field gets its a little moment in the spotlight
it's a lot of those people who are coming in
and helping us try to give the largest possible
audience that our track and field sport ever
gets to have and give hopefully some other people
a reason to want to pay attention and care about
the sport a little bit more. We're gonna do our
best Paul. We're gonna try to we're gonna try
to emphasize track as much as possible over here
on the Danny and Justin radio program Well, if
you're gonna use speed in your whole positioning,
I I'd be I'd be disappointed Absolutely. In fact,
we're gonna be we're gonna be broadcasting live
down there from the pre we're gonna take our
show down there and Broadcast live. Yep. Absolutely.
So one thing I love about track and field is
it's one of those sports where undoubtedly, you
know that athletes are getting Better and better
and better and better as the years go on what
kind of evolution of the sport have you seen
in your time? Well, you all all made me feel
and sound old when you said i've been doing pa
at hayward field for over 30 years Which is actually
an accurate statement, but I I started very young
not itty bitty child I was younger. Um, you know,
the biggest evolution is is well, I mean just
drive down agistry, right? I mean, you know what
you see today in terms of that venue and not
just the field of play, but you know, all the,
you know, all the training and, you know, medical
and, you know, rehab and just, you know, these
athletes are getting access to more pro -like
amenities at a younger age. But that's also,
you know, meant changes in you know shoes and
surfaces and equipment and best practices around
coaching. I mean the shoes themselves have probably
been the biggest you know discussion point for
everyone. We just saw you know for the first
time on a on a record eligible marathon course
a man run under two hours in you know in the
marathon which is just like mind -blowing and
we see that with track and field we've just got
you know records you know we had a 14 year old
seventh grade girl uh earlier this week run four
minutes and 38 seconds in the mile which um you
know puts her among a a pretty good class of
you know kids that would be like Racing in Eugene
this week at the NCAA championship. I mean, it's
just remarkable where Where the sport is gone
and you know, there's some traditionalists much
like when we tore down the old Hayward Field
You know new and innovative, you know is a change
and you got to kind of embrace it and a lot of
you know folks who've followed the sport for
a long time or like, you know, we've got almost
50 kids in high school that have run under four
minutes in the mile and the vast majority of
those kids have done it in the last eight or
nine years. They may not even know who Jim Ryan
was, but you know, for those who knew who that,
you know, and what he meant to the sport back
then, you know, you just hope you appreciate
and respect the history as much as you respect
and appreciate all the great performances we're
seeing now. If you've been to Hayward Field,
he is the voice from on high. We can call it
heavenly. It's Paul Swangar joining us. He is
also the president. We're not that high, actually.
We're much lower in the new stadium. In fact,
it's a little bit of a different viewpoint. I'd
much rather be up high. So I appreciate that.
He is the president of the Bowerman Curve Collective.
He is a University of Oregon graduate, not just
in broadcast journalism, but an MBA in sports
business. And he joins us. Here's the longtime
voice of Hayward Field on the Danny and Justin
radio program. Paul, when you set up for a meet
and it's the mechanism of things, Your eyes have
to go to a lot of different things. So how do
you prioritize things? And how much work goes
into pre -planning and prepping before you sit
down for a meet, say, like the trials or the
Big Ten Championships or anything that comes
to this wonderful venue we have at Hayward? Prep
is everything in our sport You know announcing
in track and field requires, you know to have
the same skill set as a Don is a good awesome
stadium or you know any other voices you hear
When you go to major venues, but track has that
that three ring circus dimension It has the you
know desire the fans to understand what they
might be witnessing in real time I mean, you
know Don who? you know is is a legend and a bigger
legend at Oregon you know for what he's brought
to the PA a microphone you know he doesn't after
Dante throws a you know a 12 yard completion
say hey that's his longest completion in September
you know and tries to put it into immediate context
of of of what it meant to to see that performance
and that's what That's what the fans, at least
certainly at Hayward, kind of expect. So I've
spent days preparing for just these four meet
days at NCAAs. And you're just hoping that you
have everything at your disposal. And then you
rely on, I've got. spotters and we use technology
and you're just hoping that you know you're just
there ready to react to the moment and amplify
and and help those fans appreciate what they
just witnessed. It's funny you mentioned football
because we know how big football is to the University
of Oregon but obviously track and field has a
very special place as well and it should. How
important is track and field to the University
of Oregon? I mean I think I would maybe reframe
it to say what it means to the community. I mean,
I think the years that I was growing up in this
town and when it became Track Town USA, we've
seen that come back in ebbs and flows with major
events. And we give a lot of credit to Vin Lanana
and his team kind of came back and brought back
a renaissance of major trial events and the world
championships. I mean. you know you think eugene
oregon hosting the world championships and it's
being hosted in it was in tokyo olympic stadium
last year it'll be in beijing next year it was
in london and mosco and doha and it's like eugene
oregon what you got to be kidding us but that's
because the world sees something unique about
the culture here that It's a hard, and there's
a core team of folks in town that are trying
to continue to shepherd and amplify and remind
folks that it's a real big sense of community
pride. And yeah, there's only 12 and a half thousand
seats in that new facility, and you're not gonna
see over the course of even a whole season maybe
a total audience that adds up to one or two home
games for the football program, but. There's
very few places in the country that can say it's
the home to something. And we are the home to
track and field the way many feel Augusta is
the home to golf or to other major sports that
folks can name. And I think just the ability
for Eugene to continue to embrace that and just
what it represents in terms of. active lifestyle
and just a sense of what uh you know what Eugene
was and what can still be is I think just an
important ingredient and yeah yeah we all want
a football title and we all want the success
that we're seeing in the other sports but uh
you know I travel extensively around the world
and you know no one in uh in Europe or no one
when I was at the world championships in uh...
in tokyo was asking about what what were the
prospects for the football team So he was not
an itty -bitty lad, but he was a wee lad, and
he started out in radio and television, and he
was an award -winning sports broadcaster there,
and then a decade of leadership at the Warsaw
Sports Marketing Center at the Lundquist College
of Business, and joins as an assistant teaching
professor at Sport Brand Strategy and Advertising
at the University of Oregon, and that's just
his real job. And then he gets to go do the fun
things at Hayward Field as the voice of Hayward
Field. It's Paul Swangard joining us here on
the Danny and Justin radio program. So, Paul,
where is the... In your opinion, because there's
been a lot of discussion, we've had it on this
program before, after there was this thesis of
how track and field is waning, and in the Americas,
it's not the premier sport, and track and field
is dying even at the high school level. Where
do you see track and field in the big picture
of all of the sports? Because worldwide, I think
we can be myopic in the U .S. about track and
field, just kind of like football soccer is.
worldwide, and it's more, I guess, engaged in
other countries, especially in Europe. But where
in the States do you see track and field emerging,
and is there a wane of attention on this sport?
Yeah, I mean, fair question. It's hard pressed
for me to ever believe that we'll go back to
the days when there were dual meets at Stanford
with 60 ,000 people watching every event. I mean,
the industry has changed. There's more. competition.
The sport has challenges in the way it's presented.
It's not as TV friendly because of the multi
-events that happen and you know we've seen some
experiments with the old faded Grand Slam track.
We've got Athlos which is an all -women's event
that's got two events where they're trying to
sort of play with the you know the the presentation
of the sport and that's left to be decided. I
mean at the grassroots level I think this has
always been the quandary right i mean it's it
remains the the top participatory sport in high
school across indoor outdoor and cross -country
it's um it's an inclusive sport because it's
usually no cut it's girls and boys competing
together so it's you know that great equity uh
and i think you know a lot of people support
that effort But just because you competed in
high school doesn't make you a track and field
fan professionally. So, you know, we're continuing
to try to figure out like what's the formula
there in order to, you know, to make it work.
I think when you guys, you know, come down to
pre and in the 4th of July weekend, you know,
we're starting to see in the, you know, the schedule
used to have pre in late May around Memorial
Day. Now it's in this 4th of July thing. and
you know with the combination of you know people
can come to Hayward Field on Thursday night and
run miles on the track on you know Friday they've
got uh you know uh an evening program we've got
uh butte to butte that weekend so there's a community
-wide event that embraces the sport of running
which just if you just take road running specifically
is that at an all -time high in terms of participation
and interest all the way up to the to the marathon
level. So in using that Augusta example before
is like, you know, pre is becoming to Eugene
what the Masters is to Augusta celebration of
the sport. It's more than just sitting in the
stands for two hours and watching the best in
the world. That'll be entertaining enough, but
it's rubbing shoulders with legends and having
a chance to participate, get yourself on the
track. I think those are the models that serve
as the potential paths to get the sport more
resonance, certainly domestically. And then,
of course, with LA in 28 and on the heels of
my time at the NCAA championships this week,
I'll fly down on Sunday and do the NBC show in
LA at USC. And all about that is building momentum
and interest in the same way that Atlanta in
96 and LA in 84 kind of served as a rekindling
of excitement and interest in the sports stars.
We have to do a really good job these next 24
months to execute an effort to make mainstream
America care about You know the tara davis woodalls
and the noah lyles and the simian burn bombs
and you know, there's great star power They're
great people They're approachable in a way that
a lot of other athletes and a lot of other sports
aren't and and that will just give us a chance
and then we'll see if If things take hold on
the other side of 28, you're so ingrained in
track and field though paul I have to ask this
question as a spectator. What other sport do
you like to watch as just you know, I don't have
to worry about Pulling my you know notebook binder
of charts and and notes and all of that, but
I can just sit back and enjoy Yeah, well it used
to be my Daughter's softball team at Sheldon,
but she's now long since graduated. So now I'm
focused on I mean I grew up a hockey guy Nice
roots in Vancouver and you know, yeah, so I'm
more disgruntled about the current state of the
Canucks organization and But I think like you
guys, I mean, I think you know what what what
I have been Fortunate in in my time and in doing
things is I just love a good story. So I mean,
I'm a situational you know, if there's Even if
I'm just kind of you know doom -scrolling on
a day and there's you know some obscure game
that seems to Started to have sort of an interesting
Narrative to it. I love going and watching how
how that's produced how those other broadcasters
are attempting to share that story I mean, I'm
just kind of like a student of it because you
know, that's me just trying to you know I want
to be a little bit better. You know, we were
real fortunate in our Paris coverage. We all
came home and you know got sports Emmys for what
we did as a team over there and LA presents you
know to me an amazing you know who who who would
have not wanted to as an itty -bitty that'll
be our our word kid growing up in Eugene Oregon
who was surrounded by the track and field ethos
at the time to be given a chance to be you know
part of the team that will be able to to share
the story of the games in 2028 in LA. I mean,
that's just, you know, that's just a crazy talk
kind of thing. If I would have a chance to talk
to myself, you know, from that from that time
when I was young, just thinking about what I
what I'd be able to do and in my career. So it's
yeah, it's there's a there's definitely a coolness
factor. And I just love, you know, sport is such
a it's one of the few places left in the world
where we can all just kind of. you know, agree
to disagree, but all share in passion and support
for a team or a sport and it tries to hold the
world together a little bit more than maybe the
other ways it's being torn apart. The longtime
voice of Hayward Field. Paul, this was a pleasure
and we'd love to have you back on the program
and obviously with the Olympics coming up and
with all the other events that will come throughout
the summer months at Hayward Field and you'll
be right in the center of it. We'd love to have
you back. I appreciate the time guys. I appreciate
you putting the spotlight on the sport and encourage
folks who have some time and attention to come
out to Hayward this week and got a good shot
at seeing the Ducks do very well and it's always
good to root for the home team. Absolutely. The
NCAA is coming up. That is Paul Swangard. We
are gonna be back. Did the Timbers miss out on
the manager they wanted after they got rid of
Phil Neville? We'll talk about that with Adam
Sussman next on the Danny and Justin radio program.
And this only has happened the second time in
NBA history with that game last night. You might
have teased that and you guys don't answer it.
Yeah, no, you can turn your microphone on. You
say something. I don't know. I haven't seen anything.
Okay, because like you're the one that jumps
in and answers my dad jokes. And for someone
as young as he is... It certainly won't be me.
Get him right. Let's head on over to the Oregon
Man Klinix hotline at 343 -5673. A returning
guest. So listen, we didn't scare him away so
he came back. You can follow him on the socials.
Adam Sussman with two S's, one... S at the beginning
1s after the you underscore. So it's Adam underscore
Sussman He is the voice you hear on timber review
the podcast that he does covering the Portland
Timbers the co -founder of that review broadcaster
journalist and he joins us here on the Danny
and Justin radio program so it's kind of what
you alluded to Adam last time you were on the
program is that there was a Rolling discontent
with Phil Neville within the organization But
I want to ask this because he's been removed
as a head coach last manager. I think the fans
liked Phil Neville, but the results on the field
just weren't there. Yeah, he certainly had a
relationship with the city of Portland, like
he related it to his time in Manchester over
and over again. And I do think he genuinely had
a bond with the fans. But unfortunately, it just
didn't get better in Portland through his two
and a half seasons here and they didn't just
let him go. They also let go of his top assistant
and also the defensive coach of the Portland
Timbers as well. So there's a pretty big shakeup
going on with the Timbers right now. And their
goal is to have a new permanent coach in place.
by the start of MLS, by the resumption, which
is July 16th in Seattle. And it's funny because
Seattle's coach, Brian Schmitzer, is now the
longest tenured coach in MLS of the Timbers,
will have a first -time manager going against
the man that has done it the longest in MLS,
and what is the biggest rivalry in MLS overall.
So it's been an eventful start to what is sort
of a brief off -season here. And so the Timbers
now in 13th place going into that break. Does
this firing signify that this is still a salgable
season? Is this a season where you would, you
know, it sounds like there's expectations that
they're going to have a manager in place by that
time. Could be an opportunity for them to say,
well, we're just going to, you know, see what
happens in the second half and then figure it
out. But do you think this is still a salgable
season? I do, and certainly the front office
does as well, because there was a big candidate
hired by Austin FC yesterday, a man by the name
of Jim Curtin, who was the coach of Philadelphia
for 10 years, made MLS Cup, two -time supporter
shield winner, two -time MLS coach of the year.
It came up, the Timbers interviewed him. and
the sort of sticking points, at least in my eyes,
was that Jim Curtin is going to coach Austin
at the end of the 2026 season. The Timbers said
there's still a lot to fight for this year. We
want a man to come in this year. And look, Justin,
there's still 60 points up for play here. The
Timbers have played 14 of 34 games in the MLS
regular season. So there is mathematically a
lot to play for. And when nine of the 15 teams
in the conference makes the postseason in one
way or another. It can even be the wild car like
the Timbers had the last two years. There is
still certainly a lot to play for. And the sort
of rhetoric around this Timbers side from internally,
media, broadcasters, even myself, is that the
Timbers team is way too talented to be in 13th
place, a big reason why Phil Neville eventually
departed. Adam Sussman joining us on the Danny
and Justin radio program. So Adam, it seems like
did the Timbers miss out on the manager they
wanted because of their timeline or is there
somebody out there that the franchise covets?
You know, I think the managerial merry -go -round
in soccer is so much harder than the other sport
because you have to go to every corner of the
globe, right? In NBA, we know who the candidates
are. In the NFL, we sort of know who the offensive
and defensive and I guess retread head coach
hires are. For the Timbers, it could be somebody
from MLS, it could be somebody from Norway, it
could be somebody from Algeria, it could be somebody
coaching in the World Cup right now. It did come
out yesterday that they were candidates for Jim
Curtin. I don't know how much of that was the
Portland Timbers interviewing Curtin or Curtin
interviewing the Portland Timbers because he
was sort of the marquee name if he was going
to be hired in this cycle, but eventually he
goes to Austin. And on my podcast, about two
weeks ago, I ranked the opening jobs at MLS one
through six. I had Austin as number one. I had
Portland as number two. So that didn't come as
a huge surprise to me. I wouldn't say that they
didn't get Kurt another bang out of luck. I reported
earlier this week that the Timbers has been interviewing
candidates in person last week and into this.
So I think they are still plenty busy on the
cycle and hopefully should have a permanent hire
by the end of June. So as you said there is talent
on this team and I would agree and I think one
of the interesting things when you bring in a
new head coach is it's an opportunity to Do one
of two things either you're gonna maximize the
guys that you have or you're gonna totally recreate
what you are all about as a team What do you
think this team needs to do because they do have
some talent and you could bring in a guy That's
gonna make them better or you could just do a
whole new vision and that's sort of an opportunity
as well Yeah, I think there needs to be some
structure within this roster. I think the starting
11 actually makes a lot of sense in terms of
the personnel. The Timbers have brought in a
lot of new faces and it hasn't quite chilled
yet. I think soccer is... more so of a chemistry
sport than people realize, especially in attack.
Let's say when you're number 10 attacking midfielder
has the ball in the middle of the pitch. He needs
to know what the right wing or the left wing
and the striker is going to do. It didn't feel
like that was there for the Timbers at times.
This is a sport that can have individualism,
but I felt like there was too much of that with
the Timbers. The first 14 games of the 2026 MLS
season. So I want a new coach to come in and
sort of put a structure in place. that when they
have the ball, here's what everybody else does.
When they're defending on the right wing, here's
what everybody else is supposed to be doing.
So I want to see structure is the big one and
also just sort of some consistency and selection
as well. The timbers have rotated around their
midfield a lot. Yes, somewhat through injury
and to have a permanent center back partner next
to Finn Sermon, who's going to be the only timber
at the World Cup this year. Hi Adam, this is
producer Dom aka Hawk. So you just brought up
Finn Sermon My question is centered around Finn
Sermon So with the tournament like the World
Cup if you play well It can increase your value
increase all the eyes on you With a team like
the Timbers that have kind of struggling like
you said They're way too talented to be here
the 13th in the East or yeah, I believe the West
West the West. Sorry is as a Timbers fan or anything
like fans are nervous that The Timbers might
sell him if he does well in the World Cup. Is
that a possibility? And is that something that
would help the Timbers or is he a player that
is just so impactful to this team that there's
no way they'll move him? Vint Cerber will not
be a Timber for the rest of his life by any means.
He is too talented and too young and if he gets
it done on the biggest stage at the World Cup,
I think there's going to be offers that come
in for him. When he started playing very well
at the beginning of the 2025 season, the timeline
I always put on him was he may be sold after
the World Cup. Will I be shocked if he is sold?
No. Do I think he will be sold? Also, no, because
he's too important to this team right now. But
if a bid comes in, it could blow them away. MLS
is not a end -all, be -all league. They are ultimately
a selling league of their most talented young
players, in which Vince Sherman is one of those.
They have to tie him down to a new contract,
though, also, which is another sort of chapter
in this Finn Sermon book. If a new coach comes
in, he will certainly want Finn Sermon under
him. But at the same time, the front office sort
of has an obligation to the player and his agent
on what he needs to do. It's what makes soccer
different from every other sport because, you
know, for example, the Portland Trail Blazers
can trade Deni Avdya against his welter wherever
in the league of the other 29 teams. In soccer,
all three parties have to agree. The selling
club, the buying club, and the player himself.
So, if Fincerman doesn't want to go, and I've
talked to Fincerman a lot, he is happy in Portland,
he loves the city, and he loves his time in MLS
so far, I don't think he will go if he's happy
with his current situation. But if he shines
at the World Cup, which I'm sure you know, Hawk,
it is the biggest stage this sport offers. If
New Zealand... can play well against Egypt and
play well against the likes of Kevin De Bruyne
and Lukaku against Belgium, there's going to
be clubs that are saying, hey, who is this six
foot two guy that is quick as hell and playing
well against the world's best at the World Cup?
Oh, that's Timbers center back Finn Sermon. We
can probably get him for a reasonable price.
My sort of market value on him would be somewhere
in the six to 10 million range, which would be
the second most expensive sale in Timbers history.
Timbers defender finn sermon place for New Zealand
had a strong performance for the all -whites
in a close one -nil loss to England That's their
final tune -up They were all the way across the
country at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa this
past weekend So but dovetailing off of that Adam
and we're with Adam Sussman who? Does the timber
review and he joins us to talk all things timber
and we'll get his view on the World Cup here
in a moment I'd like to to handicap the field
for us, but with sermon or anybody else the uncertainty
at the managerial How does that play into a player
saying, yeah, even though they could love the
city, they can love the fan base, if there's
uncertainty, all these players want to win. They
want to stay competitive. They want to be in
that limelight and fight for an MLS Cup. So where
does that play into the whole factor for Sermon
or anyone else on the Timbers? Well, I think
they're all open to whoever's going to come in
next because it hasn't been a winning circumstance
through 14 games this year. The Portland Timbers,
I think their biggest issue of just looking at
it from 300 feet away is they can't win on the
road. Like they have one win on the road over
the last 20 games away from Providence Park.
And I think they think to themselves that if
a new coach comes in, that can probably be solved
overall. I don't think Phil Neville ever lost
the locker room, which I think is important,
but it was a results -based business and the
results were... weren't there. These are also
professional athletes that are sort of like in
soccer. They're not NBA players making 60, 70
million. They're making closer to what, you know,
an accountant or a successful lawyer would make
more so than what the NFL quarterbacks or the
MLB pitchers are making per se. So these are
guys that are relatively humble. A lot of them
are coming from all over the world. So they're
not like living and dying every day with the
coach's decision. They sort of understand what
the career of soccer is. But at the same time
with the Timbers being a very young team, this
is such a huge hire for the future of the Timbers
and a lot of these young players because... If
they, and I know a lot of them do, want to eventually
play in Europe, the Timbers being a good team
will facilitate that. Just look at what's happened
with the likes of the Vancouver Whitecaps, right?
They were a bad team three years ago. Now they're
a good team and their best players are getting
looks from the bigger clubs around the world,
whether that be in South America or Europe. The
Timbers being good will facilitate good moves
for their younger players if they want that in
their future. Great point. As Danny said, we
want to ask you about the World Cup, which...
Opening match is starting this Thursday between
Mexico and South Africa. But first I want to
ask you about your Hammond Bears How does it
feel to have your your boys potentially become
the smallest market in the NFL? I thought it
was a bigger city than Green Bay, but I I Mean
Hammond's about as close I look I don't want
to defend it if I have to defend it I have some
milk cards in my back pocket But Hammond is essentially
a distant suburb of the city of Chicago. As much
as I hate it, I'll be enjoying them playing at
Soldier Field for at least the next three to
four years. I hope that project takes as long
as possible, because it's a bummer. It's for
sure a bummer. But Soldier Field does need some
updating to say the least. It's the smallest
city in the NFL. And to segue here nicely, Justin,
I'll help you out with your job here. Soldier
fields not hosting any World Cup games because
it's the smallest stadium in the NFL like that
should show you why another reason the Bears
do need a new stadium and it sucks that Chicago
of You know, you know, you love the city of Chicago
as well should be hosting World Cup games They
should like of you know Kansas City or some of
the other host cities Chicago should be amongst
that mix They had a tuna. This is Danny. They
had a tune -up match there and the fans were
incredible. It was yeah awesome Awesome experience
there. So yeah, I 100 % agree with you Yeah,
yeah us men's national team versus Germany a
social field a great game and bummed. There's
really nothing else No, it is really unfortunate.
So we'll see what they go what goes on there
I'm not convinced. They're actually gonna move
to Hammond, but just in terms of the World Cup
Obviously Spain's gonna be looked at as a favorite
France with Mbappe They're gonna try to get some
revenge on what happened last year I'm gonna
be heavily rooting for Argentina to do it again.
What do you think who'd you who'd you handicap
for this World Cup? My favorite to win the tournament,
if you're like gun to your head, pick one, would
be Spain. I think top to bottom. They are not
the most talented roster, but I think they're
the best team. I, you know, I watched Inter Miami
in MLS all the time, and they sort of have this
front three that is some of the most brilliant
attacking players you'll ever see in MLS, but
they don't defend. And I feel like we could see
a little bit of that with the France national
team. France is the strongest collection of talents.
Their front three. uh... was one of the late
killian about they and michael lee say are three
of the most five talented attackers in the world
in my opinion and playing together is a monster
type squad well that from three defend i'm not
sure my sort of dark horse team in this tournament
who i will have an eye on and they put a few
dollars onto go to a quarter or a semi -final
is Ecuador. They finished, I believe, second
place in South America in qualifying. They play
a three at the back system, and they're three
centerbacks or three of some of the best in Europe.
They've got William Pacio, who plays for PSG,
who just won the Champions League. They've got
Piero Hencapé, who plays for Arsenal, who was
in the Champions League final and won the Premier
League. And they've got Joel Oduñas, who is a
young defender right now, 22 years old, that
will likely be playing for one of the biggest
clubs in the world here in the near future. And
they also have probably the best defensive midfielder
in the world as well in Caiceda, who plays for
Chelsea. So that is a very, very strong defensive
team. And I think one thing that nobody's really
talking about this World Cup is I don't know
how well the European teams are going to be able
to handle the heat right now, because if you're
playing in Mexico or some of these US cities,
it's going to be damn hot. And we sure as hell
know places like Ecuador and Brazil and Argentina
are more equipped to deal with that than the
likes of England, who if it's 73 degrees, they're
way too hot to they call it a national heat emergency.
So it's going to be a little bit different here
for the South American countries versus the European
ones. The co -founder of the Timber Review. Listen
to that podcast and follow Adam underscore Sussman
on all the socials. Adam, thank you very much.
And by the way, you're okay to bet as long as
you don't have any NCAA football eligibility
left. So go ahead. No, I was hoping to play quarterback
for the next year. I'll get it in junction and
I'll be fine. Adam, thanks for your time, buddy.
We really appreciate you. Thanks, guys. Here
he goes. Adam's husband. Yeah, he's laying down
some bets, man. Cool. All right. I don't know
if it's a little known fact, but history was
made just for the second time in the NBA Finals
yesterday as the Spurs defeated the Knicks. Hawk
is looking up skyward trying to get some divine
intervention. He really, really wants to answer
this question for me. Do not look, computers
down, nobody looking up, stay away, we'll talk
NBA finals next as we close out the show here.
Danny and Justin, Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports
Newport. A retired judge in Lubbock County, Texas
gives Brendan Soresby his life back as the Texas
Tech quarterback in this whole gambling. And
it is now becoming a scandal because of the size
they're lining up. Basically anybody who's not
a Texas Tech fan. is railing on this. We will
have our own takes on it with the minister, our
dear friend, George Reister, former NFL player,
former duck tomorrow right here on the program.
You are not going to want to miss that. So get
your ears back here at 2 p .m. tomorrow afternoon.
If you missed any of our interviews with Paul
Swangard and with Adam Sussman as we talked track
and then we also talked a little Timbers and
a little World Cup. Go back to the podcast, Danny
and Justin. And by the way, It's now being reported
that it's going to be a while. They've cleared
Hayward Field because of a bomb threat. This
is in advance of the NCAA championships that
are going on this weekend at Hayward Field. They
were a practice session scheduled for today and
they've cleared everybody from Hayward and the
surrounding area. And there's also like, isn't
this the week everybody's moving out this weekend
as well from school? Mean clearing out of the
dorms and all the student housing and everything
else or is that you tell us dumb? Yeah, I'm looking
at you. I'm not I don't know if you're just asking
the question. Yeah Yeah, I know you don't live
you know in the dorms, but you live well finals
week this week So I'd say yeah probably the end
of this week, okay Which always makes it so much
worse when they have the track and fields because
the flights are more expensive the trial I think
about that Yeah, and then like say your parents
want to help you move out. There's no hotels.
I ran into this a couple years ago All right,
so nba finals spurs 115 111 Hawk is very happy
boy a chaotic monday night at madison square
garden So for only the second time in nba history
this happened you guys know what it is Is it
something to do with the president? No, okay.
No, that's the first time ever that a sitting
president's attended an nba final dark cheeto
was there and did not receive You know the of
course he thinks he did. Yeah, whatever. He was
booed hard Only the second time in nba history
that the road team has won the first three games
Oh, wow, I didn't know that put that one in your
little bonnet first set only the second time
in nba history i'm trying to think of when the
first time a road team has won the first three
games that The youngest team to ever win the
NBA finals. I believe is the 77 Celtics I could
be mistaken, but it was in the 70s and they went
down Oh two and won the finals and 77 was the
Blazers was another maybe the Blazers and I think
they were against the Sixers Yeah, yeah, we're
the newest team the youngest team ever in the
Spurs were the second youngest team in the NBA
finals history went down Oh to one game three
there could be something there Victor Wemba Nyama
joins Tim Duncan as the only other Spur to score
at least 25 points or more in three consecutive
final games and help lead the Spurs along with
Stefan Kassel. So they're calling him now Area
51 because Kassel wears number five and... Oh,
that's what they say when B wears number one.
So that's what they're saying. They've been saying
that they've been saying All right. Listen, dude,
we're not you know, we're not huge fans of the
Spurs So so are you feeling are you feeling more?
Optimistic now that you got the first one if
you would have gone down you meaning your team
Yeah, gone down three. Oh, you know put a fork
in you. Yeah, they went down three. Oh, it was
over Well, there's always optimism It's not for
everyone before that was a lot about you as a
fan. Are you living it right there? Are you living
in delusion though? When you're in the finals
you have to live in delusion, but we needed to
win it was a good win It does worry me a little
bit just the runs that the Knicks go on They
always seem at the end of quarters to close it
down But I don't know the Spurs missed a lot
of threes I think if they knocked down some of
those wide open threes we are sorry the Spurs
win by ten No, it's good. I think the Spurs are
in a good position. I think they get four tomorrow
What do you think? You know, I definitely think
that the vibes were off at Madison Square Garden
last night, and I would not be surprised if it
changed the series. I was pretty much off on
the Spurs, I have to say, coming into that game,
but just the way it went down, I don't know.
Like, I think they might have a chance still.
OK, well, Stephen A. Smith certainly had his
thoughts, but I'm not going to repeat him. Oh,
a joke. I got fired from the bank today. A woman
asked me to check her balance, so I pushed her.
Dad jokes. How much money does a skunk have?
How much money does a skunk have? Um, huh, I
don't know. There's not a lot of Disney cartoons
with skunks with money. I'm trying to think of
any Scrooge McDuck. Zero dollars? No, just one
cent. One cent. Tomorrow on the program, George
Reister joins us. And again, if you missed any
of Adam Sussman talking about the Timbers...
A good listen on that Timber Review. It's a podcast
that Adam Sussman does. He's the co -founder
of that. Or if you missed, Paul Swangard, who
is the longtime voice. And we got it cleared
up. He's not from the heavens. He's like, like
in the middle of Hayward Field, not as high up
as he'd like to be. So maybe we can work on that.
Go back to the podcast. Danny and Justin, listen
to it there. So, 4 -Hawk for Baby J. Om -Doc.
God bless. Be well. Put a smile on your face.
Try and stay cool. It's going to get warmer as
we head into the weekend. Stay hydrated. Be well.
Peace.