WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.839 Oxford's Eugene portions of this show are recorded 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:08.679 strap in and be prepared I love growing the game 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:11.980 I can guarantee you any other West Coast team 00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:14.800 that's watching this, I'm sure USC is gnashing 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:17.879 their teeth right now saying, how come we couldn't 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.179 have thought of this first? Interesting guests. 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:23.260 Kelly Gray. Mike Parker. Coach Mark Waskowski. 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:26.019 Melissa Lombardi. Max Torres. El Toro. Joining 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:29.019 us. Sharp Opinions. I think if you're a supporter 00:00:29.019 --> 00:00:31.519 of the NBA, that you should at least have some 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:33.780 level of interest in the WNBA. Because the things 00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:37.200 that interest you as a NBA fan should still interest 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:39.299 you as a WNBA fan. That's just my opinion. And 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:41.399 some smiles. Can you guess what position I played 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.219 in football? Left out? No, I did not. Yeah, exactly. 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:46.439 I had to think about that for a second. But yes, 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:48.060 actually, I did not play. I was not big enough. 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:50.820 Goose tried to kill me today on the golf course. 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:52.979 Advance warning was given. It just apparently 00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:55.619 was not heard. I will dispute that in a court 00:00:55.619 --> 00:00:58.159 of law. It's Danny Havel. If you're driving and 00:00:58.159 --> 00:00:59.600 you're trying to do this in your head, pull off 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.119 the side of the road. I don't need any accidents. 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:03.759 Justin Grossweiner. I love to hear a coach go, 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:06.640 we're going to focus on that bad four -game stretch 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:08.900 the rest of the season. season we will never 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:11.340 do that again that that might be a good point 00:01:11.340 --> 00:01:12.920 i don't know i mean maybe you could do that maybe 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:15.200 that's another strategy danny and justin starts 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.519 now on fox sports eugene and fox sports newport 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:26.269 hello Welcome. Hi, it's out the Delta Triad, 00:01:26.269 --> 00:01:28.390 Crystal Palace, Fox Sports, Eugene Fox Sports, 00:01:28.469 --> 00:01:30.849 Newport, the Bigfoot Beverage Studios. You can 00:01:30.849 --> 00:01:32.930 follow us on all the socials, Danny and Justin, 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:36.230 wherever you podcast Danny and Justin as well. 00:01:36.250 --> 00:01:39.129 It's the fastest 60 minutes in sports. We have 00:01:39.129 --> 00:01:42.170 a loaded show for you on a Monday. Thanks for 00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:44.670 tuning in. Oh, my goodness. It's hot outside 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:47.230 and it's hot inside. We are going to have AJ 00:01:47.230 --> 00:01:50.969 Cannell in just a few moments, the voice of your 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:54.129 Portland Fire, and then Adam Rittenberg. The 00:01:54.129 --> 00:01:56.549 rabbi is going to come in. We're going to figure 00:01:56.549 --> 00:01:59.469 things out with Brendan Sorsby because there 00:01:59.469 --> 00:02:02.310 is no more movement. Oh, my goodness. This is 00:02:02.310 --> 00:02:04.370 the best thing ever. Adam Rittberg is going to 00:02:04.370 --> 00:02:05.849 join us from ESPN. We're going to talk about 00:02:05.849 --> 00:02:08.629 Brendan Sorsby. We will also talk about Oregon 00:02:08.629 --> 00:02:10.849 football and where he thinks the Ducks are going 00:02:10.849 --> 00:02:13.389 to be this next year. There was a sugar ant that 00:02:13.389 --> 00:02:17.949 just walked across my little platform here. However, 00:02:18.150 --> 00:02:21.530 I'm Danny right over there. is Justin Grossweiner. 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:23.469 We call him Baby J. What up, boy? What the heck 00:02:23.469 --> 00:02:27.150 is going on? Big 12, Texas Tech, Brendan Sorsby. 00:02:27.189 --> 00:02:30.550 I'm excited to have Adam come on and help break 00:02:30.550 --> 00:02:32.810 it down, because what the heck is going on? Well, 00:02:32.889 --> 00:02:35.069 there's a lot of stuff going on, including the 00:02:35.069 --> 00:02:37.189 World Cup, which we're going to try and... We're 00:02:37.189 --> 00:02:39.129 going to get to all this stuff. So listen, we 00:02:39.129 --> 00:02:41.830 have an hour. We're going to cram all this in. 00:02:42.469 --> 00:02:44.090 You want to talk about a packed show? We have 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:45.969 a packed show. We're going to have good, bad, 00:02:46.009 --> 00:02:48.449 and ugly in the last segment. We want to talk 00:02:48.449 --> 00:02:51.430 about Egypt and Belgium in the World Cup. We 00:02:51.430 --> 00:02:52.710 want to talk about what happened in the World 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:55.469 Cup this past weekend. You got to hang out at 00:02:55.469 --> 00:02:57.069 my house. You got to watch a lot of World Cup. 00:02:57.150 --> 00:03:00.349 I didn't. So you have a lot more than I have. 00:03:00.710 --> 00:03:02.710 So we're going to do all that. We're going to 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:04.490 get to it. Yeah, we'll get over to the Oregon 00:03:04.490 --> 00:03:08.219 Man Collects hotline right now. at 343 -5673. 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:10.620 Welcome in our good friend. He'll be our good 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:13.060 friend. He is your voice of the Portland Fire. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.240 It's A .J. Cannell. You can follow him on the 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:18.780 socials at A .J. Cannell with a K, not with a 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:21.719 C, on the Oregon Mad Clinics Hotline. A .J., 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.659 welcome to the program. Danny and Justin, thanks 00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:26.860 so much, and I appreciate you getting the spelling 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:30.259 right there. Not everyone does of the last name, 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:32.379 so I appreciate it. Well, I just have to say. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:34.900 Here he goes. Here comes Justin. My last name 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:38.020 is Grossweiner, which typically gets misconstrued 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:41.639 as Grossweener. So I am very much very in tune 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:43.500 with spelling and pronunciation and all that. 00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:46.259 And Danny is as well. Danny Havel. Yeah. Yeah. 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:49.840 It's freaking five letters. I don't know how 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:51.939 they screw it up, but whatever. All right. So 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.520 we got that. We got that taken care of. So this 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:58.740 has got to be a blast because. expansion team, 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.680 Portland gets WNBA back, women's basketball is 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.039 on a rise. So, I mean, it's got to be exciting 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:09.639 for you. So talk about your arc with the team 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:12.400 because, you know, you're a younger broadcaster 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:16.279 that's looking to try and break in, and you have 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:20.120 that opportunity, which I think is awesome. So 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:22.899 talk about that arc for you first because... 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:27.240 this is a team that is going to have a lot of 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:31.360 support, and I know you feel that. Oh, 100%. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.600 And I don't know if it was possible to fully 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:38.600 understand that until I was actually in the building 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:40.879 in Moda Center for the first game. Right. And 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:43.689 it was a sellout crowd. It was a loss against 00:04:43.689 --> 00:04:47.850 Chicago by 15 points that still ended in a standing 00:04:47.850 --> 00:04:50.889 ovation by the fans. And that, if anything, tells 00:04:50.889 --> 00:04:53.329 the story of what the Portland Fire fan base 00:04:53.329 --> 00:04:55.910 has been like. I think almost every home loss 00:04:55.910 --> 00:04:58.149 this season, regardless of what the final point 00:04:58.149 --> 00:05:02.829 total was, even the home losses end in a standing 00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:07.509 ovation in recognition of the efforts from the 00:05:07.509 --> 00:05:10.389 fans. So just from a broadcasting perspective. 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:13.120 I've been around the block a little bit, although 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:16.180 I still consider myself young in in my career. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.399 Dude, you are young. That's all right. You are 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:23.519 young. When when we do these jobs, you know, 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:26.060 at least like live event jobs, play by play jobs. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:30.399 For me, the most important element of that is 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.420 the crowd and the adrenaline rush that comes 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:36.279 with the importance of the game as reflected 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:39.699 by the energy in the building and the crowd. 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:44.230 And again, like I said, this has been better 00:05:44.230 --> 00:05:49.589 than anyone could have possibly conveyed beforehand. 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:52.610 I think that's a credit to the Portland fan base, 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:57.810 but also to WNBA fans in general. I've learned 00:05:57.810 --> 00:06:00.149 now in my first year in the league, it's really 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:02.410 just a special league in terms of fan support. 00:06:02.689 --> 00:06:06.329 Well, and finding the right club, because expansion 00:06:06.329 --> 00:06:09.810 is scary. for a league. It's like they need to 00:06:09.810 --> 00:06:12.829 find, they do all their metrics. They kind of 00:06:12.829 --> 00:06:17.050 like, okay, so, and it's Portland and Toronto. 00:06:17.170 --> 00:06:20.730 I mean, two wildly, I mean, two different countries. 00:06:20.829 --> 00:06:24.949 So now they're finding like, okay, so how much 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:28.350 success can we have? And I think they found a 00:06:28.350 --> 00:06:32.629 gold mine in Portland. I would agree. And, I 00:06:32.629 --> 00:06:34.870 mean, Kathy Engelbert, WNBA commissioner, was 00:06:34.870 --> 00:06:37.589 actually in Moda Center for the first time in 00:06:37.589 --> 00:06:40.389 a, you know, since the expansion became official, 00:06:40.470 --> 00:06:43.389 since Portland actually started playing. She 00:06:43.389 --> 00:06:48.629 was there a couple of home games ago to discuss. 00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:52.810 And I believe it was before, yeah, it was before 00:06:52.810 --> 00:06:55.250 the Phoenix game, I think, that she was there, 00:06:55.410 --> 00:06:59.050 unless I'm losing my mind. No, you're not. No, 00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:02.990 you're good. The Vegas game, pardon me, before 00:07:02.990 --> 00:07:08.029 the Vegas game. And it felt like a victory lap, 00:07:08.110 --> 00:07:12.149 to your point, like in the sense that she shows 00:07:12.149 --> 00:07:15.209 up to one of the two markets that they chose 00:07:15.209 --> 00:07:18.529 to expand, you know, starting this season, and 00:07:18.529 --> 00:07:21.069 the victory lap component being like, wow, this 00:07:21.069 --> 00:07:24.069 has just played out perfectly. I think we have 00:07:24.069 --> 00:07:27.810 as much fan support as you could possibly imagine, 00:07:28.089 --> 00:07:30.500 number one. And then the other point that she 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:34.220 was making, just this would be more general about 00:07:34.220 --> 00:07:37.459 just the decision to expand, and they're expanding 00:07:37.459 --> 00:07:41.699 more starting next year in the WNBA, but just 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:44.939 the fact that there have been players that were 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:48.680 role players on previous teams. And this is literally 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:52.379 lifted from the commissioner's pregame media 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:55.220 availability before that Las Vegas game, that 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:58.199 there were role players on their previous teams. 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:01.060 that are now on these expansion teams, and they're 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:04.779 stars. And they're, you know, bona fide go -to 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:08.139 players. And I completely agree with her on this. 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:12.019 She's a commissioner that, you know, maybe has 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:14.819 been a little bit polarized among some of the 00:08:14.819 --> 00:08:17.220 fan base and even the players in recent years. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:19.920 But I would agree with her wholeheartedly on 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.339 this, on that point about the former role players 00:08:22.339 --> 00:08:26.040 stepping up and that being a sign, as she said. 00:08:26.750 --> 00:08:29.110 that the league was ready for expansion. It was 00:08:29.110 --> 00:08:31.810 the right decision to expand because they had 00:08:31.810 --> 00:08:34.789 enough talent to do so. So I think Portland, 00:08:34.870 --> 00:08:37.769 we're seeing sort of both sides of that, that 00:08:37.769 --> 00:08:41.409 this was the right market for a variety of reasons 00:08:41.409 --> 00:08:45.990 to expand to, and that also the team is overachieving 00:08:45.990 --> 00:08:50.090 around some of those players that are rising 00:08:50.090 --> 00:08:53.190 to the occasion in these new roles. And I know 00:08:53.190 --> 00:08:55.309 Danny wants to talk to you about expansion and 00:08:55.309 --> 00:08:57.529 team building in the WNBA. But I want to ask 00:08:57.529 --> 00:08:58.970 you about these players because you mentioned 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:01.190 there are some players that were role players 00:09:01.190 --> 00:09:03.470 on other teams. Some of them were fighting for 00:09:03.470 --> 00:09:05.350 spots in the league. And here they are on this 00:09:05.350 --> 00:09:07.129 Portland Fire team. And like you said, they're 00:09:07.129 --> 00:09:09.970 playing very significant roles. How do you think 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:11.809 that's shaped the identity of this particular 00:09:11.809 --> 00:09:14.370 team in year one to have that sort of identity? 00:09:14.549 --> 00:09:16.710 Because you can understand if a lot of these 00:09:16.710 --> 00:09:20.750 players had chips on their shoulder. Yeah, I 00:09:20.750 --> 00:09:25.240 think. Megan Gustafson, after the Indiana Fever 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:30.200 win, probably reflected it most accurately how 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:32.500 a lot of these players are feeling when she said 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:35.440 that, and Gustafson, she was a National Player 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.799 of the Year in college at Iowa before Kaitlin 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:43.779 Clark was. And Gustafson, 29 years old, has been 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:47.960 in the WNBA eight years and has been on multiple 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.820 teams. And she said that... Probably more, I 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:53.139 think, talking about her WNBA path, because I 00:09:53.139 --> 00:09:55.879 know she thinks back on her Iowa days fondly. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.480 But she said after that win over Kaitlyn and 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:03.779 the fever that she had never felt respected as 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:08.039 a basketball player, at least, in any previous 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:11.879 teams compared to here in Portland. This is the 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.759 first time she feels fully respected as a player. 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:19.870 And I think... To varying degrees, that's probably 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:22.450 how a lot of these other players feel. Now, they're 00:10:22.450 --> 00:10:25.590 trying to build around younger players as well, 00:10:25.750 --> 00:10:29.649 and just bringing in somebody like a Carla, late 00:10:29.649 --> 00:10:33.149 22 years old, expansion draft pick from Golden 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:35.250 State. I don't know if it's an idea where she 00:10:35.250 --> 00:10:37.529 wasn't respected, probably just the fact that 00:10:37.529 --> 00:10:39.909 Golden State had a bunch of other young players 00:10:39.909 --> 00:10:43.519 and Carla. was left unprotected in the expansion 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.940 draft and she was just simply available and Portland 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:48.759 liked her her upside but one way or the other 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:50.539 whether it be some of the veterans on the team 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:54.740 um or or some of the younger players that inherently 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:58.000 in order to be picked selected in the expansion 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.419 draft or otherwise acquired by an expansion team 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:03.580 they kind of have to be left on the side of the 00:11:03.580 --> 00:11:06.840 road a little bit by somebody else um and so 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:10.980 I think that that acts absolutely goes towards 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:13.899 the chip on your shoulder mentality that it feels 00:11:13.899 --> 00:11:16.620 like all these players have. And the thing about 00:11:16.620 --> 00:11:19.320 this team that's so fun to me is that I had no 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:21.919 idea how good they would be coming into the season. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:23.200 I didn't know if they were going to be winless. 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:24.879 I didn't know if they were going to be, you know, 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:27.659 66 % winning percentage. Like, I just really 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:30.080 had no idea. But what was your expectation coming 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:31.840 into this season, and how have they performed 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:33.620 compared to those expectations? Because you knew 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:36.669 a little bit more than I did, for sure. No, we 00:11:36.669 --> 00:11:38.929 didn't know anything more either. My expectations 00:11:38.929 --> 00:11:45.289 coming into this season were Alex Sarama, head 00:11:45.289 --> 00:11:47.549 coach, first year, has a completely different 00:11:47.549 --> 00:11:51.129 way of, you know, first year being like first 00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:54.090 year as a head coach in WNBA, youngest head coach 00:11:54.090 --> 00:11:59.509 in WNBA history. He comes in with an expansion 00:11:59.509 --> 00:12:02.950 team, and he says that, like, his system is going 00:12:02.950 --> 00:12:05.350 to fit well for an expansion team, but it's going 00:12:05.350 --> 00:12:08.009 to take time. Even he said that it's going to 00:12:08.009 --> 00:12:13.269 take years to fully really bear fruit. And so 00:12:13.269 --> 00:12:17.629 I'm thinking, okay, that makes sense. And honestly, 00:12:17.889 --> 00:12:20.769 you got Juju Watkins next year, number one overall 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:23.769 pick in all likelihood, like this team is going 00:12:23.769 --> 00:12:25.870 to be in the running for that. Yeah. I mean, 00:12:25.870 --> 00:12:27.909 that's, that's, I think what everyone pretty 00:12:27.909 --> 00:12:30.649 much would be expecting. And even in the, in 00:12:30.649 --> 00:12:34.100 the expansion draft, which everything is happening 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.500 on such short notice with the collective bargaining 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:41.960 agreement, the negotiations going on. You think 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:44.419 about it, Portland's first regular season game 00:12:44.419 --> 00:12:48.639 was on May 9th. The expansion draft, so the first 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:52.360 players being acquired, was on April 3rd, so 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:56.179 basically a month before the season begins. They're 00:12:56.179 --> 00:13:00.379 having to put together an entire team from scratch. 00:13:01.070 --> 00:13:03.610 And in that expansion draft, it looked like, 00:13:03.610 --> 00:13:08.769 to me, that Portland took the approach of going 00:13:08.769 --> 00:13:14.250 more with young players and upside and development 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:18.049 long -term, whereas the other expansion team, 00:13:18.149 --> 00:13:21.330 the Toronto Tempo, was in a little bit more of 00:13:21.330 --> 00:13:23.669 a win -now mentality with the players that they 00:13:23.669 --> 00:13:26.750 were selecting, like a Brittany Sykes or Marina 00:13:26.750 --> 00:13:30.919 Mabry. Those are... Those feel like more win 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:33.919 -now players, whereas Portland's acquisitions 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:38.139 sort of felt like more long -term plays. What 00:13:38.139 --> 00:13:41.480 I think nobody expected was that some of these 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:47.740 longer -term plays have stepped up more quickly, 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.580 number one. And then some of the veterans that 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:52.679 you thought might be like role players only, 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:57.399 like Augustuson, have become go -to players. 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:01.500 well and then the number one overall pick Bridget 00:14:01.500 --> 00:14:05.019 Carlton has by and large lived up to that as 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:07.419 well for the number one pick from the expansion 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.080 draft so things have just kind of come together 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:12.940 a little bit more quickly and of course you know 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:16.799 that the WNBA draft lottery is based around the 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:19.600 previous two years winning percentage for the 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:23.200 expansion team they're just going to take their 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.370 winning percentage from this season But I mean, 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:27.990 I think it's pretty safe to say at this point 00:14:27.990 --> 00:14:31.769 at seven and eight through 15 games of the season. 00:14:31.809 --> 00:14:34.409 Like, I just don't think that preseason conversation 00:14:34.409 --> 00:14:37.850 about draft lottery is very relevant anymore. 00:14:38.110 --> 00:14:41.190 That Portland is completely overachieved. I think 00:14:41.190 --> 00:14:42.830 they're going to keep on winning games. I don't 00:14:42.830 --> 00:14:44.549 necessarily know that their final winning percentage 00:14:44.549 --> 00:14:46.850 is going to be, is it going to be like this close 00:14:46.850 --> 00:14:48.629 to 500? Is it going to be better? Is it going 00:14:48.629 --> 00:14:51.009 to be worse? I still don't really know because 00:14:51.009 --> 00:14:52.690 I think there are other teams that are struggling 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:56.210 and there are more wins to be had. Once the scouting 00:14:56.210 --> 00:14:58.450 report gets clearer and clearer on some of these 00:14:58.450 --> 00:15:02.029 players that have overachieved, maybe they come 00:15:02.029 --> 00:15:03.730 back down to earth more, as we've kind of seen 00:15:03.730 --> 00:15:05.669 during that four -game losing streak as well. 00:15:06.230 --> 00:15:08.529 So, I mean, long answer there, but I think the 00:15:08.529 --> 00:15:10.929 expectations preseason were basically nothing. 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:13.889 I mean, nobody had any idea, and if anything, 00:15:14.049 --> 00:15:16.370 we probably thought they were going to be pretty 00:15:16.370 --> 00:15:18.950 bad in terms of win -loss record, but maybe with 00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:21.250 some developmental promise. It turns out we're 00:15:21.250 --> 00:15:24.690 seeing... that developmental promise with actual 00:15:24.690 --> 00:15:28.029 on -floor results in terms of wins. It's been 00:15:28.029 --> 00:15:31.009 pretty cool. The Fire at 7 and 8 take on the 00:15:31.009 --> 00:15:34.169 Minnesota Lynx at 10 and 3 at the Target Center 00:15:34.169 --> 00:15:37.090 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tonight you'll hear 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:39.409 it right here on Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports 00:15:39.409 --> 00:15:43.309 Newport, as we are with the voice of your Portland 00:15:43.309 --> 00:15:46.710 Fire, A .J. Cannell. You can follow him on the 00:15:46.710 --> 00:15:50.110 socials A .J. Cannell with a K, not with a C. 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:54.820 K -A -N -E -L -L. And he joins us. So I want 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:58.720 to talk about the last question is kind of like 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:05.200 the mix of what Coach Sarama is doing. And also, 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:09.220 is there a built -in ability to have more success 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:15.960 in an expansion team because of the wildly popular... 00:16:17.800 --> 00:16:20.960 expansion of women's basketball within the United 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:26.039 States to be able to have kids, not kids, young 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:29.679 women that are going to jump in and go, you know 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.779 what? We can pull some Europeans in. We can pull 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:35.639 some other players. But there's a lot of rookies 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:39.240 on this Portland roster. So is there a built 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:42.279 -in, you know, kind of blend between what Alex 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:44.279 is bringing into this? Because, you know, we 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:47.980 got... they're shooting shots in their socks. 00:16:48.100 --> 00:16:51.120 They don't even have shoes on. And then also 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:57.200 finding kids that can come into the league. Let 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:01.019 me do this second question first, and you might 00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:03.779 have to refresh me on the first one. Because 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:06.799 my mind was kind of occupied. That was an interesting 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:08.380 question. I haven't thought about it that way 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:12.400 before. I would go, I mean, I would say, like, 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:17.059 USA women's basketball has been really strong 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:21.119 for a long time. I would actually go more towards 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.980 when you think about how the game is becoming 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:26.940 more globalized, that's something that this Portland 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:31.019 front office, led by Vanya Chernevich, who came 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:33.880 over from Golden State, Golden State Valkyries 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:36.220 were the first ever expansion team to make the 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:39.220 playoffs last year. And Chernevich, who's from 00:17:39.220 --> 00:17:42.740 Slovenia. And Alex Sarama, who's from England, 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:46.839 I think they've clearly made it, I don't know 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:49.740 if a mandate is the right word, but they've made 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:52.579 it a priority to go after international players. 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:56.599 I want to talk more to the front office and the 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:58.720 coaching staff about that philosophy, but I think 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.539 probably, if anything, it just comes down to 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:04.200 the familiarity that they have with some of these 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:05.940 international players and the scouting that they 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:09.559 put in. Probably as well, something that helps 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:13.839 an expansion team that can't just go and grab 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.140 the biggest possible names right away from the 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:21.000 states is that if you feel like you have a scouting 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.720 advantage in Europe or otherwise, then you could 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.559 probably find a little bit of an edge there by 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:30.819 bringing in smart acquisitions that are undervalued. 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:32.759 And you look at some of the acquisitions that 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:36.220 they've made. And those are players that would 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:38.480 fall into those categories. You know, I mentioned 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:41.099 Leite a couple of times already. She's from France. 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:45.099 They brought in Taya Oblak, Carla's backup, Carla 00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:48.380 Leite's backup, 35 -year -old rookie from Slovenia, 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.819 the same home nation as the general manager. 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:55.279 And Oblak has been pretty dependable in her rookie 00:18:55.279 --> 00:19:00.440 season in the WNBA. She was, you know, a champion, 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:03.349 decorated champion across. different leagues, 00:19:03.390 --> 00:19:08.390 the Czech Republic, Turkey, and this is their 00:19:08.390 --> 00:19:11.309 first year at 35 years old in the WNBA. They 00:19:11.309 --> 00:19:13.809 brought in Frida Buhner as their second round 00:19:13.809 --> 00:19:18.670 pick from Germany, just 21 years old. Their first 00:19:18.670 --> 00:19:22.170 round pick was a draft in Stash. So that's the 00:19:22.170 --> 00:19:25.130 other interesting thing is that all the success 00:19:25.130 --> 00:19:27.730 that they're having, they didn't even have their 00:19:27.730 --> 00:19:29.789 first round pick, which in theory would be like 00:19:29.789 --> 00:19:33.210 your highest value acquisition. Coming in as 00:19:33.210 --> 00:19:35.589 an expansion might be your first -round pick 00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:39.390 in the collegiate player draft. And that was 00:19:39.390 --> 00:19:43.490 Ayanna Martin from Spain, who is staying in Spain. 00:19:43.529 --> 00:19:45.369 She's a draft and stash. I think she'll come 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:49.289 next year. So a lot of their, I think, savviest 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:52.250 acquisitions were actually international players. 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.819 And I think that, to me, is kind of the common 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:59.319 thread in terms of roster development with this 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:01.559 year's Portland Fire. Can you remind me of the 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.119 first part of your question? No, is it easier 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:09.819 to build something? And does Alex, head coach, 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:14.279 does he have a different way of approaching this? 00:20:15.140 --> 00:20:19.339 Yeah, I think he has talked about how this was 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:21.220 a perfect fit for an expansion team with his 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:24.410 system because it is different. teaching style 00:20:24.410 --> 00:20:29.990 called constraint led approach which essentially 00:20:29.990 --> 00:20:32.529 he would probably be better at explaining it 00:20:32.529 --> 00:20:37.269 than me but he you think about repetitive practice 00:20:37.269 --> 00:20:42.529 and how a player might take the same jump shot 00:20:42.529 --> 00:20:45.970 when they're warming up from the same spot and 00:20:45.970 --> 00:20:49.390 how his Part of his philosophy, this is definitely 00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:52.009 not the end of it, but just part of it is they've 00:20:52.009 --> 00:20:55.849 done a lot of research that some of that repetitive 00:20:55.849 --> 00:20:59.190 practice actually for basketball can be negative 00:20:59.190 --> 00:21:02.369 towards a player's performance. You know, for 00:21:02.369 --> 00:21:04.730 instance, hey, today at the end of practice, 00:21:05.049 --> 00:21:09.269 y 'all are going to stand on one foot and you're 00:21:09.269 --> 00:21:12.859 going to get your shooting in that way. you're 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:16.500 going to spin around three times and then try 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:19.279 and shoot it. Or you're going to wear a blindfold 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:22.200 and take a few free throws and see if you can 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:27.740 find the rim. So maybe this is sort of a more 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:30.059 extreme example. There are other more subtle 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:31.660 ways that they're putting this constraint -led 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:36.140 approach into practice. But, you know, there's 00:21:36.140 --> 00:21:37.960 plenty of literature about it online. It's very 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.160 interesting. Again, it's called CLA, constraint 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:44.369 -led. And he's basically kind of trying to rewire 00:21:44.369 --> 00:21:47.069 the players' brains a little bit. And there's 00:21:47.069 --> 00:21:48.930 a lot that he's doing differently just in terms 00:21:48.930 --> 00:21:52.690 of player development, player instruction that, 00:21:52.710 --> 00:21:56.130 again, is very, very different than probably 00:21:56.130 --> 00:21:57.750 a lot of them are used to. But with an expansion 00:21:57.750 --> 00:21:59.829 team, a lot of younger players, a lot of players 00:21:59.829 --> 00:22:02.569 that don't have egos, that just are willing to 00:22:02.569 --> 00:22:04.529 embrace whatever their role is going to be coming 00:22:04.529 --> 00:22:07.589 from these previous teams where they had oftentimes 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:11.910 a lesser role. That's why he thinks it's a good 00:22:11.910 --> 00:22:16.509 fit to come in and try this new system. He's 00:22:16.509 --> 00:22:18.930 our voice of the Portland Fire. You can hear 00:22:18.930 --> 00:22:21.549 him right here on Fox Sports Eugene, Fox Sports 00:22:21.549 --> 00:22:24.670 Newport. He is AJ Cannell. Follow him on socials 00:22:24.670 --> 00:22:27.829 at AJ Cannell. But this is going to be a long 00:22:27.829 --> 00:22:31.130 season. Well, actually not that long, but it's 00:22:31.130 --> 00:22:33.769 going to be fun talking to you this year. So 00:22:33.769 --> 00:22:38.690 thanks for being on the program. I think it's 00:22:38.690 --> 00:22:41.589 been a long early part of the season for Portland 00:22:41.589 --> 00:22:44.029 because they've had the most games played up 00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:46.829 to this point in the entire league. So it's been 00:22:46.829 --> 00:22:49.809 a bit of a grind for everyone that's with the 00:22:49.809 --> 00:22:51.750 team. We're looking forward to a little bit more 00:22:51.750 --> 00:22:55.269 of a spaced out schedule as the season goes along. 00:22:55.450 --> 00:22:57.150 But definitely look forward to catching up with 00:22:57.150 --> 00:22:59.990 you guys. Feel free to reach out anytime. Absolutely. 00:23:00.069 --> 00:23:03.269 Thanks, bud. So Portland Fire, 7 -8 on the season, 00:23:03.329 --> 00:23:06.490 looking to get back to .500 against the Lynx 00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:10.109 tonight at 5 p .m. right here on Fox Sports Eugene, 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:14.230 Fox Sports Newport. Lynx are 10 -3 on the season. 00:23:14.269 --> 00:23:17.569 We come back. It's Adam Rittenberg. The rabbi 00:23:17.569 --> 00:23:24.269 comes back. The Big 12 is suing Texas Tech. Yeah, 00:23:24.269 --> 00:23:25.690 big development. Breaking the up. That's right. 00:23:25.750 --> 00:23:28.650 We'll talk to Ed Rittenberg next from ESPN on 00:23:28.650 --> 00:23:32.410 the Danny and Justin radio program. Good, bad, 00:23:32.410 --> 00:23:34.730 and the ugly coming up in the last segment of 00:23:34.730 --> 00:23:37.769 the program. We'll wind up what we saw from the 00:23:37.769 --> 00:23:42.569 weekend, World Cup, College World Series. Alabama's 00:23:42.569 --> 00:23:47.309 now been eliminated as Texas knocks out roll 00:23:47.309 --> 00:23:51.250 tide. 14 -2. Not rolling right now. No, they 00:23:51.250 --> 00:23:54.029 aren't. He just got rolled over there in Omaha. 00:23:54.130 --> 00:23:56.170 But let's head on over to the Oregon Mancoins 00:23:56.170 --> 00:24:00.329 hotline at 541 -343 -5673. Welcome in our good 00:24:00.329 --> 00:24:02.130 friend, the senior writer, college football for 00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:06.109 ESPN, at XM College Host. And you can follow 00:24:06.109 --> 00:24:08.349 him at ESPN Rittenberg. It's our good friend, 00:24:08.410 --> 00:24:10.829 the rabbi, Adam Rittenberg, as he's driving through 00:24:10.829 --> 00:24:14.529 Chicagoland as we talk about what's going on 00:24:14.529 --> 00:24:16.789 and what is going on, the topsy -turvy world 00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:19.849 of college football. Rabbi, thanks for joining 00:24:19.849 --> 00:24:22.400 us, bud. We appreciate you. Yeah, you bet. Thanks 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:25.140 for having me, guys. All right, so Brendan Sorsby 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:29.579 and Texas Tech and the Big 12 and betting and 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:33.500 this scourge that seems to keep coming up in 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:36.259 college football. I mean, how does the thing 00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:39.119 get played out? Because for our perspective, 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:41.440 it's like it's pretty cut and dried. You bet 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:44.650 on college football. Go ahead. You're done. And 00:24:44.650 --> 00:24:47.470 it's not like the facts of the case are not in 00:24:47.470 --> 00:24:50.710 dispute because even Brendan Sorsby's team, and 00:24:50.710 --> 00:24:53.009 God bless the kid, you know, I think he's got 00:24:53.009 --> 00:24:56.930 talent, but he admitted he bet on college football. 00:24:57.309 --> 00:25:00.690 That should be it. End of story. So why are we 00:25:00.690 --> 00:25:05.250 dragging this out, Adam? Why? Well, the why is 00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:07.549 because the NCAA can't enforce its own rules 00:25:07.549 --> 00:25:10.130 in the system that it's currently set up because 00:25:10.130 --> 00:25:13.460 you have. The ability, especially with a player 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:16.140 like Brendan, who's got a strong agent and a 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:18.319 lot of money behind him, and then he ends up 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:21.220 using Jeffrey Kessler as his lawyer, who has 00:25:21.220 --> 00:25:24.039 taken the NCAA to the legal woodshed over and 00:25:24.039 --> 00:25:26.660 over, is able to get an injunction from a friendly 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:28.619 local judge, and that's who it is. They can spin 00:25:28.619 --> 00:25:30.519 it however they want. That's how everybody outside 00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:32.339 of that state is going to look at that ruling. 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:35.740 I mean, legally, it's a ridiculous ruling, but 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:38.500 it's still an enforceable ruling, at least as 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:41.250 it stands now. And then you obviously have the 00:25:41.250 --> 00:25:44.009 support from the attorney general's office in 00:25:44.009 --> 00:25:46.990 the state, which is telling the Big 12 if you 00:25:46.990 --> 00:25:49.529 sanction Texas Tech or if you sanction Brendan, 00:25:49.869 --> 00:25:52.690 you're going to be subject to legal action. And 00:25:52.690 --> 00:25:55.750 then obviously the counter lawsuits today I think 00:25:55.750 --> 00:25:57.789 were significant. Basically both sides are digging 00:25:57.789 --> 00:26:00.450 in. Texas Tech clearly wants Brendan Sorsby to 00:26:00.450 --> 00:26:03.890 not only recover from his addiction but play 00:26:03.890 --> 00:26:08.250 for them. And the Big 12 clearly wants to penalize 00:26:08.250 --> 00:26:10.309 him and ensure that he doesn't. play for texas 00:26:10.309 --> 00:26:13.069 tech so that that's where we have it it's a standoff 00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:17.309 between the conference and the school and there's 00:26:17.309 --> 00:26:19.430 obviously a lot of legal maneuvering going on 00:26:19.430 --> 00:26:22.130 with the you know different with both sides but 00:26:22.130 --> 00:26:24.230 obviously a multiple states involved now too 00:26:24.230 --> 00:26:26.990 and of course they so they have this new lawsuit 00:26:26.990 --> 00:26:30.089 now for the temporary injunction and it's it's 00:26:30.089 --> 00:26:32.309 classic almost like american politics where they 00:26:32.309 --> 00:26:33.670 don't like a ruling so they take it to a higher 00:26:33.670 --> 00:26:36.670 court so i guess my question is like Is this 00:26:36.670 --> 00:26:38.549 where it stops? Or do you think this is just 00:26:38.549 --> 00:26:40.670 going to keep on going higher and higher? Because 00:26:40.670 --> 00:26:43.230 it just seems like one of those things where, 00:26:43.309 --> 00:26:46.029 like, I just don't know where this ends exactly. 00:26:47.089 --> 00:26:49.349 Well, right. And, you know, I think, again, the 00:26:49.349 --> 00:26:53.470 fact that both sides are so dug in, it will be 00:26:53.470 --> 00:26:56.230 interesting because obviously there's more support 00:26:56.230 --> 00:26:59.289 on the side of the Big 12 with all of its other 00:26:59.289 --> 00:27:01.970 members agreeing that this is the right thing 00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:04.490 to do to prevent him from playing. There's support. 00:27:05.049 --> 00:27:07.170 from multiple state attorney generals' offices 00:27:07.170 --> 00:27:10.470 saying that the letter that was sent from the 00:27:10.470 --> 00:27:13.250 Texas attorney general last week doesn't have 00:27:13.250 --> 00:27:16.329 merit and that the Big 12 should be able to enforce 00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:19.630 its bylaws independently and be able to sanction 00:27:19.630 --> 00:27:22.730 a member as it sees fit. I mean, it's not apples 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:24.849 to apples, but obviously the Michigan situation 00:27:24.849 --> 00:27:28.130 a few years ago in the Big 10, there was no legal 00:27:28.130 --> 00:27:31.470 pushback against the Big 10's ability to suspend 00:27:31.470 --> 00:27:34.019 Jim Harbaugh during the season. That was their 00:27:34.019 --> 00:27:36.220 right as a conference, and certainly Michigan 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:40.220 and its fans and certain political folks in that 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:42.500 state didn't agree, but you didn't have this 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:46.500 playing out the way it has. I think part of it 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:49.359 is the school involved. Part of it is who their 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:53.819 super booster is, who believes he's the one to 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:56.680 change college athletics. That's going on simultaneously 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.779 here. I'll just say it to you guys. Wouldn't 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:03.799 college, was college athletics better when we 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:05.339 didn't have to hear about Cody Campbell every 00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:09.319 day? Yes. I mean, it just was. And regardless 00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:11.660 of how you feel about player compensation or 00:28:11.660 --> 00:28:14.519 cooling media rights or a congressional bill, 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:16.400 the fact that we have to talk about this guy 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:19.859 every single day is not a good thing. And we're 00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:21.420 talking about it right now, and we're going to 00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:23.160 continue to talk about it until there's a resolution 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:25.880 in this Sorsby situation. Absolutely. And you 00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:28.680 can hear his frustration in his voice. At ESPN 00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:30.839 Rittenberg, he joins us. It's the great Rabbi 00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:32.980 Adam Rittenberg joining us on the Danny Justin 00:28:32.980 --> 00:28:36.160 Radio program. So I think this, and I think it's 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:37.920 getting washed over. a little bit and i want 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:39.920 to focus on this a bit because you touched on 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:42.839 it right from the beginning is the toothless 00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:47.400 the the lack of ability for the ncaa to get in 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:51.319 and really dig in and enforce and manage what 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:53.799 goes on in college athletics especially for football 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:56.819 because that's the revenue generator so adam 00:28:56.819 --> 00:29:01.269 doesn't this kind of amplify how The NCAA needs 00:29:01.269 --> 00:29:04.809 to figure out how they can become more relevant 00:29:04.809 --> 00:29:07.569 when it comes to the entire conversation, when 00:29:07.569 --> 00:29:10.869 it comes to managing college athletics. Well, 00:29:10.890 --> 00:29:13.329 again, legally, they do need help. I mean, this 00:29:13.329 --> 00:29:15.930 is, you know, the cry for federal help and congressional 00:29:15.930 --> 00:29:20.130 help is amplified by this, which is the irony 00:29:20.130 --> 00:29:22.970 here. Cody Campbell's been behind the Saving 00:29:22.970 --> 00:29:26.349 College Sports Act and has pushed back against 00:29:26.349 --> 00:29:29.549 the Big Ten and the SEC's concerns of it. But 00:29:29.549 --> 00:29:33.880 again, it does. does require some type of action 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:38.559 at that level to allow the NCAA to enforce what 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:41.859 everyone pretty much agrees is a good rule and 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:45.539 then not be subject. to an injunction, not be 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:48.319 subject to you'll find the friendly local judge 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:51.019 and make the exception for little Brendan or 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:53.839 little Trinidad or whoever it is. Because that's 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:56.019 where we're at right now. I mean, essentially, 00:29:56.200 --> 00:30:01.140 the sport went from being a largely beloved sport, 00:30:01.319 --> 00:30:03.579 but probably an unfair sport because of the way 00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:06.420 players were not being compensated at all for 00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:09.240 their work for decades and decades, to a sport 00:30:09.240 --> 00:30:11.220 that is much more equitable for the players, 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:13.339 but essentially one that you've turned over to 00:30:13.339 --> 00:30:15.250 the players. Like, if you were to ask people 00:30:15.250 --> 00:30:17.910 in college athletics now who runs college sports, 00:30:18.089 --> 00:30:21.630 the only correct answer is the players, their 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:23.970 agents, and their attorneys. They run college 00:30:23.970 --> 00:30:27.609 athletics. Nobody else does anymore. And until 00:30:27.609 --> 00:30:31.150 that changes, these situations, like Charlie 00:30:31.150 --> 00:30:33.710 Baker's statement, I think it was today, about 00:30:33.710 --> 00:30:37.349 the residual effect of not resolving the Sorzi 00:30:37.349 --> 00:30:39.529 case and what could happen with other lawsuits, 00:30:39.789 --> 00:30:42.920 like, he's not wrong. Because everybody wants 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:45.160 to win. Everybody wants to get an edge. And they 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:46.960 may all be saying the right things about how 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:49.640 this is wrong for Texas Tech. But if they have 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:52.119 a player in the same situation, you better believe 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:54.039 they're going to find a judge and get an injunction. 00:30:54.299 --> 00:30:56.720 And in many cases, find a way for that player 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:58.599 to be allowed to play. So I don't want to say 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:00.980 it this way, but if you were a betting man, is 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:04.410 Brendan Sorsby going to play this year? You know, 00:31:04.470 --> 00:31:10.170 I'm pretty cynical about this since the initial 00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:13.509 injunction was granted. And so I think he will 00:31:13.509 --> 00:31:16.970 in some form or fashion. But there's a lot of 00:31:16.970 --> 00:31:19.109 pressure now, right, on Texas Tech. I mean, they 00:31:19.109 --> 00:31:21.490 are really, you know, backs against the wall. 00:31:21.809 --> 00:31:24.509 Everybody else is against this in their conference. 00:31:24.650 --> 00:31:26.650 Pretty much everybody else around the country 00:31:26.650 --> 00:31:31.160 is against this. But they are emboldened by the 00:31:31.160 --> 00:31:33.240 injunction that they received. They're emboldened 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:36.480 by the relationships they have with state politicians 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:39.900 in a very powerful state like Texas. They're 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:43.190 emboldened by who Cody Campbell is. it's just 00:31:43.190 --> 00:31:44.809 a tough one to predict. I think a lot of schools 00:31:44.809 --> 00:31:47.789 would fold because they would see the morality 00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:50.269 in this. And here's the thing. They put together 00:31:50.269 --> 00:31:52.930 that video last week, which was widely panned, 00:31:52.930 --> 00:31:55.150 and rightfully so. But there was so much in that 00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:58.569 video about addiction and mental health and supporting 00:31:58.569 --> 00:32:00.690 Brendan Sorsby through this. You can still do 00:32:00.690 --> 00:32:04.809 that. That's what we've said all along. He can 00:32:04.809 --> 00:32:06.950 practice with the team. He can be part of the 00:32:06.950 --> 00:32:09.849 quarterback meeting. But it just comes across 00:32:09.849 --> 00:32:13.029 as insincere when you're so tied to him playing 00:32:13.029 --> 00:32:16.529 as part of his recovery. We all know why you 00:32:16.529 --> 00:32:18.650 want him to play. It's why you paid him all the 00:32:18.650 --> 00:32:21.470 money coming off of a playoff appearance to replace 00:32:21.470 --> 00:32:24.230 a quarterback who wasn't ultimately good enough 00:32:24.230 --> 00:32:26.589 to win in the playoff. That's why he's there. 00:32:26.990 --> 00:32:30.269 And no matter what they say about this is good 00:32:30.269 --> 00:32:32.809 for his career and good for his recovery, no 00:32:32.809 --> 00:32:35.269 one's really going to nod their head in agreement. 00:32:35.849 --> 00:32:38.089 And you mentioned earlier about how the players 00:32:38.089 --> 00:32:39.569 are running college football at this point. And 00:32:39.569 --> 00:32:41.150 I think that fact's really key. And something 00:32:41.150 --> 00:32:43.230 Danny was talking to me about and kind of questioning 00:32:43.230 --> 00:32:44.950 right after this happened was, like, how did 00:32:44.950 --> 00:32:48.690 Texas Tech not ask him if there were any situations 00:32:48.690 --> 00:32:50.950 sort of like this that they need to know about? 00:32:51.210 --> 00:32:53.710 And I guess my response was that I don't think 00:32:53.710 --> 00:32:55.390 that a school is going to— They want to ask the 00:32:55.390 --> 00:32:56.650 question. They're not going to want to ask that 00:32:56.650 --> 00:32:58.490 question because they're placating to the players, 00:32:58.609 --> 00:33:00.069 right? They want to get the player—they're recruiting 00:33:00.069 --> 00:33:02.009 the player. Like, the player has the power, and 00:33:02.009 --> 00:33:04.049 they want the player to come to them. So isn't 00:33:04.049 --> 00:33:05.960 that sort of how these relationships— are at 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:09.380 this point yeah although again i don't think 00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:12.920 um that that they would you know ruin their ability 00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:16.579 to attract other players if they said hey you 00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:18.519 know what we obviously didn't know about this 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:20.480 i mean there's no way they would have recruited 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:22.119 brennan sorsby if they knew about this like i 00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:24.579 totally believe because again it's been such 00:33:24.579 --> 00:33:28.500 a a clear line in college sports. I covered the 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:31.700 situation much closer in Iowa, the state of Iowa, 00:33:31.779 --> 00:33:35.059 when that state executed a raid against college 00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:38.299 athletes for gambling while in athletic facilities 00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:41.019 at places like Iowa and Iowa State. And these 00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:44.720 were much fewer bets. I mean, Hunter Decker is 00:33:44.720 --> 00:33:46.859 the starting quarterback at Iowa State. He lost 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:50.259 his eligibility for good based on one bet. on 00:33:50.259 --> 00:33:52.880 Iowa State football to win his freshman year 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:54.579 when he wasn't even playing. You know, there 00:33:54.579 --> 00:33:56.539 were other athletes that were strung along by 00:33:56.539 --> 00:33:59.519 the NCAA. I'll just say it, were treated unfairly 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:03.039 by the NCAA and ultimately lost their eligibility 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:06.440 for not even betting on their team. And so this 00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:09.340 is how seriously it's been taken. You could argue 00:34:09.340 --> 00:34:13.059 it has been punitive, the policies that the NCAA 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:16.019 has had in the past. But everybody agrees. If 00:34:16.019 --> 00:34:18.719 you are actively betting on your sport, on your 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:21.900 team, over and over and over, you know, you then 00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:25.039 forfeit the right to play. I mean, it's just 00:34:25.039 --> 00:34:27.300 the scene is that way, and there's such agreement 00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:29.400 across the board that's the right way to go. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:34.440 So let's now get back to what's going to happen 00:34:34.440 --> 00:34:39.179 this fall. So you put out a really in -depth 00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:43.650 evaluation of the teams in the Big Ten. As we 00:34:43.650 --> 00:34:46.510 head to the fall. So what's your evaluation of 00:34:46.510 --> 00:34:50.670 Oregon? Because Dante Moore and the plethora 00:34:50.670 --> 00:34:53.710 of skill positions. And there's still some questions 00:34:53.710 --> 00:34:56.329 on the offensive defensive line. There might 00:34:56.329 --> 00:34:59.329 be some other questions defensively. New coordinators 00:34:59.329 --> 00:35:02.369 on both sides of the football for Oregon. But 00:35:02.369 --> 00:35:04.789 Dan Lanning seems to be building something that's 00:35:04.789 --> 00:35:07.389 on an arc. You know, he's made one step and then 00:35:07.389 --> 00:35:09.610 another step. Get to the semifinals last year. 00:35:09.809 --> 00:35:13.539 Is this the year for Oregon? Yeah, I think it 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:15.179 should be. I mean, this is a two -year projection, 00:35:15.619 --> 00:35:18.639 so it's 2026 and 2027, which is obviously hard 00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:21.559 because so much changes year to year. And just 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:23.820 candidly, if this was a one -year projection, 00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:26.340 Oregon would be higher than four on my power 00:35:26.340 --> 00:35:29.079 rankings. They lose a lot. They're going to lose 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:31.380 a ton of players after this year, and they've 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:33.880 certainly shown the ability. to recruit from 00:35:33.880 --> 00:35:36.059 high school, to recruit from the portal. They've 00:35:36.059 --> 00:35:37.980 developed well. They haven't had a ton of staff 00:35:37.980 --> 00:35:41.360 turnover, even though they did lose their coordinators 00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:44.500 this past year. But I look at Oregon as a team 00:35:44.500 --> 00:35:47.199 that has a lot of the ingredients. needed to 00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:49.579 compete for a national championship your offensive 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:51.739 line might be the only spot that you're just 00:35:51.739 --> 00:35:54.460 looking how do they fill those gaps how do they 00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:56.860 build the depth that's necessary to withstand 00:35:56.860 --> 00:35:59.920 you know what could be a 16 or 17 game season 00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:02.079 but you have the quarterback you have a defensive 00:36:02.079 --> 00:36:04.760 front i think they'll be better at receiver than 00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:08.699 they were last year they always have enough options 00:36:08.699 --> 00:36:10.710 to carry the ball even though they struggled 00:36:10.710 --> 00:36:13.610 with injuries at the end of last year. The only 00:36:13.610 --> 00:36:16.250 question with Oregon, and really the big question 00:36:16.250 --> 00:36:19.329 around Dan at this point, is what's up with these 00:36:19.329 --> 00:36:22.809 blowout losses? Why has Oregon been blown out 00:36:22.809 --> 00:36:25.989 in the last two playoffs, and how does that not 00:36:25.989 --> 00:36:30.179 happen again? Oregon certainly is talented enough 00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:33.739 to go toe -to -toe with anybody that I see going 00:36:33.739 --> 00:36:36.719 into the season, yet they have those two big 00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:39.019 stains on their resume and how they ended the 00:36:39.019 --> 00:36:41.280 last couple of seasons. So I talked with Dan 00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:43.739 about that. I think he isn't somebody who lingers 00:36:43.739 --> 00:36:47.019 and dwells on those moments, but you know they're 00:36:47.019 --> 00:36:49.059 going to be motivated if and when they get in 00:36:49.059 --> 00:36:51.579 that situation again. All right, Rabbi, we appreciate 00:36:51.579 --> 00:36:54.840 your time. I know you're busy, and man, whatever 00:36:54.840 --> 00:36:58.590 time you can give us, we love it. Take care of 00:36:58.590 --> 00:37:00.730 the rest of the week. I know you got a lot more 00:37:00.730 --> 00:37:03.250 going on. We'll be watching and reading what 00:37:03.250 --> 00:37:06.730 you give us on the old Brendan Sorsby situation 00:37:06.730 --> 00:37:09.110 and everything on college football. We love you, 00:37:09.130 --> 00:37:11.110 man. Thanks. Okay, guys. Thanks for having me. 00:37:11.110 --> 00:37:12.949 Have a good one. There he goes, the rabbi at 00:37:12.949 --> 00:37:15.210 ESPN Rittenberg, senior writer, college football, 00:37:15.409 --> 00:37:19.730 ESPN, Sirius XM, college host. He's an adjunct 00:37:19.730 --> 00:37:22.010 professor, by the way, in DePaul, which is awesome. 00:37:22.750 --> 00:37:25.809 And he's a Cubs fan. And he is a Cubs fan. And 00:37:25.809 --> 00:37:28.690 he does a podcast as well, the Finding Dolores 00:37:28.690 --> 00:37:30.050 podcast. I've talked about this before. We've 00:37:30.050 --> 00:37:32.550 talked about this, yeah. So you've got to go 00:37:32.550 --> 00:37:35.949 back to listen to that. So when we come back, 00:37:36.050 --> 00:37:40.690 good, bad, and ugly for the weekend. What else? 00:37:40.789 --> 00:37:42.789 We want to talk about World Cup. Tiago Splitter 00:37:42.789 --> 00:37:44.989 is hired by the Bulls. We'll talk about that. 00:37:45.309 --> 00:37:47.690 We've got all that going on here in the last 00:37:47.690 --> 00:37:53.389 segment of the program, Danny and Justin. If 00:37:53.389 --> 00:37:55.550 you missed any of the Danny and Justin radio 00:37:55.550 --> 00:37:57.590 program up to this point, please go back to the 00:37:57.590 --> 00:38:00.070 podcast. We already had A .J. Connell, the voice 00:38:00.070 --> 00:38:04.070 of the Portland Fire, the WNBA team, the expansive 00:38:04.070 --> 00:38:06.909 franchise who are taking on the Minnesota Lynx 00:38:06.909 --> 00:38:10.030 tonight. You can hear it right here on Fox Sports 00:38:10.030 --> 00:38:13.050 Eugene, Fox Sports Newport. And we just got finished 00:38:13.050 --> 00:38:16.449 with Adam Rittenberg from ESPN. Really great 00:38:16.449 --> 00:38:19.289 insight on the whole Brendan Sorsby thing from 00:38:19.289 --> 00:38:22.190 ESPN. So you can follow the rabbi at ESPN Rittenberg. 00:38:22.570 --> 00:38:24.809 You could almost hear his frustration talking 00:38:24.809 --> 00:38:26.530 about some of this stuff and how passionately 00:38:26.530 --> 00:38:28.250 he feels about it. Yeah, so that was awesome. 00:38:28.349 --> 00:38:29.969 So go back to the podcast if you've missed any 00:38:29.969 --> 00:38:31.329 of that. All right, good, bad, and ugly from 00:38:31.329 --> 00:38:32.909 the weekend. We're going to dive right into it. 00:38:33.489 --> 00:38:36.230 We're working on a couple of interviews for tomorrow 00:38:36.230 --> 00:38:38.969 as well as we pack in a show here on a Monday. 00:38:39.050 --> 00:38:41.090 We shouldn't have to work this hard on a Monday, 00:38:41.130 --> 00:38:43.710 I'm just saying. Dude, I want to ease in from 00:38:43.710 --> 00:38:45.610 the weekend. I know, I know. Okay, all right, 00:38:45.630 --> 00:38:47.489 so good, bad, and the ugly. So my good from the 00:38:47.489 --> 00:38:51.269 weekend, Chicago Bulls. are finalizing the hiring 00:38:51.269 --> 00:38:54.710 of Portland Trailblazer interim coach Tiago Splitter 00:38:54.710 --> 00:38:58.289 as the franchise's new head coach. He is going 00:38:58.289 --> 00:39:01.389 to succeed Billy Donovan as the Bulls head coach 00:39:01.389 --> 00:39:03.829 after stepping into the head role in Portland 00:39:03.829 --> 00:39:07.230 last season. He was great. He's 41 years old. 00:39:07.849 --> 00:39:11.269 Got the number seven seed, 42 -40 record. After 00:39:11.269 --> 00:39:14.809 literally the day after the season started, he 00:39:14.809 --> 00:39:17.710 had to step in as Chauncey Billups was pulled 00:39:17.710 --> 00:39:21.429 away for all of his off -season, off -court stuff 00:39:21.429 --> 00:39:24.789 that happened. He did a great job. So we like 00:39:24.789 --> 00:39:27.750 Tiago Splitter. Yeah. I've been turned on Tiago 00:39:27.750 --> 00:39:30.090 Splitter. I remember coming into the end of the 00:39:30.090 --> 00:39:31.690 season, it was kind of like, all right, I wasn't 00:39:31.690 --> 00:39:35.250 sure. But then they got into the play -in. obviously 00:39:35.250 --> 00:39:36.989 he didn't have any of his assistants like you 00:39:36.989 --> 00:39:38.809 mentioned he's coming in that second day of the 00:39:38.809 --> 00:39:40.789 season to actually just take over as the coach 00:39:40.789 --> 00:39:42.969 kid coach there's so many things that he didn't 00:39:42.969 --> 00:39:46.829 plan to be this way So I think this, in a way, 00:39:46.849 --> 00:39:49.530 could be a good hire for the Bulls because I 00:39:49.530 --> 00:39:51.369 think they might be a better sort of fit for 00:39:51.369 --> 00:39:53.429 him for a team that isn't getting expected to 00:39:53.429 --> 00:39:56.210 make a run next year. How do you think he reacts 00:39:56.210 --> 00:39:59.210 in Chicago, though? It's a bigger media market 00:39:59.210 --> 00:40:01.489 than Portland. Bigger media market, but it's 00:40:01.489 --> 00:40:04.429 a blue collar. They like a team that plays hard. 00:40:04.429 --> 00:40:05.690 They're going to like the guy that just gets 00:40:05.690 --> 00:40:07.789 in and digs in. I think so. I think so. I think 00:40:07.789 --> 00:40:10.250 they like a hardworking team, and I think Tiago. 00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:12.840 What the Blazers did defensively last year, hard 00:40:12.840 --> 00:40:15.239 work and team. So I think he'll be liked in Chicago. 00:40:15.320 --> 00:40:17.559 Chicago fans are excited. What's good has been 00:40:17.559 --> 00:40:20.940 the World Cup. It's been awesome. I wasn't really 00:40:20.940 --> 00:40:22.539 hyped on the fact that it was in America too 00:40:22.539 --> 00:40:24.860 much until I realized that the schedule of the 00:40:24.860 --> 00:40:27.179 games, I could watch all of them. They were not 00:40:27.179 --> 00:40:29.699 on at like 6 in the morning. The schedule's been 00:40:29.699 --> 00:40:32.340 great as well as just the plays. Because it's 00:40:32.340 --> 00:40:34.239 based here in North America. It has been. And 00:40:34.239 --> 00:40:36.760 it's been cool to see these teams and countries 00:40:36.760 --> 00:40:38.500 interacting with these cities. I don't know if 00:40:38.500 --> 00:40:40.809 you saw the Red Sox game where all the sky. No. 00:40:43.769 --> 00:40:52.710 I did not. And, by the way, Cape Verde and Spain. 00:40:52.769 --> 00:40:55.809 Cape Verde and Spain. Yeah, it's been a super 00:40:55.809 --> 00:40:59.190 fun World Cup. So, you know, lots more. The United 00:40:59.190 --> 00:41:01.329 States had an awesome performance in their first 00:41:01.329 --> 00:41:04.809 match. So, I'm super hyped. So, dive right into 00:41:04.809 --> 00:41:08.070 your bad. That being said, the hydration breaks. 00:41:09.130 --> 00:41:12.389 I think are a little interesting. And, you know, 00:41:12.409 --> 00:41:14.250 I understand the idea of you want to get the 00:41:14.250 --> 00:41:16.409 players to make sure that they're hydrated and 00:41:16.409 --> 00:41:18.690 healthy and all that. But they're doing it for 00:41:18.690 --> 00:41:21.170 commercials. Like, let's be honest. They're doing 00:41:21.170 --> 00:41:23.170 it because it's a bunch of Americans and they 00:41:23.170 --> 00:41:25.489 want to have those commercials. We cannot consume 00:41:25.489 --> 00:41:28.889 anything unless it's in four or five minute segments. 00:41:28.969 --> 00:41:31.789 By the way, 34 -year -old Victor Van Dyke from 00:41:31.789 --> 00:41:34.489 the Netherlands national team, well -known player, 00:41:34.650 --> 00:41:37.530 criticized the breaks. Basically said, as a viewer, 00:41:37.630 --> 00:41:39.170 he doesn't like them. But it doesn't seem like 00:41:39.170 --> 00:41:42.050 even as a, again, 34 -year -old in the game, 00:41:42.090 --> 00:41:44.730 which is not an old man's game, he didn't think 00:41:44.730 --> 00:41:46.849 it was that big of an advantage for them or anything 00:41:46.849 --> 00:41:49.230 like that. Interesting. I think that it's just 00:41:49.230 --> 00:41:51.190 like, you know, I could do without the hydration 00:41:51.190 --> 00:41:53.369 breaks. I'm all for player safety, but everything 00:41:53.369 --> 00:41:54.650 else would be great. I love that you focused 00:41:54.650 --> 00:41:57.710 on that, by the way. That's awesome. The good, 00:41:57.750 --> 00:41:59.789 the bad, the ugly from the Danny and Justin radio 00:41:59.789 --> 00:42:02.489 program. My bad from the weekend. Dana White 00:42:02.489 --> 00:42:05.409 standing at a dais saying. You know, the winning 00:42:05.409 --> 00:42:09.429 fighters, they're at 3 a .m. on Monday, and he 00:42:09.429 --> 00:42:11.510 says they're never going to do another thing 00:42:11.510 --> 00:42:14.329 at the South Lawn of the White House. Thank God. 00:42:15.210 --> 00:42:18.230 I'm not a big Dana White fan, but you know what? 00:42:19.190 --> 00:42:22.590 Only thing he said is he can't afford it, and 00:42:22.590 --> 00:42:25.070 that's why you shouldn't have done it. That's 00:42:25.070 --> 00:42:27.630 all I'm going to say about that. So, whatever. 00:42:27.789 --> 00:42:31.289 The UFC on the Lawn of the White House, yeah, 00:42:31.469 --> 00:42:35.349 not a fan. The Ugly. I'm going to go right back 00:42:35.349 --> 00:42:40.050 to the World Cup. Germany cruising past the small. 00:42:40.269 --> 00:42:47.010 How does Curacao enter into the World Cup? How 00:42:47.010 --> 00:42:49.530 do they get there? What qualifier? They lost 00:42:49.530 --> 00:42:55.769 7 -1, and that's embarrassing. It was 1 -1 at 00:42:55.769 --> 00:42:59.820 one point. Okay. It ended up being 7 -1. It was 00:42:59.820 --> 00:43:01.699 embarrassing. It's not like they pulled the goalie 00:43:01.699 --> 00:43:03.519 at the end, and they were trying to catch up 00:43:03.519 --> 00:43:05.420 at the end. It was no Germany -Brazil at least. 00:43:05.500 --> 00:43:09.760 So I'll remember that one. And that's been literally 00:43:09.760 --> 00:43:12.920 the only lopsided one, but still, they need to 00:43:12.920 --> 00:43:15.219 figure out how they get Curacao into this whole 00:43:15.219 --> 00:43:17.000 thing. Right. We've got to thank Kate Verde for 00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:19.139 keeping another one close today against Spann. 00:43:19.219 --> 00:43:21.340 Absolutely. My ugly for the weekend, I think 00:43:21.340 --> 00:43:24.219 there's no other place. sorry dom then i can 00:43:24.219 --> 00:43:27.780 go then the san antonio spurs blowing yet another 00:43:27.780 --> 00:43:31.260 lead yeah they get down 23 to 13 in the first 00:43:31.260 --> 00:43:33.539 quarter they're down at halftime they're down 00:43:33.539 --> 00:43:35.760 entering the fourth quarter and then they of 00:43:35.760 --> 00:43:38.059 course have a 29 to 18 advantage in the fourth 00:43:38.059 --> 00:43:42.320 quarter and win the nba finals 94 to 90 so uh 00:43:42.320 --> 00:43:43.579 you know great i think there's a lot of great 00:43:43.579 --> 00:43:45.400 things about it i'm really excited for new york 00:43:45.400 --> 00:43:50.159 fans and um Small guards and Chicago high school 00:43:50.159 --> 00:43:52.860 legends like Jalen Brunson. But at the same time, 00:43:52.880 --> 00:43:55.099 it was ugly. Let's be honest. We all knew it 00:43:55.099 --> 00:43:56.539 was happening that fifth game. So here's the 00:43:56.539 --> 00:43:59.579 only thing. And I'm going to have to hear all 00:43:59.579 --> 00:44:01.940 the New York fans coming in. By the way, that's 00:44:01.940 --> 00:44:03.679 the good, bad, and the ugly. from the weekend 00:44:03.679 --> 00:44:06.679 here on the Danny and Justin Radio Program. Thanks 00:44:06.679 --> 00:44:08.940 for tuning in. And by the way, again, big thanks 00:44:08.940 --> 00:44:11.920 to Adam Rittenberg for joining us, A .J. Connell 00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:14.539 for joining us on the program. We're efforting 00:44:14.539 --> 00:44:18.780 Waz tomorrow for Oregon baseball because there 00:44:18.780 --> 00:44:21.480 is some movement. Angel Laia has entered the 00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:26.659 transfer portal for Oregon baseball. A few names 00:44:26.659 --> 00:44:31.019 are starting to trickle out now. So, not unsurprising, 00:44:31.019 --> 00:44:35.480 although I think with the, and Angel's just a 00:44:35.480 --> 00:44:40.179 freshman, I think that, you know, for his camp, 00:44:40.539 --> 00:44:43.260 I think they saw that there's going to be a check 00:44:43.260 --> 00:44:45.599 that's going to be there that maybe Oregon can't 00:44:45.599 --> 00:44:48.699 afford. And maybe this is more of an issue that, 00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:51.980 you know, Oregon needs to address in terms of 00:44:51.980 --> 00:44:56.159 holding on to talent. With the dollars that need 00:44:56.159 --> 00:45:00.380 to happen in college athletics. We've talked 00:45:00.380 --> 00:45:02.320 about this. I kind of think, though, that it's 00:45:02.320 --> 00:45:03.719 just one of those things where it comes to the 00:45:03.719 --> 00:45:06.969 territory at this point. I don't disagree with 00:45:06.969 --> 00:45:09.070 that. But I think there's going to be a section 00:45:09.070 --> 00:45:10.550 of the fan base that's like, why couldn't we 00:45:10.550 --> 00:45:13.309 hold on to this kid that you recruited? It's 00:45:13.309 --> 00:45:14.670 because there's always going to be a bigger fish. 00:45:14.909 --> 00:45:16.389 There's always going to be a team out there with 00:45:16.389 --> 00:45:17.550 more money than you. And you're going to have 00:45:17.550 --> 00:45:19.650 to operate wherever you can with the money that 00:45:19.650 --> 00:45:22.969 you have. And I think I said this after they 00:45:22.969 --> 00:45:25.230 lost coming into that Monday, was that, you know, 00:45:25.329 --> 00:45:27.530 they have a lot of young players. We kind of 00:45:27.530 --> 00:45:29.190 knew that. And there was a lot of expectations 00:45:29.190 --> 00:45:30.989 of players coming back. But they're going to 00:45:30.989 --> 00:45:32.789 lose a couple guys. And you hope that it's not. 00:45:33.309 --> 00:45:35.650 like four or five of the guys but you knew that 00:45:35.650 --> 00:45:37.590 somebody that you liked wasn't going to be on 00:45:37.590 --> 00:45:40.010 the team the next year that you by in terms of 00:45:40.010 --> 00:45:42.010 their standing you could have expected to be 00:45:42.010 --> 00:45:44.190 and i'll just say on this and on this program 00:45:44.190 --> 00:45:46.929 we love angel we did we got to meet angel i i 00:45:46.929 --> 00:45:49.250 did at least so i got to meet angel like great 00:45:49.250 --> 00:45:52.489 kid really nice guy so i don't want to hold anything 00:45:52.489 --> 00:45:55.389 against let's just hope that he if he decides 00:45:55.389 --> 00:45:58.369 he's going to move on to greener pastures now 00:45:58.369 --> 00:46:01.320 by the way Just so people understand, you enter 00:46:01.320 --> 00:46:03.880 the transfer portal doesn't mean you end up leaving 00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:06.860 your team. Can I just say that, though? Because 00:46:06.860 --> 00:46:09.960 there have been players. But it's the reality, 00:46:10.260 --> 00:46:13.420 Justin. You put your name in the portal, it's 00:46:13.420 --> 00:46:15.099 like you become a free agent. It doesn't mean 00:46:15.099 --> 00:46:16.739 that you're not going to go back and sign with 00:46:16.739 --> 00:46:19.400 the same team that you were on. Maybe it will 00:46:19.400 --> 00:46:22.380 be a beaver. I don't know. Really? I don't think 00:46:22.380 --> 00:46:25.280 so. Speaking of the Beavers, though, Trey Morris, 00:46:25.500 --> 00:46:27.860 the freshman All -American, also entered the 00:46:27.860 --> 00:46:30.179 transfer portal today. That's a little bit of 00:46:30.179 --> 00:46:33.840 a hit. Yeah. I think that both of these teams, 00:46:33.980 --> 00:46:36.000 they're going to take their lumps. So here's 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:38.820 the other thing, is that Mitch Canem loses Rich 00:46:38.820 --> 00:46:40.880 Dorman, who's his pitching coach for the last 00:46:40.880 --> 00:46:44.920 14 years. That could be one of those things. 00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:48.980 Because Trey Morris is a pitcher, right? Absolutely. 00:46:50.639 --> 00:46:53.820 I just it's it's we're going to watch it as we 00:46:53.820 --> 00:46:58.179 go through this offseason. I think both of these 00:46:58.179 --> 00:47:00.480 teams are in good shape. Like, I think that these 00:47:00.480 --> 00:47:03.579 are sort of some red flags, but I'm not sounding 00:47:03.579 --> 00:47:05.619 the alarm bells yet. Like, we kind of knew this 00:47:05.619 --> 00:47:07.420 was going to happen, that there's both of these 00:47:07.420 --> 00:47:10.360 teams based on their financial standing. They're 00:47:10.360 --> 00:47:12.260 not going to be able to keep everybody. But I 00:47:12.260 --> 00:47:13.539 think they're going to keep almost everybody. 00:47:14.019 --> 00:47:15.880 Everything was being made about Oregon being 00:47:15.880 --> 00:47:18.280 that homegrown team. I think that's going to 00:47:18.280 --> 00:47:19.780 continue. I don't think they're going to go out 00:47:19.780 --> 00:47:21.280 there and get a bunch of guys in the transfer 00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:23.039 portal that are the big names. They're going 00:47:23.039 --> 00:47:25.239 to do that Vanderbilt kid who didn't have a great 00:47:25.239 --> 00:47:27.119 season for Vanderbilt, but he played for Vanderbilt 00:47:27.119 --> 00:47:29.079 and played great when he was at Cal State Fullerton. 00:47:29.179 --> 00:47:31.079 So I think that's more of the Oregon speed, and 00:47:31.079 --> 00:47:32.659 we'll see what Oregon State does as well. But 00:47:32.659 --> 00:47:34.639 I'm not worried about these teams yet. So did 00:47:34.639 --> 00:47:36.920 I talk about big bets? We have not talked about 00:47:36.920 --> 00:47:39.019 big bets. You have about 30 seconds. I got it. 00:47:39.260 --> 00:47:42.250 I got it. Big bets. Baby J wins the weekend. 00:47:42.909 --> 00:47:46.969 No, Laura won. No, actually, Laura did win. Yeah. 00:47:47.349 --> 00:47:50.389 So both of you went four and one. Laura won the 00:47:50.389 --> 00:47:53.070 tiebreaker. Yes, she did. So I think the tiebreaker 00:47:53.070 --> 00:47:56.409 was like 184 points. Yeah. Which would have been 00:47:56.409 --> 00:47:58.710 in the goose range. Well, I went highest. I knew 00:47:58.710 --> 00:48:00.789 that I didn't win it because I went 222. You 00:48:00.789 --> 00:48:04.079 went to room 222. I knew everybody was lower 00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:06.519 than me. Laura went 4 -1. The only game she missed 00:48:06.519 --> 00:48:09.559 was Ole Miss. I went 3 -2. You went 4 -1. Goose 00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:12.519 went 0 -5. How about that, Goose? You overtook 00:48:12.519 --> 00:48:15.500 Goose, and I'm only one game behind you. We're 00:48:15.500 --> 00:48:18.860 all within two games of each other. So that's 00:48:18.860 --> 00:48:21.940 fine, which is fun. It's good. Comparity is good 00:48:21.940 --> 00:48:24.679 in sports. We're all 500, though. Oh, a joke! 00:48:25.659 --> 00:48:27.960 I got fired from the bank today. A woman asked 00:48:27.960 --> 00:48:29.929 me to check her balance. So I pushed her. Dad 00:48:29.929 --> 00:48:33.210 jokes. God, we're so really bad. We're 500. We're 00:48:33.210 --> 00:48:36.849 doing our best. All right. What state has the 00:48:36.849 --> 00:48:40.969 most streets? What state has the most streets? 00:48:44.150 --> 00:48:45.429 You're not going to get this. I'm not going to 00:48:45.429 --> 00:48:48.369 get it. No. Rhode Island. You know, I was kind 00:48:48.369 --> 00:48:51.090 of thinking. Rhode Island. I was sort of thinking 00:48:51.090 --> 00:48:53.710 northeast. It's got to be the northeast. Island's 00:48:53.710 --> 00:48:55.489 got a bunch of roads on it. It's Rhode Island. 00:48:55.530 --> 00:48:57.190 By the way, if we're so bad, it means that it's 00:48:57.190 --> 00:49:00.389 easier for people to beat us. That's right. Your 00:49:00.389 --> 00:49:02.949 opportunity coming up on Friday. Yep. Big bets 00:49:02.949 --> 00:49:06.130 on the Danny and Justin radio program. Great 00:49:06.130 --> 00:49:10.670 job as well. As always for baby J doc. Thanks 00:49:10.670 --> 00:49:12.969 for listening. Go back to the podcast. If you 00:49:12.969 --> 00:49:16.489 miss Adam Rittenberg or AJ canal fire on tonight 00:49:16.489 --> 00:49:18.969 against the links. God bless. Put a smile on 00:49:18.969 --> 00:49:20.550 your face. Someone else's that they deserve it. 00:49:20.570 --> 00:49:22.829 So do you back tomorrow with the radio program, 00:49:22.969 --> 00:49:24.849 the fastest 60 minutes. Peace.