Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Hawkeye talk with Eliot Clough, Dane Mizutani on Minnesota sports & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

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Hawkeye talk with Eliot Clough, Dane Mizutani on Minnesota sports & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:00
Welcome back, it's Miller and Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio
0:02
Network take you up until 2:00 and now we're still to go.
0:05
Shana Lucas will get you home from 2:00 until 5 off the bench.
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Followed up with overtime Iowa from 5:00 until 6:00.
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Time to talk some Hawkeyes. Elliot Club joining us once
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again from hawkeyeinsider.com, part of the 24/7 network.
0:20
As always, Elliot, appreciate your time.
0:22
What is happening on the east side of the state?
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Not a whole lot, you guys. It's kind of a dark and dreary
0:29
day over here, but yeah, regular offseason day where I'm writing
0:33
about recruiting and then I'm going to do some prep network
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stuff today, so I'm keeping busy in this offseason.
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Absolutely the offseason and we're always looking for those
0:44
little opportunities, those little Nuggets we got I clubs
0:46
going on. So you get some different things
0:49
that start to pop from that point and and trying to piece
0:51
things together. But we did have a news item
0:53
today though. You guys at 24/7 had it
0:56
yesterday. And that is the Big 10 schedule
0:59
for Iowa coming up this season. Double plays against Nebraska,
1:02
which has become a yearly occurrence along with Ohio State
1:05
and Wisconsin this year. I'll start right there with the
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double plays. Do you like that every year it
1:10
seems like Iowa gets Nebraska twice and then they figure out
1:12
the other two? I do I I think that's one of
1:16
those things where if you've got a rivalry, you know, use it as
1:20
much as possible. Like it's one of those reasons
1:23
why I'm very pro Iowa, Iowa State football continuing.
1:27
I think like that's one of the best things about sports,
1:29
especially college sports, is seeing those rivalry games much
1:33
as possible. I mean, for for us folks that
1:36
that cover them. It's it's one of those that just
1:38
a little bit more exciting. It's much more easily accessible
1:42
than some of the other out of State Games in terms of travel
1:46
for for folks like us. So, and now I mean with both
1:50
these programs just ascending, having met in the Sweet 16 and
1:54
and Iowa beat them twice in in Ben Mccomb's first year, Hoiberg
1:58
starting to figure some things out there in Lincoln.
2:01
This this is one that yes, I'm very pro rivalry and I I think
2:06
having this one being both both places is, is really positive.
2:12
Absolutely. It's something that just fits.
2:14
It makes sense. I, I love how the regular season
2:16
is also concluded with that game every year.
2:18
The way that's been set set up. It was a little wonky this year
2:21
as a two teams of course played in the NCAA tournament.
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But then on top of it, what you also had with those two teams
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facing off during the latter stages of the of conference play
2:31
still pretty good. Ohio State will see Wisconsin
2:34
loses Blackwell, they lose Boyd from the back court.
2:36
But I think a minimum, you think the Badgers are going to be
2:39
solid every single year. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
2:44
Greg Gard does a great job up there in in Madison.
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I know they've had their frustrations from time to time.
2:50
He was a guy that actually lived in in Madison during the
2:53
pandemic. I don't know if I told either of
2:54
you this, but I was working at the State Journal there and I
2:58
think it was around that time was his first year and they
3:00
wanted him gone then. And boy, has he, he made some
3:04
folks regret that, even though, you know, they've had a few
3:06
early exits in the NCAA tournament.
3:08
He's a good basketball coach, seems like a a good guy to
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interact with in terms terms of of what we've been able to ask
3:14
some questions in the media and stuff like that when they've
3:17
been in in Carver. So yeah, Wisconsin just just
3:21
kind of continues to figure it out.
3:22
They find some gems like like Blackwell before he opted to to
3:26
leave for NBA or, or, or Duke, depending on what he decides to
3:30
do. But yeah, that that's a good
3:33
program up there in Wisconsin. Let's dive a little bit deeper
3:37
into the schedule, the home plays.
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I think the headliners he got Darren Devries coming back to
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the state of Iowa with his Indiana team, Michigan State.
3:44
As we know, you're in the year out, they're going to be there
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and going to be very solid under Izzo.
3:48
But outside of that, a very winnable home slate for Iowa
3:51
this year. You go through it, you look at
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the opponents. I think overall you're thinking
3:55
at minimum this should be a team that can win seven games at
3:58
Carver in Big 10 play and and maybe even attain for something
4:02
like a nine in one mark. I don't think is a stretch by
4:04
any means of what is in front of them.
4:06
Got to protect home floor and I think that shot is going to be
4:08
there for Iowa Carver this year. Definitely.
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I mean, Indiana really got a got a pretty good portal haul again
4:16
with the amount of money that they have.
4:18
But again, it's about making that team greater than the sum
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of its parts, right? Like we they, they had some
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really talented players this last year and Iowa still went in
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and beat them. And just another indication that
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they made the right decision and, and getting Ben McCollum
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over debris. But it'll be interesting to see
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how debris really put that team together And if instead of just
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throwing money at the problem, they're able to make something
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of that of that squad. Michigan State's going to be
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tough when and however McCollum in Iowa is able to beat them at
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some point in time that'll be, I have a feeling that'll be a bit
4:54
of a relief because it'll be matching.
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I mean, Michigan State's like, what is those done with that
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program? Obviously is amongst best.
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He's amongst the best coaches in the country.
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Been been at that program for a while.
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And for McCollum to get a win over a team like that would be,
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would be really positive for his his early stages being the head
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coach at Iowa. So if they could even pull it
5:14
off next year, man, that'd be sensational.
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And, you know, having a big like McKeever come in and and
5:20
Coleman's development will be big.
5:21
And if they end up filling another spot on this roster,
5:25
we'll we'll see how that goes. But yeah, I, I mean, it's other
5:29
than Indiana and Michigan State. I mean, at least in the strictly
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home games, not necessarily the home and away.
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And you'd be disappointed if they lost to any of Maryland,
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Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State or Washington, at least in my
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opinion. Absolutely.
5:45
Then we go the other way and it's the road schedule.
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Not only are they Rd. games, I mean, you look at these
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opponents that they're going to have outside of Northwestern and
5:53
Rutgers and they're still Rd. games, which is no sure thing.
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The LA trip this year, they'll go back out there to UCLA and
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USC. Both those teams anticipated
6:02
that they're going to be pretty good again this season.
6:04
We saw UCLA, both of them, Bartorvic, his preseason
6:07
projection projections have them as top 30 teams.
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Then you throw in Michigan, the defending national champion,
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Illinois, a lot of people have is a preseason top five team
6:16
this season. And of course, Purdue year in
6:19
and year out, that road slate, trying to find some victories in
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there, that becomes much more difficult.
6:25
Yeah, yeah. You look at that away schedule
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and the way you know Sean typed it up and Illinois and Michigan
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are the 1st 2 on there and you just kind of go, you'd like to
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think that this team will be a little bit more physically
6:38
prepared for both of those, both of those teams this year like I
6:41
mentioned with with McKeever on the roster and you returned Kim
6:44
Manio. But what is what is your star
6:47
power look like? Are you able to have a guy that
6:50
you can lean on like you could with Bennett third?
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I mean, that's that's quite the act.
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So that'll be that'll be difficult with with both of
6:58
those games. And then obviously going on the
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road at Purdue. Man, I've I've been to West
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Lafayette for for a game. It was I think France second to
7:07
last year. And man, that place is that's
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the loudest basketball arena I've ever been in other than
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maybe other than maybe Caitlin in when she broke the the all
7:17
time scoring record in in Carver.
7:20
I was there for when they played Ohio State in that game.
7:22
That was, that was not, but as far as a, a game that I've
7:25
covered outside of Carver, that was, that was something.
7:28
But yeah, I, I mean, like you said, Northwestern, Rutgers,
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those are games you should win, at least on its face.
7:36
But but going out to LA is, is never easy just in terms of, you
7:40
know, bodies and, and everybody staying healthy.
7:43
And both of those teams tend to be at least be pretty damn
7:46
talented if anything else. You are also over a Hawkeye
7:50
Insider. You listen to the podcast with
7:52
Gary Dolphin sitting with Andrew McKeever, the new 7 foot 3
7:56
transfer coming in from Saint Mary's.
7:58
Give us a couple of highlights that jumped out there after you
8:01
listen to what Dolph had to say with the newest Hawkeye.
8:04
Yeah, You know, one thing that Andrew said is, is, is exactly
8:09
what what McCollum said this this offseason in terms of, you
8:13
know, the the need for their size.
8:15
I guess it was right after that that that elite eight loss to to
8:19
Illinois where like, you know, we just need some size.
8:22
And McKeever was like, I I see that, like I feel like I can be
8:25
there missing piece. And for him to say that
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outright, I think is is showing up his confidence, but also just
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how much McCollum was able to to sell that to him.
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The the fact that Ben one of the big that can pass and, and
8:40
McKeever knows that he's good at that too.
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And you know, I, I would say that sort of thing.
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And then and then McKeever and coming over from a West Coast
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conference at Saint Mary's, that's, that's very different.
8:54
It's a different type of basketball.
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It's a different type of opponent.
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So Gary asked him about the Big 10 conference and, and playing
9:00
at this level and, and McKeever is ready for ready for the
9:03
challenge, believes in the staff and their ability to prepare him
9:06
for for playing in the Big 10. So those would probably be the
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two things that stood out the most.
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Were you able to listen to that at all, Trent, That interview?
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I have not yet, no. I I got it in the the it's
9:18
queued up in the podcast in my Spotify but haven't got to that
9:21
one. Yet, well, I I texted David and
9:24
and Sean as I was listening to it.
9:26
McKeever sounds like he's an enormous human being.
9:30
Like he sounds like one of those FBI informants where they dub
9:34
their voices in an interview. It's like the deepest voice
9:37
you'll ever hear in your life. So that's another thing that
9:40
stood out. How's that?
9:41
Absolutely, yeah, We get the the booming voice in the I do not
9:44
have that that problem. That is for sure.
9:46
Ben McCullum, the contract extension that was announced
9:50
last week and now we get some more details of it goes up about
9:53
$1,000,000 a year. An extra year has been tacked on
9:57
to the back end of it through 2032.
9:59
Anything jump out to you when you look through the Ben
10:02
McCullum contract extension? Yeah, you know, I had I saw I
10:07
saw a few people, whether it was on our border or on on Twitter
10:10
or what have you, you know, maybe a little upset or going
10:14
maybe a little surprised about the the buyout being however
10:19
much it was. And honestly, like after the
10:21
coaching job that Ben McCullum put together this year, I'm not
10:25
looking at any of the numbers at all.
10:27
Like this is what he accomplished after a near 40
10:30
year 40 year drought with the players on this roster, most of
10:34
them the the the crucial ones from Drake or recruited at Drake
10:37
like a taste stage. I mean, and and what they did
10:40
with Alvaro full Garrett and him hitting those shots.
10:43
Obviously he he's decided to move on to Louisville, but
10:48
there's basically nothing in that contract that could make me
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say it's a bad contract. I just with what he's
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accomplished, what he can continue to do as he gets more
10:57
players like I can even Harris, like a Jaden Kuhn in this last
11:01
class, both composite 4 stars for us in 24/7 sports.
11:05
Like I just don't see this being a net negative outcome when you
11:10
look back at this contract. I just think getting upset over
11:14
a contract right after ending a 40 year drought of going to the
11:18
elite 8 is just probably the dumbest thing possible in my
11:22
opinion. I you know, I tried to default
11:25
positive just generally in my life and this is one of those
11:28
scenarios where it's like I The last thing I'm going to get
11:31
upset about or try to over analyze is an extension for a
11:34
guy who made history in his first year with a bunch of mid
11:38
major guys on his roster who are playing in a big 10 schedule for
11:42
the first time. Pulled off an upset of the
11:44
reigning national champion who probably 95 times out of 100
11:48
games playing against Florida. They lose that game like just
11:52
what they accomplished in year 1.
11:53
There is almost nothing that could make me say anything
11:56
negative about that contract. So I I just think it's great
12:00
that you lock him up for an extended amount of time.
12:04
This is this is not a Kansas State Elite 8 turn around Jerome
12:08
paying things as much as Iowa State fans want it to be.
12:11
That's just not the case. So I, I, I just said, oh,
12:14
contract got extended, that's awesome.
12:17
Move forward good for Iowa. What to jump over to some
12:20
football with you and this is the time of year you guys are
12:22
really starting to dive into Hawkeye football recruiting. 10
12:26
commitments so far for the class of 2027 as we always feel old
12:30
when we talk about that. Next recruiting class coming up
12:32
for next season. Elliot, when you go through
12:35
here, this team does not have a whole lot of seniors.
12:38
Any idea numbers wise what they're shooting for in this
12:41
class knowing they're probably going to go back to the portal
12:44
again next December? We're going to be looking
12:45
through and fill in some holes that way.
12:48
Any kind of range you're anticipating at the high school
12:50
recruiting level? How many guys are looking for
12:52
for that class? Yeah, so this class is 27.
12:56
Sean posted on our board within the last week or so that he was
12:59
expecting like 20 ish for this class, which was a bit of a
13:02
surprise to me, especially like you mentioned, with the amount
13:06
of, of seniors just not really on this roster.
13:10
So I'm I'm not entirely sure where where where, you know,
13:13
they they decide to to land really.
13:16
Personally, I really like the start of this class.
13:18
I think that Brandon or excuse me, Brayden fancy Banias is in
13:23
line for a ratings bump as a three star quarterback.
13:25
I really like Kyler van Manen out of Capella.
13:29
I mean, I like all three of the the linebackers.
13:31
He Braylon Bingham, Gavin Stecker, all in state
13:34
linebackers for for the the second time since that 2024
13:38
class. But yeah, that would surprise me
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if it ended up being that much. I'm not saying I doubt Sean and
13:44
the information he's getting because Sean one of the best, if
13:46
not the best in the business. So yeah, I mean, if it ends up
13:51
being that amount, man, kudos to Sean.
13:53
But I I would probably say, if I had to guess myself prior to
13:56
Sean posting that, I'd probably say like 15 to 18.
14:00
Maybe they're they're definitely they they still need to add
14:04
some, some pieces on offense, still need to add ADB or two
14:08
defensively, Yeah, I I would say 15 to 18 in my opinion, but Sean
14:14
reported otherwise. So I'm rolling with my teammate.
14:17
Absolutely. And yeah, that that #20 does
14:19
seem a little bit high, no running back, something they're
14:22
still searching for as well as they kind of skipped a class
14:24
with the depth that they already have there at that position.
14:26
What do you look at the 10 commitments?
14:29
Jax De Jean, probably for most of the casuals out there, he is
14:32
the headliner because, well, the last name De Jean, obviously
14:35
Cooper's little brother. Him as a prospect.
14:38
Then if you take him out of the boat, who else would be the
14:41
headliner out of this class? Yeah, I I'm going to be partial
14:45
to the de Jeans, of course, that's an OABCIG graduate
14:48
myself. Jax is just like he's got the
14:51
tools and he's 63 and a half 230 lbs.
14:55
So I think he's that that the physical tools in terms of being
14:59
able to play tight end at tight end you like I think he's set up
15:02
to have some success plays receiver and DB for the Falcons
15:06
is really, really got great ball skills.
15:09
Just a natural athlete with the ability to just break off a
15:12
route like that. So so big fan of him.
15:16
And what was the. Second part of the question.
15:19
If you took the gene out of the mix, who else is the guy that
15:22
you're excited about? I guess out of the neither
15:24
mating commitments. Yeah, I like Jay-Z a lot out of
15:29
Fenwick in Oak Park, IL the Chicago area kind of where from
15:34
where Sean from actually these is one of those safeties that
15:39
you can get excited about in terms of his versatility going
15:42
to probably be able. He's a guy that could play cash
15:45
in the future, guy that could play either safety position.
15:48
Of course, Phil likes to bring in DB that could play all 5, but
15:52
but Teeth really strikes me, me as a safety that will be rangy,
15:57
maybe not sideline to sideline, but rangy and able to come down
16:02
and help and run support a guy that can really hit.
16:05
He plays both sides of the ball for Fenwick, which of course is
16:07
something that Phil likes in his recruits that, you know, they
16:11
can see the field a little bit differently.
16:14
But yeah, this is probably one of my favorite.
16:17
I mentioned Decker, I mentioned Bingham, I mentioned Ben Monnen.
16:21
I think those guys are basically interchangeable at all three of
16:25
the linebacker spots. Believe it or not, I I'd
16:27
probably see Bingham being more of a will, whereas Van Madden
16:31
and Decker could play play all three.
16:33
But I think Manmont and the Steel getting him and I'm
16:38
shocked Iowa State didn't offer, you know, Illinois didn't offer,
16:43
Wisconsin didn't offer. Like, I really think it's a
16:46
whiff by those programs. And yeah, they'll probably have
16:49
to wait because that's just the way it is at Iowa with their
16:52
linebackers and their development.
16:54
But I think all three of those guys have a shot to be really,
16:57
really good. Decker's a kid that just racked
16:59
up tackles. Bingham is a really fluid
17:02
athlete that was actually recruited by the last Iowa State
17:05
staff play Stacy and then modern is just I saw him play last
17:09
year. They played Marion as you see
17:12
the dude, it's like, how does that guy at the time didn't have
17:15
a single Division One offer? I I texted a few people in the
17:19
industry or I guess in few coaches after seeing him and
17:22
just be like, you got to get this guy.
17:24
What are we doing here? So yeah, I'm a big fan of of all
17:28
three of the linebackers. Final thing for you, we talked
17:31
so much during spring and after spring about defense, pensive
17:34
line and specifically defensive tackle, the guys behind them, I
17:38
thought it was going to be pretty simple.
17:40
Jaden Montgomery, he was going to be the middle linebacker
17:43
because of the experience. And then they'll figure out the
17:45
other spot over at the will between Buffington, Reese
17:49
Weiskopf, even Van Keckricks, who comes back after doing such
17:52
a good job on special teams throughout the years.
17:54
And now after spring, I is Camp Buffington the heir apparent at
17:58
middle linebacker? And does that mean Jaden
18:00
Montgomery bumps outside to the will?
18:03
Yeah, that's the way it sounds right now.
18:04
Is, is Buffington probably going to play the mic where whereas
18:08
Montgomery moved out to the will, which like you said, I I
18:11
had the same predisposition. I had the same guess that that
18:15
Montgomery would just stay at the mic.
18:17
Buffington, I actually thought Van Kukrich should play the will
18:20
this year and then Buffington might slide into the play the
18:24
the Leo or or maybe even take over from Montgomery at the mic
18:28
and Montgomery moved to the Leo, something like that.
18:31
They typically prefer a bigger, longer your body more fluid guy
18:35
at that Will Spot. So pretty interesting.
18:37
I have heard really positive things about the pairing of
18:40
Buffington and and and Montgomery at that Mike and and
18:45
Will spot actually believe it or not.
18:47
So that'll be really interesting.
18:48
And then it sounds like there's going to be 3 guys competing for
18:52
the Leo between Van Keekreich, Wyskopf and then Reese who
18:56
missed basically all of the spring.
18:59
So right now it's sounded like it's going to be between Wyskopf
19:01
and Van Keekreich and and then he corrects.
19:05
He's he's getting, you know, the white cop is is nipping at his
19:08
heels right now. So it could be either one of
19:10
them that end up playing that Leo spot.
19:13
I mean, it's just, you know, the longer we we see these 2024
19:19
linebackers in, you know, in, in the rotation in this position
19:24
group, I think the harder and harder it gets for Seth Wallace
19:26
to keep them off the field. So it it's going to be
19:30
interesting to see how all that plays out.
19:32
One thing I've I've continued to say and that I think I'm going
19:34
to keep on saying is that other than Zach Luttmer, Cam
19:38
Buffington might be the best player on this defense by the
19:41
end of the year. So that's the guy that I've got
19:43
my eye on big time going into to the fall.
19:45
We'll file that one away. Elliot Clough,
19:47
hawkeyeinsider.com, joining us here on Miller and Condon.
19:50
As always, Elliot, appreciate your time.
19:53
We'll talk to you again soon. Thank you.
19:55
Sounds good. Thanks, Trent.
19:56
That's Elliot Clough here on Miller and Condon and always
19:59
great information from Elliot as we make our way through the
20:03
Hawkeye offseason. Though not completely over.
20:05
Still got baseball wrapping up right here in Des Moines coming
20:09
up this weekend as I'll face off against Purdue.
20:12
Locked up a bid for the Big 10 tournament once again as a
20:14
streak continues for Rick Heller.
20:16
Squad, though, swept at the hands of the Huskers over the
20:19
weekend and as they try to lick their wounds a little bit and
20:22
get a couple of nice wins against a Purdue team tied for.
20:25
4th right now in the Big 10. Coming up on the other side, we
20:29
shift perspectives. Let's go north.
20:31
No, not to talk about those stinking Gophers.
20:33
No, we're going to be talking Minnesota pro sports.
20:36
The Wild down, 31-T Wolves tonight, tied up at 2.
20:39
Can they steal another game in San Antonio?
20:42
Twins, Maybe, probably not. And some Vikings talk.
20:45
Dane Mizutani, he joins us coming up on the other side as
20:48
we continue Miller and Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
20:51
Welcome back. It's Miller and Condon.
20:52
That's Prince. That means it's time to talk
20:54
Minnesota, Minnesota sports. Dame Mazatani covers it at the
20:57
Saint Paul Pioneer Press as he joins us here today.
21:01
And Dane, you got a lot going on.
21:03
Busy time. Timberwolves and the Wild
21:06
involved in the conference semifinals.
21:09
Twins win a series against the Guardian, something that has
21:11
been a rarity. And of course, the offseason for
21:13
the Vikings. It never quits.
21:15
Busy man up there in the Twin Cities.
21:16
How are you, Dane? Fun time of the year This is
21:23
such a fun time of the year up here in the Twin Cities, and
21:26
even though we're busy, I can't complain.
21:28
No doubt about it. So a lot of different angles.
21:30
Let's start with the the winter sports season.
21:33
Yes, it is May 12th, but it is the winter sports season as we
21:36
make our way through the playoffs.
21:38
Down 31 now after last night tied up at 2.
21:41
Felt like how maybe they just get this one.
21:43
This is going to be a series again.
21:45
Alas, Colorado has different ones.
21:47
They look so good in game three and certainly I thought over the
21:50
last couple of periods in the way that they played and how
21:52
good they were defensively. Is it just Colorado?
21:55
They're just better? Is it as simple as that?
21:58
Yeah, I think there are elements of that that are true.
22:01
Like I think Colorado was a favorite to win the Cup entering
22:04
the playoffs for a reason. They are the best team in the
22:06
league all year. Say what you want about the
22:09
playoff format, I think it's stupid.
22:11
So yeah, there's there's some element of that.
22:15
Colorado is just good. And even if the Wild were at
22:18
their best, it might not be enough.
22:20
But what I will say about yesterday's game is the Wild
22:22
were not at their best. They came out slow, obviously
22:26
scored the first goal of the game, but just didn't look
22:30
committed to playing that style of play from game three that was
22:33
conducive to success. A lot of cute East and West
22:36
plays, not a lot of hard North and South plays.
22:40
Four shots from 30 minutes of regulation is not good enough.
22:43
And there were elements of the game that they were able to get
22:48
to down the stretch and put themselves in position.
22:51
Tie game, 10 minutes left in the third period.
22:54
But when you start like that, a lot of the times the hockey guys
22:57
are going to make sure you lose. And I think if they could have
23:00
jumped them early, the Wild would have given themselves a
23:03
much, much better chance. But let Colorado hang around,
23:06
let them kind of dominate, control the game.
23:09
And then it was only a matter of time before Colorado took
23:12
control. They did.
23:13
Wild pulled even and then obviously the Avalanche pull
23:16
away down the stretch. So I think the ABS are better,
23:19
but I think the Wild didn't do themselves any favors last
23:22
night. And it's not impossible, but the
23:24
likelihood, I mean, we're talking about what single digit
23:27
percentages of beating this Colorado team 3 great outside of
23:30
it's hockey. I'm not a big hockey guy, but
23:32
and you're from Hawaii, though, you got to know it and being on
23:34
the beat throughout the years, it just it's not impossible
23:37
because anything can happen in hockey.
23:39
But winning three straight against this squad feels like an
23:42
incredibly tall mountain to climb.
23:44
Yeah, it seems to happen in hockey more than any other
23:47
sports. So I understand like the idea of
23:49
just get one, come back home, put all the pressure on
23:53
Colorado. If you win Game 6, head into
23:55
Game 7. Like they're going to take you
23:56
one game at a time. But you can find a pathway if
23:59
you want to be optimistic of Well, if the Wild win game five,
24:02
then all the pressures on Colorado.
24:05
Colorado lost three in a row twice all season.
24:08
So it's not like they're impervious to a losing streak.
24:11
But like I said, they've just been the better team all series.
24:15
They've been the better team all year.
24:17
It would if the Wild were to complete this comeback, it would
24:22
certainly be kudos to them. It would also be a monumental
24:26
collapse by the avalanche. So I just, I don't see it.
24:29
I think yesterday was the series.
24:31
Frankly, I thought if the Wild won yesterday, I would have, I
24:33
would have given them kind of the inside track to win the
24:36
series, which is why that effort early on was so damaging.
24:41
It was right there for them. They let it slip away.
24:44
So yeah, I would be pretty stunned if the Wild they're able
24:46
to force a game seven, let alone win 1, but we'll see.
24:49
They still got to play the games.
24:51
No doubt we're talking with Dane Mizutani as we take a look
24:54
around tonight. It will be the T Wolves back on
24:56
the road for San Antonio. Great fourth quarter out of
25:00
Antho. He was sucking wind and thank
25:02
goodness that that use it or lose the time out was used by
25:04
San Antonio because it looked like Ant Mia needed a little bit
25:07
of oxygen, caved out the stretch.
25:08
They get the victory though some struggles just getting the ball
25:11
in and not being hacked as IO was in the final moments of that
25:14
one. A win is a win though in a
25:16
playoff series. How you feeling going into Game
25:18
5? Yeah, I think you feel OK.
25:22
Like I think if I was like a glass half full about the
25:26
Timberwolves, I would say it's 22 and I do not think they've
25:29
played their A game yet, not once.
25:31
I think they've played maybe at best AB minus game in games one
25:35
and even I mean games 4, like Wendy missed 40 minutes of the
25:39
game and it was close to the end.
25:41
Birds are still a good team without Wendy, but that was a
25:44
chance for the Wolves to pounce and and they didn't.
25:47
It was kind of that DNA that that plagued the Wolves all
25:49
season. So if I was being optimistic
25:52
though, I would, I would say all of those things and say, well,
25:54
if the Wolves play an A game, they'll win.
25:57
But part of that has to do with the Spurs, what they are good
26:00
at. Obviously Wendy controlling the
26:02
paint. He did not get suspended.
26:03
So he will play tonight, probably be fresh.
26:06
He'll probably be motivated. There's a reason the San Antonio
26:10
Spurs are favored by 10 1/2. There's a reason the
26:12
Timberwolves are plus 320 on the money line tonight.
26:16
It's because everybody views San Antonio as the better team.
26:20
So I can't count the Wolves out. I certainly will give them a
26:26
puncher's chance. It's just a tall task on the
26:29
road against a team, Dwen Benyama and all those athletic
26:33
guards. And frankly, on the other end
26:35
for the Timberwolves, it looks a lot like Anthony Edwards,
26:38
sometimes Jada McDaniel, sometimes Julius Randall and
26:41
not, not a whole heck of a lot else.
26:43
So, and it's going to have to be an outstanding tonight.
26:46
He's going to need some help from Randall, he's going to need
26:48
some help from McDaniels, and Rudy's going to have to take
26:50
away women Yama. So there's a pathway for sure.
26:53
The Wolves have been the Western Conference finals 2 years in a
26:56
row for a reason. They're battle tested.
26:58
They've done this. Maybe that experience plays a
27:00
role here. Like, you know, the Spurs are
27:04
the Spurs for a reason. They're they have the second
27:06
best team in the West and and they seem to be ascending at the
27:08
right time. No doubt about it.
27:10
And that Spurs team with Wembe on the floor.
27:13
So what was the discord like across Minneapolis and the Twin
27:17
Cities and the state of Minnesota?
27:19
Timberwolves fans in general? Wembe after the shot, the elbow
27:22
back in game four, no suspension.
27:25
The one thing I did like the NBA right away had that yesterday
27:28
morning, wasn't waiting around. Not a whole lot of speculation
27:31
about it. I'm going to anticipate though,
27:33
T Wolves fans would like to see a Game 5 minus Wimby.
27:37
Yeah, I mean, everybody in the Twin Cities all of a sudden is a
27:40
big rule book, analysts and and looking at past elbows and and
27:45
trying to find a way to to justify suspending them for Game
27:50
5. Like, look, if the league did
27:53
it, if they suspended Victor Wembiano for game five, it would
27:57
have been justifiable. That elbow was vicious.
27:59
It did look like he looked where Nas Reed was lined him up
28:03
through it. Now he's 76, so I don't know if
28:07
he was trying to actually elbow Reed in the head or if Reed's
28:11
head just happened to be in that part of his orbit because of the
28:14
height discrepancy. If the if the NBA would have
28:17
suspended him for game five, I would have, I would have
28:19
understood. But the NBA was never suspending
28:22
Victor Women Yana for game five in some ways, and it's not
28:26
perfect. It's not exact, shouldn't be
28:29
like this, but sometimes if a suspension is looming, they will
28:34
look at kind of time served in the past and in some ways you
28:37
can say, well, he was kind of suspended for Game 4 because he
28:39
missed 3/4 of the game. It's not how it should work, but
28:43
I think that was part of the calculus.
28:45
If Victor Wimbunyama threw that elbow late in the fourth
28:47
quarter, I think he'd probably get suspended for Game 5.
28:49
But because he threw it early, because he missed that whole
28:52
game, I think they said, you know what justice was served
28:56
play on. And frankly to me, I'm fine with
28:59
that. I think the product itself as a
29:03
fan, I'm sure people would rather play without the Spurs,
29:07
without Victor women Yama. But as a fan of the NBA, let's
29:11
see Ant try to overcome Victor Women Yama.
29:14
Let's see what Victor women yama try to overcome.
29:16
And best on best series is tied. Let's go.
29:20
I'm OK with no suspension, but I know Timberwolves fans are a
29:23
little jilted by it, no doubt about it.
29:25
What do you look through Terence Shannon?
29:27
He's come up with a couple of big shots.
29:29
Nasrid thought he was really good moments in Game 4 after
29:32
Anthony Edwards. You mentioned McDaniels and and
29:35
the defense you're going to get from Rudy.
29:36
Who else on the road, who do you have a feeling could step up and
29:40
and make this a game outside of the stars coming up this
29:42
evening? Yeah.
29:44
I think it's got to be Randall. It has to be Julius Randall.
29:48
In a lot of ways, he's your second best player.
29:50
Like people will say, Jaden McDaniel is probably your second
29:52
most valuable. He always guards the other
29:55
team's best player. He's leveled up offensively and
29:58
he's always seems to level up offensively in the playoffs.
30:01
JD McDaniels. But Julius Randle is a guy who
30:06
can bully other guys on the other team.
30:08
If they put Stefan Castle, they had to put part of Bryant on
30:11
him. Like Julius, Randle should be
30:13
able to get his not whenever he wants, but with some sort of
30:18
consistency. And with him, a lot of it has
30:21
been. It just looks like he's
30:23
uncomfortable forcing. The issue just hasn't been good
30:27
enough for for me so far. But if, if, if Anthony's help,
30:32
it's got to come from Julius, I think.
30:34
And then then you'll take what you can get from some of the
30:36
role players from, like you said, the Terence Shane and the
30:39
IO de Sumos, you know, everybody else kind of on the back end of
30:44
that rotation. But Ant needs help and I think
30:47
Julius has to be the one to give it to him tonight, no doubt
30:50
about it. And a good one. 2.2 because we
30:52
know that can happen. Over on the Vikings side of
30:55
things, the search for AGM continues.
30:58
What else offseason scuttlebutt? What has been?
31:00
What have you been working on on the Vikings beat?
31:03
Yeah, you know, like rookie mini camp is always pretty fun just
31:07
because you see a lot of guys come in hungry to prove
31:12
themselves, make the team. It's a lot of tryout guys to
31:14
fill out a camp, but you can see certain guys step up, make a
31:20
good first impression and I think those stories are always
31:23
fun. A tryout guy who somehow finds
31:26
his way onto the 90 man roster and gives himself a chance to
31:31
make the 53 man roster which training camps over Viking
31:34
signed a guy named Smith Bilbert UNC Penn State defensive end
31:40
looked really good in Ricky mini camp and they were able to sign
31:42
him so stories like that are fun.
31:45
I also just when you're out there at TCO Performance Center
31:48
in the late spring before summer, you're just looking at
31:52
some of these rookies that they've drafted, who pops, who
31:55
stands out? Caleb Banks wasn't on the field,
31:58
but you're just kind. You know, there's other guys.
32:00
Dominique Horns, obviously Iowans know him.
32:03
Big citrus. He he looks fleet of foot
32:06
considering he's 330, things like that.
32:09
He stands out. The Mon Claiborne of the sixth
32:12
round pick running back out of Wake Forest.
32:14
He has some juice about him. There are guys you can watch
32:17
just on the field and understand why they were drafted, why they
32:21
they've excelled throughout their career in football.
32:24
And then that's kind of been the fun, fun part so far.
32:27
So OTAs will open up and then the the discourse about Kyla
32:31
Murray versus Gage and McCarthy quarterback competition that'll
32:34
start to ramp up. But right now we're kind of in
32:38
the lull period before all of it gets going.
32:41
Saw some. Pushback from certain people.
32:43
Not too pleased to see Adrian Peterson inducted into the Ring
32:47
of Fame for the Vikings. Obviously, he is a Viking great
32:51
going into the Ring of Honor in 2026.
32:53
But some pushback because of some off the field things with
32:57
Adrian Peterson. Yeah, and.
32:59
Then fair. Like I, I can't, I'm not going
33:02
to argue with the people who don't want them in the Ring of
33:05
Honor. But there's 28 people in the
33:09
Ring of Honor and Adrian Peterson will be the 29th person
33:12
in the Ring of Honor. And if we're just looking at
33:14
football and if we're separating kind of art from artists, some
33:18
people don't like to do that. I understand.
33:19
I won't, I won't argue with the people that don't.
33:23
But if you do separate the art from the artist, Adrian Peterson
33:26
is one of the best players in franchise history and he
33:30
deserves a spot among some of the other greats to dumb Vikings
33:33
uniform. So there will not be a running
33:37
back better than Adrian Peterson the rest of the time the Vikings
33:40
exist as a franchise. He's one of the best to ever do
33:42
it. And then from that standpoint,
33:45
the spot in the Ring of Honor is deserved.
33:48
Now, there were some questionable things over the
33:50
course of his career, even after his career that I think will be
33:54
litigated and talked about for the rest of time.
33:59
Like I said, if you're just looking at the football player,
34:02
not many did it better than Adrian Peterson and his prime.
34:05
Any. Schedule leaks, anything during
34:08
this week of the season. I mean, you got to be careful
34:11
out there because you're you're a real reporter.
34:12
You're not just some guy with a Twitter account.
34:14
You have to actually, yes, have some things behind it.
34:17
There's plenty of rumors out there.
34:19
Anything that has jumped out to you or at least could be
34:22
intriguing for the Vikings schedule, Nah.
34:24
No, not really. Schedule comes out Thursday.
34:27
I'm sure there will be a leak on Wednesday night or Thursday
34:30
morning or the international schedule gets announced
34:33
Wednesday. Maybe the Vikings have a game
34:35
there. I, I don't think they will
34:38
because of the, they were asked to or volunteered to, but then
34:42
did you know Dublin, London back-to-back last year?
34:46
So I think they'll be off the hook from having to travel
34:48
internationally, But that'll come out for sure on Wednesday
34:51
and then we'll get the full schedule on Thursday.
34:53
So no, nothing, nothing to report over here.
34:57
I'll, I'll wait for those, those rumors in those leaks like
34:59
everybody else or that official announcement.
35:03
Look, some people are going to dig.
35:04
Some people are going to try and get the schedule before
35:07
everybody else and more power to them.
35:10
But The thing is going to get released sometime on Thursday.
35:13
So I'm going to be honest, I'm not going to be digging too
35:15
hard. I'm right there with.
35:17
You yeah, we're going to get it. They'll be information that is
35:19
out there and the schedule leaks.
35:20
At times it just makes my head hurt until I get a press release
35:23
from somebody, one of the networks, saying this is what
35:25
it's going to be. I don't dive too deep into it.
35:27
I was looking at what we do know who the Vikings play at home,
35:31
who they play on the road, not overly daunting it and there was
35:35
so much talk about getting those wins at the end of the season.
35:38
The Lions getting the 4th place schedule and they do have what
35:41
one of the easier ones out there.
35:42
A look at this Vikings schedule looks pretty good going into
35:45
2026. Yeah, there's.
35:48
There's opportunity there and and it's like kind of why the
35:51
NFL ebbs and flows the way it does is because often times if
35:56
you're bad enough to get a last place or a third place schedule,
36:01
that will coincide with you being good enough to win the
36:04
division. And then the following year, if
36:06
you have a first place or a second place schedule, that will
36:09
coincide with you being bad enough to get out to get a more
36:12
favorable schedule. And it's kind of just a push
36:14
pull that way. But yeah, they're they're if you
36:17
look at the schedule and just the opponents right now, you
36:21
could find 910 eleven wins if you you're optimistic.
36:25
And a lot of that will come down to quarterback play, whether
36:28
whether it be McCarthy or Murray.
36:30
But I will say, like the Lions have an easier schedule because
36:36
the Vikings beat them on Christmas.
36:38
And that might be 3 more wins that the Lions can kind of
36:41
pencil in that the Vikings maybe could have penciled in a little
36:44
easier just in terms of the same place finisher on the schedule.
36:47
But it's always a fun time of the year right now because you
36:50
get to kind of map out what the season is going to look like.
36:53
But yeah, we've known the opponents for a while.
36:55
And you're right, Trent, there is a favorable a dynamic to this
37:00
this year where if you want to be optimistic, if you want to be
37:03
glass half full, you can convince yourself that the
37:06
Vikings or playoff team this year.
37:07
Speaking of Mr. Optimistic. The Twins are only three back in
37:11
the Central. Mr. Pessimistic would say if you
37:14
watch his team, they stink. Even after taking two or three
37:16
from the Guardians over the weekend, That seems like a
37:18
rarity. Certainly over the last seven or
37:20
eight years. The twins, I guess they escape
37:23
something devastating with Joe Ryan.
37:26
And right after that happens, Taj Bradley, one of the stories
37:28
of the first month he goes on the IL with the pectoral
37:31
inflammation. Boy, just being a Twins fan,
37:33
it's so much fun. Yeah.
37:35
They. Just don't have the horses this
37:37
year to, to do anything of, of actual substance.
37:40
But you're not wrong. The AL Central stinks.
37:44
The AL at large kind of stinks. So they're not out of it.
37:48
And we saw them string together a winning streak earlier this
37:51
year. If they string together a random
37:54
456 game-winning streak, all of a sudden you're back at the top
37:57
of the division. So they're not done, but they're
38:00
not contenders. So it's this weird middle
38:04
ground. Maybe at some point they'll just
38:06
be awful and they'll kind of become irrelevant in the in the
38:11
national scope and even the local scope.
38:13
And you can start trying to project out for what the 2027
38:17
and they'll be draft looks like and then get excited about that.
38:21
But I kind of just expect them to just be kind of hovering or
38:24
middle of the pack and doesn't seem like anyone else in the
38:27
Yale Central is just too invested in putting the foot on
38:30
the pedal and and then run away with this thing.
38:33
So maybe the twins will just be in the conversation, even though
38:36
it even if they are there, doesn't feel like they can
38:39
actually do anything. No, not at.
38:41
All Dame is it Tony with the Saint Paul Pioneer Press with us
38:44
here today Dane as always appreciate the time have a good
38:47
one and get maybe a nap if you need one stay up late for the T
38:50
wolves tonight yeah we'll. Do you guys have a good one too?
38:53
Dave is a Tony St. Paul Pioneer Press here on
38:56
Miller and Connie quick time out my picks of the day.
38:58
They're coming up next. You're on Miller and and stay
39:00
right there as we continue with more in a moment.
39:02
Wrap the things up here on a Tuesday Miller and Condon on the
39:05
Iowa Sports Radio Network. Ken will be back with us on
39:09
Thursday isn't up those vacation days.
39:12
He'll be back, though tomorrow, Nick Marvitz will hang out with
39:15
me for our number one once again and plenty to get into,
39:18
including previewing the PGA Championship as Matt Rudy,
39:22
longtime writer at Golf Digest, will join us and we will break
39:24
things down from erotomic thank. I get the pronunciation correct
39:29
because we are two days away from the PGA.
39:31
That is coming up. Coming up for you right now, it
39:33
is my picks of the day presented by Circa Sports as we go
39:38
through. Got one game for you.
39:40
I'm going to take the Diamondbacks plus 1/10 here this
39:44
evening. Diamondbacks against the
39:46
Rangers. Speaking of that, the under in
39:51
Ranger home games over the last 18 is 15, two and one.
39:56
We're going to jump aboard with that one as well.
39:58
We're going to play the under 8 with the Rangers and the
40:02
Diamondbacks here this evening. Over to the NBA, going to play
40:05
the Spurs, Lay the night and 1/2.
40:08
I think Minnesota's walking into a hornet's nest.
40:09
I think this thing's going to get ugly, much like we talked
40:11
about back in Game 2 and that thing got away and talking about
40:15
an alt spread, maybe see something similar here tonight.
40:18
I think it's going to be a blowout in terms of the Spurs
40:21
and then our prop bets tonight. Finding these prop bets over at
40:24
unjuiced dot bet where you can get 30% off your first month and
40:28
seven days free. Use a promo code KX&O unjuiced
40:31
dot bet. We've been working through and
40:34
finding these different prop bets.
40:36
We got D Aaron Fox over 3 1/2 rebounds.
40:38
That's plus 1/22 over Terence Shannon points this evening. 6
40:43
1/2 is the number there. We're going to go lagieres of
40:46
the A's over 1 1/2 total bases tonight and Max Muncie also over
40:50
1 1/2 plus money there plus 1/25 for Muncie.
40:53
So 4 prop plays this evening, a couple of games, the Spurs and
40:57
the D backs and a total under 87 plays all told for me here this
41:02
evening on the card. We'll see what we can do after.
41:05
Yes, believe it or not, and I know it might be a shock to many
41:08
of you, we had a winning day yesterday.
41:10
We went five and two overall, aided by Ken pushing me in the
41:13
direction of going over on LeBron.
41:16
His total was 22 1/2. He gets 24 points in that one.
41:20
So we got a victory there, got it, nailed it, and absolutely
41:24
feeling good going in here to this Tuesday.
41:27
Well, that'll do it for today. Thanks for being with us.
41:29
As always here on Miller and Condon, it's still an
41:32
opportunity for you to sign up for our big silver ticket
41:35
anniversary giveaway coming up in August.
41:38
A chance for you, our grand prize winner, airfare, hotel,
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VIP experiences all at Circa. Go to kx&o.com right now to sign
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up and you can sign up each and every day.
41:49
Give yourself an opportunity to win.
41:52
That'll do it. Thanks for being with us.
41:53
We'll talk to you again tomorrow here at Miller and Condon on the
41:56
Iowa Sports Radio Network.