Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Cyclone talk with Eric Heft, Super Bowl preview & Chiefs and Packers talk with Dave Sinykin & Nick Athan & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

Transcript

Cyclone talk with Eric Heft, Super Bowl preview & Chiefs and Packers talk with Dave Sinykin & Nick Athan & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:00
I'm Mary Connor, welcome back hour number two, Iowa Sports
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Radio Network, wherever you're listening.
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We're grateful that you are coming up in about 20 minutes.
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We will take a look at two of our regional NFL teams.
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We'll catch up on the Packers offseason thus far and get Dave
0:14
Sinnikin's pick. Likewise with the Chiefs, Nick
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Athan, their offseason and his pick.
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But right now it's time for some Iowa State, Shall we?
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Eric Heft, the analyst for football and men's basketball
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joins us. Eric, I was trying to do some
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math in my head, which is frightening.
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Is this year's the 6th decade you've been doing this?
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I'm 70s, eighties, 90s, aughts, 10s.
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OK, that's six. Keep going.
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That's six, Is it? Is this your 6th decade?
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Barely. Barely.
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The barely the 70s though, I mean.
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Oh, sure. But still.
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OK. Yeah, I'm gonna give you credit.
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Yeah, things like things like that kind of freaked me out a
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little bit. When you put it like that,
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Miller, Yeah, good stuff. Yeah.
1:00
But you're having fun and that's the main thing.
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And this is such a fun team to watch.
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I guess we'll start with the Erica, first of all, welcome.
1:06
It's great to talk to you as always, Munchilovich.
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You've seen a lot of great shooters come and go in their
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time with with. I was staying covering.
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I was staying, I mean, in the in the here and now.
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The McGee, the Christopherson. Of course, Jake Sullivan was a
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great shooter. Shane Power could shoot it.
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I I know I'm missing some, but that's a pretty good list.
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Yeah. Willoughby could fire.
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Yep. There's another one.
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Manchilovich right up there and doing this not only surpassing
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those dudes, but surpassing everybody in the country this
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year. What a role he's on.
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Eric Heft. I mean, it's unbelievable.
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I I've seen a lot of good that Iowa State, but also other
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places. I haven't really seen buddy with
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the consistency, the volume, the whole deal, the whole package.
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I mean, clutch at times as well. So he's A and I give so much
1:56
credit to TJ for telling him, Hey, we want you to shoot,
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freeze the game. And that's really the only thing
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he's failing on this season. He hasn't got the 10A game, but
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man, his, his stroke is great. He he looks like he's off
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balance. But you know, I think he does
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tremendous balance in his shot and the form.
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It looks the same every time. He is 54% on the year.
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That's second in the country currently.
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And I think the guy in front of him has not certainly had the
2:26
volume of 163 threes that he has hoisted up to this point in
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time. You know, with Manchilovich,
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when you watch this guy play the first two years, it was waiting
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for him to be more aggressive. I think he just said it.
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Eric, though, is there still another tier?
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I mean, it's crazy to think about a guy that's shooting 54%
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from the three-point line leads the country and true shooting
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percentage, all these different metrics, yet they're almost
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feels like there's still another level to him.
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So what can be done now to get that that final level, I guess,
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if you will T JS been poking and prodding and trying to do those
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things. What's the final thing that
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needs to happen for him to get that and get that aggressiveness
3:01
seemingly every time he touches the ball?
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Well, that's a great question because I mean, I wouldn't say
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he's at his ceiling, but man, he, he's approaching what we
3:10
thought was going to be a ceiling.
3:12
You know, he puts the ball on the floor much better than he
3:15
has in the past. He gets to the basket.
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I think the one thing he hasn't done is create his own shot.
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And I don't know if that's in the cards or not, but if you're
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looking for another box to check, I suppose that would be a
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place you could look at. But he had moved so well without
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the ball. He's playing with Supreme
3:33
confidence and he's playing with joy.
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And I think those are those things are important for some
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people more so than others. And I think he's kind of that
3:41
happy go lucky guy and he needs to kind of have that joy for him
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to be at his best. He certainly has been.
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And as of late, it seems like Pleat is really coming on.
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Eric, refresh my memory. Was he late to get to Ames this
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summer? Was he, you know, was he on a
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national team or was he late or regardless of that?
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He's certainly coming on and he's earned some.
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He's earning more minutes and that that work that he's put in
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seemingly is paying off the lights going on, isn't it?
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Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he was a little bit late.
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There was just a bit of a visa issue that, you know, there were
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a lot of things kind of going on at that point in time.
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I still are, I guess. But it wasn't like dramatic.
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He was there for a fair amount of the summer.
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And, you know, he has really he's really coachable and he's a
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kid that really likes the game. But couple things you can't you
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can't coach 611 and you can't really coach much good hands.
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And he's really got good hands. And I think he as he's adjusted
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to the speed and the physicality of college basketball earlier in
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the season. And then you take a step up when
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you get to the Big 12. I mean, there have been a couple
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bumps, but I think the trajectory is really, really
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good for this kid. And, you know, and I think
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playing with Blake and seeing how hard Blake plays every day
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and competing against Blake, that's been a real plus for him
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too, because I think it has elevated his effort level really
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both, both ends of the floor. You mentioned Buchanan, I think
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we kind of thought we knew what we were going to get as he
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exceeded expectations this year coming in from Virginia a year
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ago. He's going to be a big body.
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There's a little bit more of a skill set than I certainly
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anticipated coming into the season from a double B.
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Yeah, I wasn't really sure either, to be honest.
5:27
And when I saw him a little bit in the summer, I didn't see him
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a lot and a little bit in the fall.
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I wasn't sure if this is really going to fit the way TJ thought.
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But the good news is TJ is the coach and I'm not he because
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he's giving. He's giving TJ and this
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basketball team just about exactly what they need.
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He's so good defensively. He's so smart defensively and
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the quickness with which he plays to get back, you know,
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covering pick and roll, his ability when necessary to guard
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a point guard and keep him from getting to the basket.
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And there's so many little things.
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And then as an offensive rebounder, he is certainly one
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of the best offensive rebounders in this league and one of the
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better ones in the country. So he's done all those things
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and some of those things are effort based and there's no
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shortage of effort when it comes to Blake.
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No, that's for sure. Trent and I bring this up
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periodically. We we have a cyclone
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conversation and at some point we realized we haven't even
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talked about just Joshua Jefferson.
6:28
It's almost like we take the cat.
6:30
And let's see. Yeah, more.
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Lips. Yes, both of.
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Them it's, it's like we take both of them for granted.
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Their play is so consistent and so good, and you get it every
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single night, seemingly, Eric. Yeah, it's fantastic.
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You know, those awards, you know, the Bob Cousy, the the
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Julius Irving and Karl Malone, I mean, this three guys are in the
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top ten at their position nationally and have them on one
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team. I I think the beauty of of this
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team is that you can talk about all these other guys without
7:01
really going overboard about Joshua or Tayman because they,
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it is the definition in my mind of a team.
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They play together, they like each other and you know, other
7:14
than that little 2 game blip, actually it was more than that.
7:17
I mean, it was they had kind of not been a sharp prior to the
7:20
Kansas. But if the way they move without
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the ball now, it is just incredible that their offensive
7:28
efficiencies off the charts and their defense is backed to being
7:32
you know what, it always has been under TJ and maybe even
7:36
better so. But yeah, as far as Joshua, he
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is sometimes his stat line. You watch him play and say,
7:44
yeah, he was pretty good. And you look at the stat line
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and he's just just shy of a triple double.
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But he impacts winning so many ways.
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And I think this year I think, I think his conditioning is
7:55
better. I mean, he looks, he's lighter
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on his feet. He can play longer stretches and
8:03
still be effective without trying to pace himself.
8:06
So I think some of it is the work that he's put in, in his
8:09
conditioning, but he's put in the work as has Taman.
8:13
And Taman has just been so good. And I think if you look at what
8:20
other people think about Taman, you know, he's a popular name,
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obviously in the top 10 for the Bob Cousy.
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You're getting a lot of recognition.
8:30
But if you talked about opposing coaches, about Tayman, they all
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love him. I mean, everybody would love to
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have a point guard who is as poised, plays as hard as hard as
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he does. And you know, one of the things
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about Tayman that I think has grown over the years is his
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ability to make clutch baskets in in crunch time.
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And sometimes those aren't the ones that give you the lead.
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It's the one that stems the crowd when you're on the road.
8:59
It's the one that, yeah, will quiet that crowd.
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Or you haven't been able to score at home at places getting
9:04
kind of antsy and you're maybe falling behind just just a
9:09
bucket by a guy who knows how to get a bucket when he has to.
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That's really huge, too. But these guys are these guys
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are all just incredible. I mean, Fast forward a month, I
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don't want to and I have to because, you know, senior days
9:25
coming sadly. And obviously every fan base,
9:29
you know, they, they, they got their guy right?
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And there's been a lot of guys that that Iowa State fans have
9:34
been able to embrace. But since he's an Ames kid and
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now we're starting to see some photos with, you know, when he's
9:40
a little kid with a Hoiberg or something like that, right?
9:43
Is it going to be it really was, it really was, is it going to
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be? I mean, there's become people
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swallowing hard and wiping some tears.
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I got to realize just the fact that, you know, he's one of
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them. He's an Ames product, right?
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That's going to be difficult a month from Saturday.
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I think so. I mean, we've done it before
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with Fred. Yep.
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And but you know, there are certain players just have a a
10:09
style of play that resonates with a fan base, you know, and
10:13
obviously the local nature of it's great for sure.
10:18
But I go back and I look at some of these guys that have come
10:21
through Iowa State and I kind of feel the same way about them
10:25
because I know what they were about.
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I know how they impacted winning.
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I know what they were like in the locker room, and so you do
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have that. But this team, I mean, Joshua
10:36
Jefferson is going to be out there with him too.
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That's going to be, I mean, that's going to be a different
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kind of emotional thing. But both of these guys are
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really kind of stoic and so it'll be interesting to see how
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they're able to handle that last moment.
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But but for especially for Tayman, the guy who grew up,
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always wanted to be where he is right now.
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I mean, that's a great story right there.
11:02
Eric CAF joining us as we take a look at the Cyclones and they're
11:05
mini buy, if you will, before they go to take on Baylor coming
11:09
up in Hilton this weekend. Eric, I want to go to Tori and
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what we've seen out of this dude.
11:14
So we start to hear the buzz this summer, like, OK, a French
11:18
guy you don't know, right? We, we, there's not the scouting
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services at the same level. It's kind of guesswork.
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He is such a tremendous defender.
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What is that? I mean, you played hoops, you
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know, basketball, You've watched so many games courtside
11:30
throughout the years. What makes a guy, and certainly
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a guy that comes in as a freshman, that good of a
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defender right away because you're not going to play under
11:37
TJ if he can't play defense, what makes him at that level?
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Well, I think any great defender, it has to start with
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your mentality, your approach, a certain level of relentless
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effort. And he certainly has that for
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sure. He also does not have a typical
11:57
freshman's a freshman body, you know, and and I have other
12:01
people will say, well, gosh, how old is he?
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Is he 2324? So no, he's 19, but he's but
12:06
he's developed. He has long arms, but so you
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take those he has, he has quick feet, he has a high basketball
12:15
IQ. I mean, all the things, all the
12:18
things you're looking for, especially on that end of the
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floor. But as much as anything, it's
12:22
the relentlessness. And I kind of, I kind of rate
12:26
defensive guards by I think back, OK, I wouldn't mind
12:29
playing against him or I could play against him.
12:32
I want no part of him, OK, He's on that.
12:35
He's on that that level of Mookie Blaylock level, you know,
12:40
of Guy Javon Carter guys. It's like, man, I would hate to
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have had to play against those guys.
12:45
And Killian is absolutely on that list.
12:49
Eric, one more basketball then I want to tell you a football
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question for you. Look at the schedule.
12:53
Obviously the water gets deeper. I got to think that the team is,
12:56
is ready for that, right? Not that they're going to
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overlook Baylor or TCU in the middle of the week or early.
13:01
It was Tuesday night, right? For, for TCU, but then to Kansas
13:05
and Houston and BYU and and Texas Tech and Arizona still to
13:09
come. I'm guessing the team's at this
13:10
point ready to, you know, to, to, to test themselves against
13:14
the upper echelon of the conference and just to, you
13:16
know, to stake their place where they belong.
13:19
Yeah, it's kind of a weird the way the schedules backloaded in
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terms of what the strength of the schedule is.
13:27
But yeah, I think they're ready. We'll find out.
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I think, you know, they're very likely could be a couple bumps
13:33
in the road there. And once again, it will be how
13:36
quickly you can come back from that to get ready for the next
13:38
one you have. We have a couple Saturday
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Mondays with I mean, with big dogs on the Mondays, be it
13:46
Houston or Arizona. I mean, those are those are the
13:49
kind of challenges that kind of set you up a little bit maybe
13:52
for the NCAA tournament, you know, two big games, you know,
13:55
with the day in between. But I, I think they're ready.
13:59
I think they're really in a good place mentally right now.
14:03
Once again, it is a marathon, but at some point it will become
14:08
a Sprint. We're not there yet, but you
14:11
you're going to be there in the next few weeks and you just want
14:14
to make sure you're playing your best.
14:16
And you know, the other thing too is can you still avoid
14:20
injury? Iowa State had Cayman out for
14:23
just a little bit this year. Other than that, it's been
14:25
healthy, unlike last year, which really sabotaged the ending of
14:29
the season and kind of heard Iowa State in the middle as
14:31
well. So I think that's a couple
14:33
things. But I think they're mentally in
14:35
a good place. I think they're physically in a
14:36
good place and I think they're really talented.
14:42
Go ahead, Trent. Jump over to football.
14:44
Jimmy Rogers. So you've been doing this for a
14:46
while as we started the conversation with how different
14:49
is it going to be because you have some kind of institutional
14:53
knowledge of the guys making their way through, the guys that
14:55
are building their way up. Hey, this guy's probably going
14:58
to be playing coming up in the next couple of years.
15:00
You're not going to have that with this roster.
15:02
You got a little bit homework, more homework.
15:03
It looks like this summer coming up.
15:05
Well, you know, and it's kind of been that way as the whole
15:09
transfer portal thing, but nowhere, nothing, nothing like
15:12
this. I guess I'm really thankful that
15:17
that Jimmy had this experience a year ago and did a great job.
15:21
But also I'm sure he learned a lot about maybe some things he
15:24
could have done better. So while it was I'm in a tough,
15:28
tough situation, I'm really pleased with, you know, the
15:32
roster he's put together. Now we'll see if they can meld
15:35
into a football team that has the kind of success that they're
15:38
looking for. So far, really pleased with what
15:42
I've seen and I'm excited. I'm excited to see him this
15:44
spring. Good stuff, Eric F Eric, thanks
15:47
for jumping on. Appreciate it.
15:49
As always. We'll be listening as you and
15:52
John have the call on the Iowa State Radio Network.
15:55
Good stuff, Eric F Thanks for coming on.
15:57
Appreciate it. Yeah, great to be with you.
15:59
Yeah, good to be with you, Eric Heft.
16:00
As we check in on Iowa State, check in on a keyword and we'll
16:05
check in on a couple of NFL of our regional NFL squads.
16:09
Head to kxno.com. The nationwide contest.
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It's worth $1000. Somebody's going to $1000 this
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kxno.com is your chance to win $1000 happy at kxno.com.
16:23
By the way, I just saw the I mean, if it I know renderings
16:26
are one thing and the one that actually looks like another the
16:29
new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. OK, they're they're they're not
16:33
top of mind Tampa Bay. I don't.
16:34
Know. But boy, oh boy, if it cut, if
16:37
it looks anything like that, it's going to be a really cool
16:39
part. And it's it's a dump.
16:40
I mean, right, It's not going to take much to surpass what
16:44
they've been playing in, but we'll see.
16:45
Anyways, take the time out come back Dave Sinican first and then
16:49
Nick Athen, then Trents Plays of the day, Miller and Condon
16:52
talking sports and the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
16:54
I'm Miller Condon. Welcome back.
16:55
Iowa Sports Radio Network. Do this each and every year, get
17:00
our voices that help us with the regional teams all season long.
17:03
Come back on one more time for where they crown a champion to
17:06
get their thoughts on the Super Bowl and the offseason so far.
17:09
First up, well, first up was Dane Mazatani earlier in the
17:12
week. And then we talked to Kathy on
17:13
the Bears and we will talk to Nick Athan on the Chiefs.
17:16
But right now, let's get a friend, Dave Sinican in here.
17:18
zonecoverage.com and KFAN on Saturday morning, Sunday morning
17:22
during the season Packer preview.
17:24
Hello, Dave, Siddik and Trenton Ken, how are you?
17:27
What's up boys? I'm good.
17:28
Good to talk to you as always. Good to talk to you.
17:30
I guess the biggest offseason news so far would be and there
17:33
seemed to be a little bit of a will they or won't they And in
17:36
both Gouda Coos and Lafleur both coming back with the with
17:40
contract extensions. I I think that as I try to think
17:44
back date to where you were prior to the, you know we asked
17:46
this question late in the year, you thought that they would
17:49
correct. Yeah, I did.
17:51
I mean, after the Bears game, I might take was if they decided
17:55
to move on from Lefleur. I'm not going to stand in their
17:57
way, you know, just don't know if the ceiling is there.
18:01
He hasn't proven it in big moments and there's been some
18:04
questionable things going on late in games.
18:06
But ultimately continuity, his relationship with love, the
18:10
offense, you know, is not the problem.
18:13
There's a lot of problems. But no, I'm on board with it.
18:16
But, you know, I wouldn't have been totally devastated if they
18:20
made a move. With that, the offseason in
18:22
front of them, regardless of who's making the decisions in
18:25
the front office, they have some work to do restructuring maybe
18:28
some contracts after obviously getting Micah Parsons and how
18:31
that changes things up. Tupper crap, Tucker Craft coming
18:34
off the injury of what you're going to do with that contract
18:37
and possibly extending him. So take us in a couple of the
18:40
broad strokes, couple of the the biggest things that need to
18:42
happen this offseason for the squad.
18:45
Yeah, well, I think we start with the defense because as you
18:48
know, Jeff Haffley is now the head coach of Miami and Jonathan
18:51
Gannon comes in and he has always said he molds his unit
18:54
based on the talent around him. 3443 hasn't said what he's going
18:59
to run in Green Bay yet, so he's going to look at and there's
19:01
certainly some question marks about what the front office does
19:04
with guys like Rashan Gary and Quay Walker, who you know, as I
19:08
said here today, I'd say it's probably less likely that
19:10
they're back with the team. Gary because the performance
19:13
just wasn't there for 24,000,000 a year and Quay Walker for what
19:17
he would command has severe limitations and coverage.
19:21
And again, it just depends on how Jonathan Gannon and his new
19:24
staff, which also includes former Bills DC Bobby Babbage,
19:28
you know, how they feel about some of these guys that the
19:31
office has to make decisions on. I thought it was a little
19:34
instructive yesterday. You know, Guti was in front of
19:36
the mic, never really plays his cards too broadly, but sounded
19:40
like he was pretty happy with the cornerback room, oddly
19:43
enough, as it stands, doesn't want to make wholesale changes.
19:47
So I'm really curious to see what they decide to do personnel
19:50
wise on that side of the ball with the new sheriff in town
19:53
running the defense. I think that's whether what
19:56
Packer fans are most interested in is how does the defense
19:58
change and where do the priorities shift.
20:00
I think they need help on the interior, the defensive line.
20:04
They can certainly use another cornerback or two.
20:06
We'll see how active they are. They can shed contracts like
20:10
Gary Elton Jenkins, play Walker and open up space to address
20:14
some of the key issues. Interior the offensive line,
20:17
interior the defensive line. I think being front and center
20:21
fascinating. You know, you know, Trent
20:22
mentioned Tucker going down. Obviously just a a massive loss.
20:27
Parsons was a big loss as well, but but Tucker was a difference
20:30
maker. I thought what is what I guess
20:34
what will his status be once we get to, you know, to to fall
20:37
camp? Will he be available at that
20:39
time? Do you think Dave they.
20:41
Think they seem to think he's going to be OK for the start of
20:44
the season. I don't think it's a sure thing
20:46
if they with Parsons. I think he's thinking maybe 3-4
20:49
weeks in by October 1st. You're right, losing Tucker Crab
20:53
just exploded on the scene was huge.
20:56
Now people under play losing Devante Wyatt on Thanksgiving
20:58
because the defense was humming when Wyatt got back from injury
21:02
and when he went down that last month, everything changed for
21:07
the defense. And obviously Micah just was the
21:09
the final straw. But yeah, I think Tucker's
21:12
poised to get a new long term deal signed.
21:15
And, you know, interestingly, they Packers hired a new wide
21:17
receivers coach today, Ryan Pauly from Penn State, who had
21:21
we don't. Have that you know him well
21:23
from. Iowa State and he was obviously
21:26
Christian Watson's receivers coaching at DSU.
21:28
So that's an interesting hire. He was in the mix for an OC job
21:32
in San Francisco last year. He might be a guy that is the OC
21:35
and waiting in Green Bay. I have a feeling that I'm
21:38
connecting dots here a year or two down the road.
21:40
Yeah, that does make. Some sense when you put it that
21:42
way. All right, Dave, Sinican Super
21:44
Bowl 60 is upon us. Well, it'll be here on Sunday.
21:49
Seattle is a 4 1/2 point favorite.
21:51
The Patriots. There's a lot of love for him
21:53
out there. You're an NFC guy.
21:54
You're sticking with the NFC. How do you see this game, Dave?
21:59
Yeah, I. Think Seattle's the better team
22:01
across the board. I think maybe what worries me
22:03
most is Drake May's shoulder. I, you know, it doesn't sound
22:07
like he's going to be anywhere near 100%.
22:09
Maybe the extra week was all he needed.
22:11
But I tend to wonder if they're going to be more careful with
22:14
him running with the football, which makes it such a big
22:16
weapon, especially against a aggressive defense like Seattle.
22:20
I mean, he's been through the gauntlet facing tough defenses
22:23
in this post season and it gets no easier on Sunday.
22:27
I just, I trust Seattle's defense.
22:29
I just think of the four units, that's the best unit
22:32
substantially for me by a mile. I trust Arnold, who's been
22:37
through some big playoff moments.
22:39
Last year, obviously Minnesota didn't go so well, but he really
22:41
proved himself, I thought, in his most recent game.
22:44
I I just think the coaches are great.
22:46
I don't think there's a huge edge either way.
22:49
But ultimately I just think Seattle's defense is going to be
22:51
too much for for New England. And I think New England's going
22:55
to do a good job holding Seattle's run game down.
22:58
But I think Donald JSN that passing attack might be just a
23:03
bit too much. I would lay the points.
23:05
I think Seattle wins by 6-7 points and and brings another
23:08
title back to that city. Good stuff, Dave.
23:11
Sinican Dave, as always thanks for what you did for us all
23:13
season long and we will run you down in the build up to the
23:17
draft in late April. Thank you Dave Sinican
23:19
appreciate enjoy the game Sunday.
23:21
You too look forward. To it, guys.
23:22
Thank you. Yeah, good to talk.
23:23
To Dave Sinican, I'm the Packers.
23:25
Let's get to the Chiefs. Nick Athen, Chiefs blitz.com.
23:29
I saw a It was a Photoshop. Obviously.
23:32
Max Crosby in a Chiefs uniform. I almost threw up my breakfast.
23:38
I really, Oh my God, if. If if, if the Raiders are dumb
23:41
enough, Chief should just just accept.
23:44
Well, did you see? Jake Laser says he's done in Las
23:48
Vegas. He will not be raided.
23:49
That's Spring Glaser. But I I got a hard time
23:52
believing they'll trade him in the division.
23:53
Right, Nick? Yeah, it's almost.
23:55
Impossible unless the Chiefs are willing to give up to first
23:58
round picks this year and next year, which personally I would
24:03
do, especially if they're likely going to trade Trent Mcduffie
24:05
and maybe get another first round pick for him.
24:08
Listen, I think it would be great, he loves Patrick Mahomes.
24:12
Patrick Holmes has the same feeling.
24:15
There's no way it's going to happen.
24:16
It would be great to think about what that would be, a shockwave
24:18
move. I mean, my goodness.
24:21
But you know, the Raiders are moving in another direction.
24:23
Again, we don't know if it's going to be successful, but Max
24:27
wants no part of it going into 2026.
24:30
He's done rebuilding. Well, and.
24:33
With the Patrick Mahomes coming back going to be certainly
24:35
different. Bo Nicks is coming.
24:37
Back too, just so you know. Good.
24:40
We'll be back. Good.
24:42
That'll be good for you. You'll really enjoy that.
24:44
Hey Nick, I wanted to go with the return of Eric the Enemy.
24:48
He was a figure that at times got a ton of credit, certainly
24:52
early in his tenure in Kansas City.
24:55
Then after he's departed, there's been some question marks
24:58
surrounding him. The return of Eric B Enemy.
25:00
Good thing, bad thing. How would you rate it at this
25:03
point? I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm
25:05
going to take the company line and go right in between.
25:08
I think the positives are are obvious.
25:11
He's going to hold guys accountable.
25:13
He's going to get in their faces.
25:15
He's going to be, you know, he's going to be the enforcer that
25:17
Andy Reid has not had on his coaching staff and since Eric
25:21
left, as far as X's and O's goes.
25:24
And he did nothing at UCLA. He did nothing at Washington.
25:28
Yeah, let's be honest. There were some circumstances.
25:31
The talent level UCLA was terrible.
25:33
And the talent level with the with Washington wasn't all that
25:36
great either, especially with a new head coach.
25:38
So it took a little time. Obviously with Jalen Daniels,
25:41
things changed. But I think if you look at
25:45
overall what he can bring, right, I'm more excited about
25:50
Chad O'Shea, the wide receiver coach, than I am about RFP enemy
25:53
coming in. I think he's one of the best
25:55
wide receiver coaches in the NFLI.
25:57
Think he's going to get the most out of Rishi Rice if he's
26:00
eligible, Xavier Worthy, Jalen Royals and hopefully Taekwon
26:04
Thornton. That that to me is the more
26:06
exciting mood because let's be honest, guys, you know, this
26:09
Andy Reid calls the place. He runs the offense.
26:12
He's not giving up any control. If it was, Cliff Kingsbury would
26:15
have been the office and coordinator, you know, the day
26:18
after the season ended. Yeah.
26:19
Makes sense? Sounds like Pacheco and Kareem
26:22
Hunt, that they're both going to be playing elsewhere if they're
26:25
in the league. I know you and Trent both like
26:27
Brashad Smith wanted to see more of him last year, but there's
26:31
one guy that's that's going to go somewhere and he's going to
26:34
break the bank, and that's Breece Hall.
26:36
And you see some dots connected to Kansas.
26:38
You see a lot of dots connected all over the league for Breece
26:41
Hall. I mean, who doesn't want them to
26:42
upgrade their room? Is there anything is anything to
26:45
those rumors that Breece Hall and Kansas City may get together
26:50
at some point at least, you know, kick the tires.
26:52
What do you think? Yeah, I think there's a.
26:54
Pretty good chance that the Chiefs are going to go up to
26:58
Bryce Hall. There's a lot of interest.
27:00
I mean, he was begging The Jets to trade him to Kansas City.
27:03
The Jets held faster. The second round pick.
27:06
The Chiefs offered a four and never offered a three.
27:09
And I think that was the right move to make at the time because
27:11
I don't think that addition would even save the Chiefs, you
27:14
know, going into the postseason, just too many issues on the team
27:16
this year. But Bruce Hall wants to be a
27:18
Chief. The Chiefs want him to be a
27:20
Chief, I would assume at the NFL combines when bread Peach and
27:25
his and his agent and she's wonderful.
27:28
We'll sit down and just kind of have a what if scenario
27:30
conversation. I think that's that's pretty
27:33
good. Now, if if if that's not the
27:36
case, I would be surprised because I don't think they're
27:39
going to draft Love at night. I know we're kind of getting
27:40
ahead of the pace here, but Love is Love is a terrific player.
27:45
If McCullough comes back as running backs coach, he
27:48
recruited him to go to Notre Dame when he was the running
27:50
backs coach. You know, the enemy loves to run
27:52
the football. Sounds like Andy's going to move
27:54
more toward a run run offense and and Patrick under center a
27:57
little bit more, which will be good.
28:00
But I got to think the Chiefs have to go defensive line.
28:02
So I think I think brief Hall to me makes the most sense.
28:06
I don't think it's going to be break the bank.
28:08
I think you're looking at a three-year, maybe $40 million
28:11
deal. We'll probably get it done with
28:13
about 30 million guaranteed. I just don't think teams are
28:16
going to pay for running backs anymore.
28:17
There's just too many guys have been they've been burned lately
28:20
and I just I just don't see it. Ruben Bain that.
28:23
Defensive, yes. That's a nightmare.
28:26
What? That's a nightmare fuel.
28:28
So where? Are we, in terms of Mahomes,
28:31
when he's, I know it's very early, but there's always
28:34
speculation out there. Surgery went well.
28:36
I'm waiting for the last time that surgery didn't go well, but
28:40
that's a different conversation. Nick, what do we know?
28:42
What do we think we know about Mahomes, his return and what
28:45
it's going to look like here this offseason ramping up to the
28:47
regular year? I would be hard pressed to bet
28:51
against Patrick not being ready by opening day.
28:55
From my all. From what I've been told, he was
28:58
already flexing his knee within a week of surgery at a higher
29:01
pace or higher level than they expected.
29:04
You know, he's built differently and we all seen that.
29:07
And I think that he's going to do everything he can to get the
29:12
regular season. I think he's going to do
29:14
everything he can to, to, to be involved in the OTAs and the
29:19
mini camp and, and hopefully start training camp, if not the
29:23
first week, the second week, if anybody can do it, it's him.
29:27
I mean, you know, there's been other quarterbacks who have had,
29:30
you know, Philip Rivers did his recovery in eight months and,
29:34
and he was a heck of a lot older than Pastor Mahomes when he had
29:37
it done. I think he had it done at 37 or
29:38
38. So, you know, it's entirely
29:41
possible, but I I would say the Chiefs are counting on it.
29:45
I would think that, you know, the league's going to pay
29:47
attention because obviously scheduling the first four weeks
29:50
of the season, especially with the Chiefs up for the game in
29:53
Australia. Yeah, the game on Australia with
29:55
the Rams, They're they're, they're the team that want to go
29:59
there. But without Mahomes and it's
30:01
probably not, it's probably not the game.
30:02
The Bills want the Chiefs opening day to christen their
30:05
new stadium. So there's a lot of things that
30:08
play into this thing. But all that aside, not bad.
30:12
Yeah, it's passionate, being ready at the start of the
30:14
regular season. Who wins the Super?
30:16
Bowl Nick Athen, OH. Boy, you know I I love what Mike
30:21
Vrabel has done. It's a nearly a flawless
30:23
performance. I think they were from start to
30:26
finish, week one through the championship game, the most
30:29
consistent team in the NFL. Well, Week 2 because.
30:31
The Raiders beat him in week one.
30:33
OK, Well, OK. So they had, they had one
30:34
Plymouth week two, there you go. But beyond that, from week 3 on,
30:38
I mean, I just, I think Seattle is there's a team to beat this
30:43
year, Offense, defense, special teams, their run game.
30:47
That variable is going to have to, you know, have to really
30:49
come up with something significant defensively, I
30:52
think, I think to stop Seattle's offense, but I don't think this
30:56
is going to be a high scoring game.
30:58
I mean, I've got a, I've got 96127 kind of game or 13 seven
31:03
kind of game. I just I think these both these
31:05
defenses are still good and the offense is, you know, a struggle
31:09
time in the post season, not significant enough that they
31:13
can't score a lot of points. But these two defenses are are
31:16
are good. And so I think points are going
31:18
to be at a premium. Wouldn't be surprised if Flexer
31:21
this is a low scoring game, but I'm going to go.
31:24
I'm going to go with the Seattle Seahawks this time.
31:27
Good stuff, Nick. We'll talk to you in the weeks
31:29
leading up to the draft. Appreciate you coming on.
31:31
Thanks for what you did all season.
31:32
Thank you, Nick Athen, Chief splits.com for Nick.
31:34
Thanks, buddy. Take care.
31:36
All right, there goes Nick Athen on the Chiefs.
31:39
Little baseball. Breaking news.
31:40
You see this? Tariq Skubal won his arbitration
31:42
case. OK, The Tigers offered
31:44
19,000,000. He's going to get 13 million
31:47
more. He asked for 32 and the arbiter
31:50
said, Yep, we're going to give you the 32.
31:52
You win Tariq Skubal $32 million for the Sai young lefty.
31:58
Would there be Penny? Yes, in comparison to the rest
32:01
of the league, in comparison to the.
32:02
In general, no. Baseball players as a whole are
32:04
not worth $32 million, but the owners would be one that is.
32:08
Well, and the owners. They make plenty of money too,
32:10
so I'm not crying for the owners.
32:13
I think Detroit's on that list of teams that have lost their
32:17
FanDuel. Is that what it was the network
32:19
didn't do? So does that mean Bonetti's out
32:22
of a gig? Do we?
32:23
No, they're. Still, I mean, they're still
32:24
going to broadcast the games, right?
32:26
And. It's just going to be under an
32:27
MLB. Yeah, like the Twins last year.
32:29
Yeah, and they were. On DIRECTV, they were, yes.
32:32
So that is the hope that that will continue for US DIRECTV
32:36
subscribers. Though somebody brought up the.
32:39
Blackout rule for all the local TV?
32:40
Yeah, if it's on if. It's on the Internet.
32:43
I don't know. Yeah, you can still.
32:45
Black it out, it is 'cause I try to watch The Jets when they play
32:48
the Wild. I can't get The Jets feed
32:50
because or the Blues. I mean when they play the Blues.
32:53
So it it can be done. Sadly, yes.
32:57
Not good. More blackouts to deal with,
32:59
right? Never ends with MLB.
33:01
I know, never ends. Simplify this thing.
33:03
It seems like it's. Long overdue.
33:05
Very archaic rules for the blackout, rules for Major League
33:08
Baseball. So we just had two.
33:09
Seattle Two Pickers Syndicate and Athen that makes you feel
33:14
better. You know what, Trent?
33:16
Even if they would have taken, I think that this is a one side.
33:19
I think it's a boring game. You do.
33:20
I think it's well, yes, I think we could be headed in that
33:23
direction. Alt spread.
33:25
Yeah, late 13 1/2. Yeah, 17 1/2.
33:30
Maybe not that. Because I'm not sure there's
33:31
going to be that many points scored.
33:33
I think it's a low. Scoring game so like 24924 ten.
33:37
Something like that, Yeah. Convincing win by Seattle.
33:42
I'm grabbing the points. You're still grabbing.
33:43
The points I'm grabbing the points well, let's get Trent's
33:46
plays of the day they're coming up next circus sports sponsors
33:49
have obviously you've taken a look at this late tonight, not
33:53
the greatest of nights in college basketball no the.
33:55
Ladies are catching my eye this evening.
33:58
Yes, we got a couple of plays in women's college basketball, Iowa
34:02
against Minnesota. Analytics.
34:04
Say the point spread should be different.
34:06
I don't have a play in the game. I was favoured 4 1/2 analytics
34:10
say this should be a one point game.
34:11
Somebody called you and won the breaks and.
34:12
Asked if Lisa Blooter was doing the game tonight, apparently she
34:15
may be on is a Big 10 network. She's on the.
34:17
Desk board though, she doesn't. I haven't seen her, at least
34:21
that I can remember. I thought I did once.
34:23
Did she? Think yeah, but you're right.
34:25
She. Is on the desk a lot.
34:26
I think she. Well, I'm not sure.
34:28
Yeah. By the way, Speaking of being on
34:29
the desk, she wasn't on the desk.
34:30
She was on the floor at Madison Square Garden.
34:33
Did you see Caitlin last weekend?
34:34
I just saw the. Video clips that were out there
34:36
and what or did? You read anything passing grade
34:39
didn't even he see. Anything like that?
34:41
Yeah, I figured no negative, no positive.
34:43
Just kind of. Yeah, it was good.
34:44
Mm Hmm. I think one of the players
34:47
equated her to it was Reggie Miller, Peyton.
34:49
Pritchard, Peyton Pritchard did not go over well.
34:51
That was the one that. Got the most bucks?
34:53
Yeah. Yeah, no, it's not a very good.
34:55
No, it's not description. Yeah, he's a he's a nice player.
34:58
He's a nice player, right? She's an elite player.
35:01
She's a transformative player, generational.
35:03
That is not how we're. Going to use our member Peyton.
35:06
Pritchard, are you excited about this?
35:07
NBA trade deadline. When is?
35:11
It it ends as our show ends at 2:00 our time.
35:14
I did. See that Giannis is staying,
35:17
yes, but Other and Somu is now a tea wolf.
35:21
I did see that. I was hoping it was Giannis,
35:24
yeah. I don't know the answer's no, I
35:27
know it's just. Nothing.
35:28
I get it. We're a couple old guys and the
35:31
NBA is doesn't move our needle. We're in the college market.
35:34
We'll get there in April. Yep, and we really enjoy it.
35:36
When we get there, yes we do, and.
35:38
And I know we'll. Have that conversation for the
35:39
first time in April because outside of the Timberwolves,
35:42
neither of us watch much during the regular season, very little.
35:44
And we'll say man, this is high level basketball.
35:46
These guys are really good. It is different than the but
35:49
it's just an overall and we know the numbers we know the metrics
35:54
we talk about college basketball.
35:55
I I don't love the. NBA product, you're in one
35:57
through 82. I like it during the playoffs.
35:59
Yep. Doesn't work for us one through
36:02
18 or our. Audience thankfully because then
36:04
we'd be out of work. It's 145 Miller and Condon
36:07
trench plays of the day or next Circus sports sponsor those it's
36:10
the Iowa sports radio network. I'm Miller and Condon.
36:13
Final couple of minutes of our program back tomorrow Eugene
36:18
repay we'll preview the weekend for Iowa State.
36:23
Tom Caicard in here, get Tom's tight on the men's West Coast
36:27
trip and the women playing tonight and the latest on any
36:31
football recruiting, etcetera with Tom Caikert.
36:33
And then we hit the Las Vegas catch up with, I'm guessing, a
36:35
very busy Mike Palm from Circus Sports, the Vice President of
36:40
Operations at Circus Sports or it's just going to be crazy.
36:45
So much fun in Vegas for the Super Bowl weekend.
36:48
All right, Trent, as we talked about going into the break, it's
36:50
not a very good slate of games that move the needle on the
36:53
men's side. On the men's if you're.
36:55
Interested like. LSU goes to Texas tonight.
36:57
The SEC has got a couple of really, really big matchups.
37:00
Of course, Iowa against Minnesota, don't have a bet on
37:02
that one, but and the ladies definitely take the stage.
37:05
But I do have two plays on the men's side.
37:07
OK, I'm grabbing Penn State. And 20 something, 25 1/2 Jesus,
37:12
it's a huge. Number they hung around, I get
37:14
it, it was at home, this one's going to be in Ann Arbor.
37:18
But what they do offensively and certainly the ball screen action
37:20
that they use, it's something. It's one of the few things that
37:23
Michigan's been kind of susceptible to this year.
37:25
Because of that, I'll get the advantage and grab the big #25
37:29
1/2, which is Iowa C Penn. State lately. 3rd to last game
37:34
of the year, something like that.
37:35
Yeah. I think it's Penn State, then
37:36
maybe Michigan. back-to-back at Penn State, then home for
37:39
Michigan on senior day. Also gonna play Cincinnati
37:41
tonight. It's a tick higher that I
37:43
wanted. I wanted to.
37:44
It's 5 1/2 still. I think they they control
37:47
against Virginia. Yeah, I think certainly at home.
37:50
We've seen this Cincinnati team when we saw it against Iowa
37:52
State. How did they beat Iowa State?
37:53
They they're. Decent at home and they got a
37:55
jizzle. You got a.
37:57
Jizzle, you got a change? Is that what the expression is
38:01
and that just made it up? Works pretty good.
38:03
Put on AT shirt right. There you go.
38:04
Two women's plays tonight. Gibby Lova at home gets Duke and
38:09
lay the 3 1/2 in that one and gonna grab Washington tonight.
38:13
We'll go back to Alaska Airlines Arena and watch the Huskies
38:16
against the Buckeyes tonight. Just gonna grab the money line.
38:20
It's plus 125 is the best price out there.
38:22
We will jump aboard with that and take the Washington Huskies.
38:25
So 4 plays after a 2 and 2 yesterday, five and O the day
38:30
previous. Let's get back to what we had on
38:32
Tuesday. That was a lot more fun.
38:33
There you go. Good.
38:34
Stuff Adam Schefter reporting the Niners will play in
38:37
Australia 40 well. Shorter trip for them Niners.
38:41
Rams in Australia for both of them for.
38:44
Both don't put a East Coast team there.
38:45
And that makes sense. Yeah, makes sense for three
38:47
hours to it and then guessing a bye.
38:49
We both. That's a pretty good needle
38:50
mover of a game, though. It is.
38:52
Good. Stuff appreciate you being with
38:54
us that's but you know what we needed a Sunday night game.
38:57
Remember we looked at the clock and the cow.
38:59
Well that's pretty good. That's Sunday Night Football
39:01
that will do it for us. David Eichelt is in for Sean
39:04
Roberts today. Lucas train David Eichelt take
39:06
you until 5:00 off the bench. We are Miller and Condon
39:10
Trenton. I talk sports with you Monday
39:11
through Friday from noon to two on Des Moines Sports Station One
39:14
O 6.3, KX&O and the Iowa Sports Radio Network.