Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / David Kaplan on Chicago sports, Wade Lookingbill on Iowa Hoops & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

Transcript

David Kaplan on Chicago sports, Wade Lookingbill on Iowa Hoops & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

• 0:12
  Power #2 Miller and Condon welcome back, Iowa Sports Radio
• 0:15
  Network Trenton, Ken with you until 2 bottom of the hour, Wade
• 0:18
  looking Bill. We'll take a look back at Iowa.
• 0:21
  Michigan State last night in the head to Maryland coming up on
• 0:25
  the weekend. Trent, we'll make some pick
• 0:26
  circus sports sponsor those. Let's head to Chicago.
• 0:29
  Those first place Chicago Bears in the NFC, the number one seed.
• 0:33
  We'll get to that. Get to the Cubs.
• 0:36
  Cappy joins us. Cappy Trenton.
• 0:37
  Ken, thanks for coming on. Good to speak with you as
• 0:40
  always. Cap, you know where I want to
• 0:42
  start with the news. I'm guessing it's pretty big
• 0:44
  news in, in Chicago and that's the marquee network and perhaps
• 0:49
  the hemorrhaging of money that that company is going through.
• 0:52
  I know that they, you know, they recruited you, they came after
• 0:55
  you when the network launched, you were, you know, doing the
• 0:57
  pre and post on another network at the time and you decided to
• 1:01
  forgo that opportunity. But regardless of your decision,
• 1:05
  what is what's the what's going on with Marquis?
• 1:08
  Should Cubs fans Do they have anything to worry about?
• 1:10
  Cap? Well, in terms of worry, sure,
• 1:17
  because it's not the cash cow it was promised to be.
• 1:22
  The Cubs fans. And you know, I don't know if
• 1:25
  you have the audio. We played it the other day on my
• 1:27
  radio show where Tom Ricketts said, what are you doing the
• 1:31
  Marquee Network for? You won't be doing it in a year.
• 1:34
  You're going to love the Marquee Network and that the broadcasts
• 1:38
  are fine. I love John Chomby.
• 1:41
  I'm a good guy. I think Jim Deshane is a good
• 1:44
  person and a very good analyst. The whole network itself, it's
• 1:51
  not great because once the baseball season ends, I think
• 1:55
  they do a good job on baseball. Once it ends, what are you
• 1:58
  really watching? The Kerrywood 20 strikeout game?
• 2:01
  For the seven thousandth time, I'm just being serious.
• 2:04
  I'm not being a jerk. Like, I'm as big a Cup fan as
• 2:08
  exists and Oh my God, here we go.
• 2:12
  The top 50 home runs in Cubs history.
• 2:15
  Enough. I've had enough.
• 2:17
  They don't have anything else. The Blackhawks are wedded to
• 2:21
  Jerry Reinsdorf. And so you've got the Blackhawks
• 2:25
  on CHSN with the Bulls. That network is trying to make
• 2:29
  their way. And then you have Marquee and
• 2:33
  they've got nothing other than the Cubs.
• 2:36
  So I think you're going to eventually see they, for people
• 2:39
  wondering why we're talking about it, they laid off a lot of
• 2:43
  people the other day. They got rid of their basically
• 2:46
  their entire digital department because they were unable to in a
• 2:50
  very challenging advertising environment.
• 2:53
  They were unable to monetize the digital content, whether that
• 2:58
  was Tony Andracki, who did I thought a really good job with
• 3:02
  their podcast written copy. They're getting rid of all of it
• 3:06
  and it's unfortunate, but it is what it is.
• 3:10
  It's a sign of the times. They are hemorrhaging money
• 3:14
  because Sinclair, now Sinclair Broadcasting, has taken over a
• 3:20
  lot of the say of what goes on outside of the baseball games.
• 3:25
  They are paying the Cubs a ton of money, which Sinclair has
• 3:29
  said now it's a losing proposition.
• 3:32
  I was told by somebody back in August, Marquee will be upside
• 3:37
  down underwater, losing money at the end of the 2025 season.
• 3:44
  That means going forward, they're writing a check that
• 3:47
  they cannot recoup their investment, let alone turn a
• 3:50
  profit. And they signed this massive
• 3:53
  deal after the 19th season. Well, Ford cutting is a real
• 3:58
  thing. I have four sons, Three of them
• 4:01
  do not have cable, and that's going on everywhere.
• 4:05
  And for people that don't know how the cable model works, you
• 4:08
  get a cable bill and a portion of it goes to ESPNI think it's
• 4:13
  like $9 or $10 a month out of your bill, whether you like
• 4:19
  sports or not. Was going to ESPN, $7.00 a month
• 4:24
  was going to Mark Tina Arkney, NBC Sports Chicago.
• 4:28
  So whether you're Mod Pot Kettle in Des Moines, who watched the
• 4:32
  Architecture Channel and The History Channel in hate sports,
• 4:36
  $7.00 of their bill was going to NBC Sports Chicago, which made
• 4:41
  it a cash cow for the teams that owned it.
• 4:44
  Well, now that there's cord cutting, people aren't paying
• 4:48
  that. And now you can get a la carte
• 4:50
  programming where I'll just buy Hulu or Disney Plus or I'll get
• 4:57
  what I want. I don't want Marquee, I'm not a
• 4:59
  Cubs fan, or I don't want White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks
• 5:03
  because they're not any good. So it's affecting all these
• 5:06
  regional sports networks. In turn, the Cubs are not
• 5:10
  getting what the Dodgers get. The Dodgers get about $300
• 5:14
  million a year just in local TV. The kid put that in perspective.
• 5:20
  Chicago White Sox got 12 million this year.
• 5:23
  Big disparity, yeah. That is eye opening.
• 5:27
  You know what, you put those two together.
• 5:29
  Wow, Cap, I want to jump into the Bears with you.
• 5:31
  And it's been so much fun yet I don't know, maybe it's my Bear
• 5:35
  fandom that is seeping through. You know, I was having a
• 5:37
  conversation with another Bears friend last night and we're just
• 5:40
  talking about the fun run that it's been winning ways and maybe
• 5:44
  how things felt like it changed on Friday with that win against
• 5:46
  Philadelphia and also the fashion that they did it kind of
• 5:49
  why not us? And then, well, this team's also
• 5:52
  only won three playoff games the last 30 years.
• 5:54
  So maybe that's a reason that you go into it.
• 5:56
  This does feel different though. Cap doesn't feel different to
• 6:00
  you. You're normally optimistic.
• 6:01
  You're usually you have the glass half full kind of side of
• 6:04
  things. What feels different with this
• 6:06
  group this season? Well, first of all, it's the
• 6:09
  head coach. And you know, I said to you guys
• 6:13
  last year, they're not going to spend the money to get Ben
• 6:15
  Johnson. I'm glad I was proven wrong.
• 6:19
  I remember when I think Kenny asked me who would you hire?
• 6:22
  I said, well, do I have the money to go get Ben Johnson?
• 6:26
  I don't think you do. So I'll go hire somebody who's
• 6:29
  done it before, like Mike McCarthy, I think was a name.
• 6:32
  There were a couple of others. And then when I heard the Bears
• 6:36
  are going to what, 13 million a year for this guy, you've got to
• 6:41
  be kidding me because he's the best guy on the market.
• 6:44
  And then a friend of mine who played for the team said, Cap, I
• 6:48
  was there for 10 years. It is a this is not a personal
• 6:53
  shot, so don't take it that way. That is a building.
• 6:57
  This is what he said to me. It's a building filled with
• 6:59
  losers. And he doesn't mean the people
• 7:02
  are losers. He means it's just a bunch of
• 7:05
  people that have worked there forever that all have only
• 7:08
  experienced losing. George has never won Mccaskey a
• 7:12
  playoff game, been the chairman since 2011.
• 7:15
  That's a joke. That's embarrassing.
• 7:18
  And he said, you're telling me a 39 year old guy who's never been
• 7:23
  a head coach is going to walk into that building and rid it of
• 7:27
  this, think of losing? The answer is yes.
• 7:31
  You talked to the players. I talked to Kevin Byard
• 7:34
  recently. He said you cannot imagine the
• 7:36
  level of accountability in there.
• 7:38
  This dude does not let things slide an inch.
• 7:42
  We'll get it next time. Nope, He said, I'm not telling
• 7:45
  you we're going to win every game.
• 7:47
  I'm just telling you there's a standard that has now been set
• 7:50
  here. And if you don't operate under
• 7:52
  his standard, he doesn't care who you are, you will not be
• 7:56
  there. And that's so refreshing.
• 7:59
  That's why I think it's sustainable.
• 8:00
  Do I think they're winning the Super Bowl?
• 8:02
  I can't tell you that. I do think they're more
• 8:04
  legitimate than any of us gave them credit for that old line.
• 8:09
  But I'm telling you, this thing is building in the right
• 8:13
  direction. I don't think there's any doubt.
• 8:15
  Yeah, Byrd had a big play against the Eagles.
• 8:17
  We'll get to that game in a second.
• 8:18
  And with Green Bay coming up this weekend just feels like
• 8:22
  like for the first time, maybe I know it's the rivalry and it's
• 8:25
  it's Green Bay and it's the Bears, etcetera.
• 8:27
  But there's there's something to play for too out of these next
• 8:30
  three games against weeks rather against the Packers.
• 8:34
  And and the NFL realizes that they put they move this one to
• 8:38
  the late window 325. They move the the game at
• 8:41
  Soldier Field to Saturday night, December 20th.
• 8:45
  Yep. So the the league realizes the
• 8:47
  importance of these games, Bears and Packers.
• 8:49
  It's good to mean something again, Cap.
• 8:52
  Oh, it's so cool. You know, somebody said.
• 8:55
  I can't believe the Bengals Ravens game wouldn't be the one
• 8:57
  They've flexed Bengals Ravens over Bears Packers.
• 9:02
  And the Bears are currently the one seed in the NFC, and the
• 9:06
  Packers would take over that spot if the Bears lose to them
• 9:11
  on Sunday. Oh man, Yeah, it's super cool to
• 9:15
  see what's going on in this. This city's alive.
• 9:18
  You guys are not here. You can feel the pulse.
• 9:22
  I'm right in the thick of it. It is.
• 9:26
  Fire gave out the hot dogs yesterday at the Wiener Circle
• 9:29
  because Ben Johnson took your shirt off.
• 9:32
  It's freezing cold. I mean, right now here, it's 29.
• 9:35
  It was colder yesterday. There were over 1000 people in
• 9:39
  line. It's not like they were handing
• 9:41
  out gold bars. Now, one hot dog and it was down
• 9:45
  Clark Street wrapped around on the diversity.
• 9:48
  Yeah, it was. People are really into this.
• 9:52
  Rivalry that obviously has gone Green Bay's way for a very long
• 9:56
  time now. Lovey embraced it and they got a
• 9:59
  few wins. Ben Johnson, I don't think he
• 10:02
  embraced it in the same way, but I think he brought it up in his
• 10:04
  press conference this week. He knows how big this is.
• 10:06
  And it's not just first place on the line, but it's also the
• 10:09
  rivalry aspect. Does that get overrated?
• 10:11
  You know, some people consider it the best rivalry in the NFL.
• 10:14
  You're going to be up there freezing your ass off in Green
• 10:17
  Bay. What do you think when we talked
• 10:18
  about though this rivalry? Because short of the 2010 game,
• 10:22
  the NFC Championship Game, there just hasn't been a whole lot
• 10:25
  that really have mattered for both teams.
• 10:29
  No, because even the last time or the Bears won in January.
• 10:33
  So they're actually won in 2025 against them.
• 10:36
  But the game was meaningless for the Bears.
• 10:38
  It wasn't for the Packers. Bears got to win.
• 10:41
  What do you do? OK, you beat him.
• 10:43
  But 2018, Mitchell Trubisky at the quarterback position and the
• 10:49
  Bears win to clinch the NFC North with a 12 and 4 record.
• 10:54
  Well, that was the year that the Packers fired Mike McCarthy in
• 10:58
  season and they finished five, nine and one, I think, or 510
• 11:03
  and one, whatever they were. And it didn't mean for both
• 11:07
  teams since 2010, it hasn't met what it's meaning this week.
• 11:12
  We're both teams have something to play for.
• 11:15
  It's going to be incredibly cool to see what happens.
• 11:19
  And don't let the Bears win this one now because we've already
• 11:23
  got some of the bandwagon jumpers nationally are jumping
• 11:26
  in. You go in and win in Green Bay,
• 11:29
  Yeah, look out. And Speaking of the bandwagon
• 11:32
  cap, did it take the win over Philadelphia to maybe for
• 11:36
  finally people, finally Bears fans that were slow to come
• 11:38
  around, come talk to me? When you beat somebody, you beat
• 11:41
  the Giants, you beat the Bengals, you beat the Vikings,
• 11:43
  you beat the Saints, you beat the Commanders.
• 11:46
  When you play a team with the pulse and beat them, maybe I'll
• 11:49
  start to believe, well, they did that.
• 11:51
  They went into Philadelphia and beat the defending champs.
• 11:53
  Did that get maybe the last of the naysayers to leave their
• 11:57
  perch and jump on that proverbial bandwagon?
• 12:01
  I don't know about the last of them, but it's certainly got a
• 12:04
  lot of them on the bandwagon now.
• 12:07
  I was just looking today. I already have tickets.
• 12:10
  I'm going to the game. I've got to do something for our
• 12:13
  radio station before the game. And then they have two tickets
• 12:17
  for me. They said can you go up to Green
• 12:19
  Bay and hang with a bunch of our advertising partners?
• 12:22
  And I'm like, it's going to be freezing.
• 12:25
  They're like we'll give you a second ticket for your wife.
• 12:29
  So I said that's good enough payment for me.
• 12:31
  And they gave me two tickets. That's all.
• 12:34
  I get 2 tickets and a parking spot and we're going to the game
• 12:37
  and I am literally sitting in my car.
• 12:40
  I am going to get off this interview with you whenever
• 12:43
  we're done. And I am going into this ski
• 12:46
  shop right here and I'm going to see if they have like, I don't
• 12:51
  call them snow pants, like the overalls, you know, the overalls
• 12:55
  I want and some like heated gloves because it's going to be
• 12:59
  really cold. And I think it's going to be
• 13:01
  amazingly cool to be there. The running game was such an eye
• 13:05
  opener on Friday. What they were able to do,
• 13:07
  running the football in that fashion against that
• 13:09
  Philadelphia front, is that sustainable or was it just, we
• 13:13
  know this Eagles team, I mean, they're so inconsistent.
• 13:16
  You don't know where they are mentally so much of the time
• 13:19
  isn't sustainable. What we saw out of that Bears
• 13:20
  run game the rest of the season. Well, it's 281 yard to 100 yard
• 13:27
  rushers. Sustainable.
• 13:29
  Obviously not. That's the first time you've
• 13:31
  done that in terms of two 100 yard rushers since November 10,
• 13:35
  1985, Walter Payton and Matt Suey.
• 13:40
  I think the run game is sustainable.
• 13:42
  They've done it. Kyle Menung, guy filled in for
• 13:44
  an injured DeAndre Swift, ran for 176 and the Bears ran for
• 13:49
  240 something. So this is not an aberration.
• 13:53
  281, I mean, that's like eye popping numbers.
• 13:58
  But I do think they're going to be able to run the football
• 14:01
  because you look at that offensive line, Ozzie Tarpillo,
• 14:05
  leave him to the side. He's learning on the job.
• 14:08
  Same with Theo Benedict. Darnell Wright's playing as well
• 14:11
  as any right tackle in football, Jonah Jackson.
• 14:15
  Ola Cruz told me last night on our football show that he
• 14:18
  believes Jonah Jackson is first team All Pro at right guard.
• 14:22
  He believes Drew Dalman's going to be a Pro Bowl center and he
• 14:25
  believes Joe Tuning will be a first team all pro at left
• 14:28
  guard. And then I mentioned Darnell
• 14:30
  Wright. He'll easily be a Pro Bowler in
• 14:32
  his third year. So you could have four of your
• 14:36
  five offensive lineman getting post season recognition for All
• 14:40
  Star. That will travel.
• 14:43
  You go up there, it's going to be cold.
• 14:46
  And that the key to the whole game besides running the ball is
• 14:50
  you cannot look up and go, oh God, we got picked off and we
• 14:54
  had a fumble. We're down 14 points because now
• 14:56
  you got a pass. It's going to be cold and windy.
• 14:59
  And that allows Micah Parsons, Rashawn Gary to pin their ears
• 15:04
  back and come get you. And they're really good at that.
• 15:07
  They're missing for the rest of the season.
• 15:09
  I believe his name is Wyatt. The big kid in the middle.
• 15:12
  He broke his leg, He's done. That is a massive loss.
• 15:17
  That guy's a monster and with him not there run between the
• 15:22
  tackles and when they least expected either a stretch play
• 15:26
  or take a shot down the field and play action, you watch out.
• 15:29
  Caleb Williams could have a really good game.
• 15:31
  Yeah, Devonte Wyatt, you're 100% right.
• 15:33
  Cap couple minutes on the Cubs. It's that time of year, right?
• 15:36
  Everybody? We're seeing so many rumors out
• 15:38
  there. Winter meetings are coming up
• 15:39
  next week. They used to mean something, as
• 15:41
  you recall, Not quite what it used to be.
• 15:43
  I saw one that was intriguing. Not sure what the return would
• 15:46
  be, but the the Twins looking like they're going to sell.
• 15:50
  Buxton has said finally, you know what, I I will wave my no
• 15:53
  trade. Joe Ryan's not going to be
• 15:55
  there. Is there a package for Buxton if
• 15:58
  he would play a corner out field, particularly right field
• 16:01
  because I don't think you're moving PCA and they were set in
• 16:05
  left field. What about Joe Ryan and Buxton?
• 16:10
  If he would play right field, you're.
• 16:12
  Breaking my heart. I know I'm breaking your heart,
• 16:14
  but does that make sense? Cap.
• 16:17
  I think it absolutely makes sense.
• 16:18
  My question is, OK, if you do that, you're giving up a
• 16:22
  fortune. So you're probably trading
• 16:25
  Jackson Wiggins, your number one pitching prospect.
• 16:28
  OK, All right, You got to give something to get something.
• 16:31
  You're probably giving up Owen Casey.
• 16:34
  I mean, you're probably giving up three or four other good
• 16:37
  young prospects. You're not trading say, in
• 16:40
  Suzuki as a no trade. You're not going to trade, I
• 16:43
  mean. Does he and Hap have a no trade?
• 16:47
  He does for one more year and then he's a free agent.
• 16:50
  Same with Suzuki. So you better Buxton better be
• 16:55
  healthy. That dude's never on the field.
• 16:57
  Like when he's healthy, he's a really good player.
• 17:01
  Joe Ryan's a really good pitcher.
• 17:02
  Two years left on his deal at $20 million, That's totally
• 17:07
  different than going 7 for 2/10 for Dylan Cease.
• 17:12
  Joe Ryan's a better pitcher than Dylan Cease.
• 17:15
  Now you only get 2 years of control.
• 17:18
  So I mean, it's, I guess I would make that deal.
• 17:24
  I would rather answer my questions just with money and
• 17:27
  still keep my prospects. But you only get locked into Joe
• 17:32
  Ryan for two years. You don't know what the new
• 17:34
  collective bargaining is going to look like and you don't have
• 17:37
  any long term contracts on your books other than Dansby Swanson.
• 17:41
  That's one thing that Jed has done magnificently well is
• 17:44
  manage the money, you know? Just let me jump into your quick
• 17:47
  trend back to where we started, Cap.
• 17:49
  Are they connected to marquee hemorrhaging money?
• 17:52
  Does that preclude the Cubs from spending?
• 17:54
  Are they separate? Is it separate areas?
• 17:56
  Separate budget lines, if you will.
• 18:00
  Don't think that if if Marquis is not writing them a large
• 18:04
  check, we were told, that is going to put us in a different
• 18:08
  financial stratosphere. What was the line?
• 18:11
  My job is to fill a wheelbarrow with money and drop it in front
• 18:15
  of Theo Epstein's door, now Jed Hoyer's door.
• 18:18
  If Marquis is not a cash cow and you have to play off all these
• 18:22
  people and you get rid of Joe Girardi last year because you
• 18:25
  didn't want to pay whatever it was he was making to do 100
• 18:28
  games. I mean, he did 100 games, let's
• 18:31
  call it. He was making 200,300.
• 18:35
  I mean, if we're to that point, if you think it's not going to
• 18:38
  affect what they spend in baseball, you're fooling
• 18:41
  yourself. I guess we will always have the
• 18:43
  five and O bulls start because this thing looks like trending
• 18:46
  in the wrong direction over at the United Center.
• 18:49
  Yeah, they stink. It's funny.
• 18:52
  Kobe White, as soon as he comes back, the team looks terrible.
• 18:56
  And I'm not calling him a bad player.
• 18:57
  Maybe it's just not a good mix, but he's been ruled out for
• 19:00
  tonight. There's a like four or five guys
• 19:04
  that may not go tonight. It's it's I find it repulsive
• 19:07
  the number of players that sit out like, oh, back-to-back.
• 19:12
  Yeah, he can't go. And then I watched Michael
• 19:14
  Jordan when he was doing the interview on NBCI, think he's
• 19:17
  got another one tonight or tomorrow where he said, oh, I, I
• 19:22
  felt like Ken Miller, the postman from Des Moines who
• 19:26
  saved his money to take his 12 year old to see me play.
• 19:30
  I can't sit out. I owe it to them to play.
• 19:33
  They don't have that mentality today.
• 19:36
  LeBron and all these guys, they're all phonies to me.
• 19:39
  That's sad. I love basketball.
• 19:42
  I find it pathetic. And last thing, Captain, the
• 19:45
  other winter sport I, I can't get over.
• 19:48
  I mean, when you're the number one pick in the NHL, you're
• 19:51
  pretty good when you get to that spot, right as Conor Bedard was,
• 19:55
  he's so much better. He's so much faster cap this
• 19:58
  year, I can't get over how much better he is from from year to
• 20:02
  year. He really has improved his game.
• 20:05
  Oh, he's amazing. The goal he had in the shootout
• 20:08
  last night. Was incredible.
• 20:09
  Was spectacular. I'm like, how did you do that?
• 20:13
  It reminded me a lot of Patrick Kane when he was here, and I
• 20:17
  think the Hawks have young talent, young talent.
• 20:21
  Bedard, he's got great hands, but they still are not there
• 20:25
  yet. They're another year away from
• 20:27
  being a playoff game. Good stuff, capper, as always,
• 20:30
  buddy. Go get yourself some warm
• 20:31
  clothes. Enjoy Lambeau Field.
• 20:33
  Can't wait to hear about it next Wednesday when we reconvene.
• 20:36
  Thank you pal. You got it.
• 20:38
  Check it out. Yes, Sir.
• 20:39
  See ya David Kaplan. He's brought to us by our
• 20:42
  friends at Centurion Stone. Cappy's going to Lambeau.
• 20:46
  Fun place? Yeah, like.
• 20:46
  I've never been, never been. Went up there for the Monday
• 20:49
  night game about a decade ago. A Monday night game there.
• 20:51
  Nice. Rogers got knocked out, Seneca
• 20:53
  had to come in the game. The Bears actually beat the
• 20:55
  Packers one of the few times. Yeah, and that environment
• 20:59
  special. Well, Monday night special.
• 21:01
  I don't know if it still is now that Sunday night's a big deal.
• 21:04
  It still is. I think it has to be.
• 21:05
  I'll never forget the feeling I had going to Monday Night
• 21:07
  Football for and it was Raiders, Broncos pretty rivalry too.
• 21:11
  But yeah, Monday, Monday night at Lambeau Field.
• 21:13
  Take the day off. He got the whole day to
• 21:15
  tailgate, mill around, check things out.
• 21:18
  Are there a bunch of bars and restaurants close?
• 21:20
  Because it seems to me like it's in the middle of the
• 21:22
  neighborhood. Yeah, kind of it's more just
• 21:25
  there's a few, but they're packed.
• 21:28
  I mean, we just kind of walked around and tailgated more than
• 21:30
  anything. That was kind of the the way
• 21:33
  that it worked out. But you know, we had all all day
• 21:35
  Monday just getting ready for it.
• 21:37
  They have a big tailgate kind of outdoor scene where it's just
• 21:40
  kind of an outdoor party. What worked out?
• 21:42
  So what? Time Did you come back to Des
• 21:45
  Moines right after the game? Bust back.
• 21:46
  Yeah. Oh, you bust.
• 21:47
  Mm hmm, that's brutal. What time did you get home?
• 21:50
  Don't remember. I was late for work the next
• 21:52
  day. I remember that.
• 21:53
  I bet you were the good stuff. All right, let me tell you
• 21:57
  quickly about Centurion stone of I.
• 21:58
  If you're in the market for manufacturer natural stone, you
• 22:01
  want to accent or update a project inside the house or
• 22:04
  outside the house. Centurion stone.
• 22:06
  They've got a variety of styles, patterns and colors for your
• 22:09
  every need that Centurion stone. Of course, that's their
• 22:11
  manufactured stone product. But if you want, they've of
• 22:15
  course got the natural stone as well.
• 22:18
  Centurion stone. They've got that available, over
• 22:20
  200 different color and pattern combinations.
• 22:24
  Centurion stone of iowa.com. Centurion stone of iowa.com.
• 22:28
  Check them out online what they can do there.
• 22:30
  You'll see some testimonials as well.
• 22:32
  And then visit the showroom if you're still not sold. 5525 NE
• 22:36
  22nd St. in Des Moines. 5525 NE 22nd St. in Des Moines, right
• 22:42
  across the street from the Animal Rescue League.
• 22:44
  And they do have Saturday morning hours from 8:00 until
• 22:47
  noon. Wade looking bill Trenton, Iowa,
• 22:49
  will take a look back at Michigan State Iowa last night
• 22:52
  and a look ahead to the season. Wade looking Bill, our Hawkeye
• 22:55
  joins us next. Miller and Condon, we're glad
• 22:56
  you're with us. We're talking sports with you on
• 22:59
  Des Moines sports station one O 6.3 KX&O All
• 23:16
  right, just passed 130. Miller and Condon, glad you're
• 23:18
  with us. We'll take you until the top of
• 23:20
  the hour. Trends, plays of the day still
• 23:22
  to come. Circus sports sponsor.
• 23:24
  Those get to those about 10 minutes or so before 2.
• 23:29
  They're coming off the bench today, 2 to 5.
• 23:31
  Lucas and Sean overtime, Iowa, 5 until 6.
• 23:34
  Our next guest joins us well, weekly during college basketball
• 23:37
  season, particularly when they get to conference play, which I
• 23:40
  guess we're in at least for this week, is Michigan State and Iowa
• 23:43
  played last night. Maryland and Iowa will do so on
• 23:46
  Saturday afternoon. He's former Hawkeye Wade
• 23:49
  Lookingbill. Hello, Wade.
• 23:50
  Trenton. Ken, how are you?
• 23:51
  Good to talk to you again. Really good guys, thanks for
• 23:55
  having me on. I I wish you would have talked
• 23:57
  24 hours ago but happy for some basketball.
• 24:00
  Yeah, we were more optimistic at that time.
• 24:03
  You know, if anything, weight, it just goes to prove, you know,
• 24:06
  just how physical, how good the Big 10 is.
• 24:09
  And this, this, let's be honest, this is a really good Michigan
• 24:12
  State team. I believe at this point, they've
• 24:14
  got some marquee wins, Madison Square Garden over Kentucky.
• 24:17
  They pasted North Carolina last week, and they did so against an
• 24:21
  Iowa team that just looked overmatched last night when you
• 24:25
  were watching it, Wade, I guess what's going through your mind?
• 24:28
  What was your take away after watching 40 minutes of Sparty
• 24:32
  basketball? Yeah, you know.
• 24:35
  Michigan State's playing as well as anybody in the country.
• 24:37
  You know, you mentioned all those marquee wins, neutral
• 24:40
  sites at home, on the road. It's just, you know, I, I, I
• 24:44
  think it's something where it, we, we kind of thought this was
• 24:48
  going to happen or could happen. We were hoping, especially with
• 24:51
  that start, we are hoping it wouldn't happen, But I don't
• 24:55
  think we can read too much into it.
• 24:56
  Michigan State's really good. Iowa did not play well.
• 24:59
  Let's move on to Saturday. You look at one of the big
• 25:03
  concerns we had, not a real big team obviously, and definitely
• 25:07
  showed up against Michigan State.
• 25:08
  There's not many teams built like Sparty.
• 25:10
  But is that something that does leave you kind of back to maybe
• 25:13
  where we the conversations we had this summer that how's this
• 25:16
  team going to be able to rebound?
• 25:17
  How are they going to be able to hold up throughout the course of
• 25:20
  a rugged 1820 game Big 10 schedule?
• 25:24
  It's going to be tough because you look at Purdue has size,
• 25:27
  their physical Illinois is huge, the way they play.
• 25:31
  Michigan's got big bodies. So it, it, it's something where
• 25:35
  they got to find a way. They, they can't get doubled up
• 25:38
  on the board. You know, I, I think they,
• 25:40
  they're, they're not going to out rebound a lot of teams, but
• 25:44
  if they can keep it within that five to even 10 differential and
• 25:49
  then don't turn it over, make free throws, knock down some
• 25:53
  shots, all things they didn't do last night, I think they'll be
• 25:56
  OK. You know, I again, I think 10
• 25:58
  and 10 in, in the big 10 gets you in the tournament.
• 26:01
  And then once you're in the tournament, who knows what
• 26:03
  happens? Yeah, I I think that'd be a
• 26:05
  successful, that would be a something to shoot for in
• 26:08
  Mccollum's first year. Your thoughts on on what the
• 26:10
  coach has done so far away from your perspective, when you see
• 26:13
  what Wade Mccollum's done leading up to last night,
• 26:17
  obviously that didn't go well, but how would you?
• 26:19
  I guess not great. But to what are your takeaways
• 26:22
  on the McCullum era thus far, both off the court and on the
• 26:25
  court? I think it's been unbelievable.
• 26:28
  I mean, you look at so, so Cooper Koch was the only
• 26:31
  returning player from last year's team and, and he played
• 26:34
  six games. So, so really everybody is new
• 26:38
  to the team. I, I, I understand there's six
• 26:40
  straight players and you know, I think four of them play
• 26:43
  significant minutes and those guys are really good.
• 26:46
  But you still got a piece together the team and when they
• 26:49
  went out to it was a Palm Springs, you know, Ole Miss,
• 26:53
  that's an SEC team that that that Grand Canyon team is
• 26:57
  probably not very good, but those are still wins against
• 27:01
  big, big programs. So, you know, I think he's been
• 27:05
  great. I I like the system.
• 27:07
  I was really surprised those first five or seven games how
• 27:10
  much they did score walking the ball up the court now in Palm
• 27:14
  Springs, it really slowed down a lot.
• 27:16
  But hey, that's his system. And I think, you know, this
• 27:21
  year, especially until they get more talent, more athleticism,
• 27:25
  that's how they got to play, which I'm, I just want to win
• 27:28
  games. Find it anyway.
• 27:31
  Absolutely. Wade.
• 27:32
  Wade. One guy I wonder about is
• 27:34
  Brendan Hassan. He, I think Ken and I both had
• 27:37
  him penciled in as a starter. That has not been the case.
• 27:40
  He hasn't started a game this season.
• 27:41
  Didn't play in the game against Grand Canyon, played 7 minutes
• 27:44
  last night, all in the first half, didn't get out there in
• 27:46
  the second. It feels like they're going to
• 27:48
  need some more scoring punch and Hassan's one of the guys that I
• 27:51
  think Ken provided. What do you think's going on
• 27:53
  there? I know he was banged up during
• 27:54
  the summertime, wasn't fully maybe ready for the start of the
• 27:57
  year. What do you think's happening
• 27:59
  with the sharpshooter from Texas?
• 28:01
  I was, I was shocked he didn't play in the second-half.
• 28:03
  You know, he had those six with even 7 points that first half.
• 28:07
  He was the only guy that that didn't look Ben starts included
• 28:11
  that that didn't look overwhelmed, You know, with the
• 28:15
  with the situation in the atmosphere.
• 28:18
  I don't know, you know, they got to get more size, more
• 28:23
  rebounding, which he does not do.
• 28:25
  But they're also, like you said, they're going to have to find a
• 28:28
  way to score some more points and he can really shoot the
• 28:30
  basketball. I remember him for K State last
• 28:32
  year in Ames just just was, you know, unbelievable.
• 28:37
  You know, I, I think he needs more minutes and, and we'll see
• 28:40
  Saturday. Fulgaris is a guy as well that
• 28:43
  didn't have his best game last night.
• 28:44
  I don't know if it was just, you know, overwhelmed a little bit
• 28:47
  by the Big 10, by Michigan State.
• 28:49
  He's never seen anything like that.
• 28:50
  I don't. Think played in the Even playing
• 28:52
  Alabama in the NCAA tournament last year, it wasn't an
• 28:55
  environment like. That yeah, but he's going to
• 28:57
  face more of them going forward. So, I mean, how does Fulgaris
• 29:01
  react out of last night? Is that a learning experience
• 29:04
  for him? Yeah, You know, I, I, I think
• 29:07
  you could include the entire team has not faced anything like
• 29:10
  that. Even with the Drake guys.
• 29:13
  Where's a, where's a road environment that they played
• 29:16
  like that, you know, last year and, and in the Valley, you just
• 29:19
  don't see it. They played Missouri, but that
• 29:21
  was on a neutral court. I, I think it's just something
• 29:25
  that Fulgaris is a really good player.
• 29:28
  I mean, he could be a pro. I mean, he was, he was player of
• 29:31
  the year in that, in that league.
• 29:33
  That's good basketball. That's really good basketball.
• 29:35
  And he's showing signs of, you know, come down the lane, dunk
• 29:38
  on people, Stretch 4 can really shoot it.
• 29:42
  I just think Saturday is extremely important because
• 29:46
  you're talking about a Maryland team that's got some players, a
• 29:50
  buzz. Williams is a great coach.
• 29:52
  Not not a good coach, great coach.
• 29:54
  And now you've kind of seen how to play Iowa and how to slow
• 29:59
  them down, be physical with them, kind of beat on them.
• 30:03
  That's a game they really need to win.
• 30:04
  You know, can they, can they beat Maryland at home?
• 30:07
  Can they win at Northwestern? Can they win at Nebraska?
• 30:10
  And I, I don't know who they play twice and who they play
• 30:13
  once, but those are the teams. They have to find a way to get
• 30:17
  those wins, especially at home. Lot of opportunities and then we
• 30:23
  get the collision course Thursday, Iowa State.
• 30:26
  Wade, take us back. When you walked into Hilton and
• 30:30
  that environment back in your playing days, what it was like,
• 30:33
  you know, you played a lot of great Big 10 venues, but with
• 30:36
  the in state rivalry, you being from up in that neck of the
• 30:38
  woods as well growing up in Fort Dodge, what was it like when he
• 30:41
  walked into Hilton and playing on that hardwood?
• 30:43
  Yeah, so I, I tell people too, I I was really fortunate to play
• 30:48
  at a lot of great arenas on all the Big 10 arenas.
• 30:51
  I played at Carolina, played at Duke.
• 30:55
  The loudest arena I was ever in was Helen Coliseum.
• 30:58
  How about that? And I don't know if it was
• 31:00
  really even that close. And I think part of that is that
• 31:03
  Iowa State makeup. Now that being said, it's
• 31:08
  something I think those types of games, especially with what
• 31:11
  happened last night. I'm not saying I was going to go
• 31:13
  in there and get a win, but that's that's a game where Iowa
• 31:17
  can go in slowing down guard people, maybe keep it close when
• 31:22
  something at the end. But I do remember my my, my, my
• 31:25
  sophomore year, we were playing at Ames.
• 31:28
  Ray Thompson loved loved Raymond, loved Ray T had a
• 31:31
  little altercation down in Iowa City at the bars.
• 31:36
  That's offended the first half and they were brutal for Ray.
• 31:40
  He got picked up for public, public impacts.
• 31:42
  Brutal on Ray, didn't play the first half.
• 31:45
  I didn't get 26 in the second-half and was just
• 31:48
  unbelievable. And it was it was it was it was
• 31:51
  so much fun to put to play in those games to be an Iowa kid.
• 31:54
  They they met, they meant a lot for me.
• 31:58
  But Hill Coliseum. Loudest Serena I was ever in.
• 32:01
  And I watched Cameron indoor last night, Florida and Duke and
• 32:04
  that building was absolutely electric.
• 32:07
  What a cool place that is. Wade.
• 32:09
  Great to have you back on board with us.
• 32:10
  We look forward to your insight throughout the Big 10 season.
• 32:14
  Perhaps we'll be able to run you down prior to that kicking off
• 32:18
  as we're well, we need a split, right?
• 32:19
  Hawks got to get a split in this thing.
• 32:21
  As Trent said yesterday, don't want to start in the Big 10 O
• 32:24
  and two. You need the very least to be 1
• 32:26
  and one. That's all that they've got left
• 32:28
  to shoot for. So hopefully you put this one in
• 32:30
  the win column on on Saturday. Wade, thanks for jumping out
• 32:33
  with us. Go ahead.
• 32:34
  You bet anytime guys, you call me anytime.
• 32:36
  I appreciate that. Appreciate all that you guys do.
• 32:39
  Thank you buddy. Good to talk to you.
• 32:40
  Wade looking bills, we check in on the Hawkeyes with Wade and
• 32:44
  we'll do that throughout the throughout the Big 10 play.
• 32:46
  So what will I will be favored? Have you looked at the Ken Palm
• 32:50
  number when it comes to Maryland and Iowa?
• 32:52
  11 it. Will be It'll be double.
• 32:54
  Digits. And that's not necessarily, I
• 32:57
  mean, that's pretty good. That's pretty, pretty accurate.
• 33:00
  It's pretty accurate. You can look in advance to get,
• 33:02
  you know, usually within what maybe one or two on the outside,
• 33:06
  3 point difference. He what's he mean?
• 33:08
  He falls in there somewhere. So Ray Thompson, he brought up
• 33:11
  that story. That was before your time here.
• 33:12
  But I'd heard of the name Ray Thompson, yeah.
• 33:14
  He was so talented, that dude and a lot of what ifs that went
• 33:19
  there and I'd forgot the story and, and you think back, you
• 33:23
  know, he was lost two different times for academics.
• 33:27
  We just mentioned this yesterday.
• 33:28
  That doesn't happen anymore. No, doesn't happen anymore.
• 33:30
  No. Public in talks.
• 33:32
  Public in talks, right For a 19 year old kid and that got him
• 33:37
  suspended. Not for just any game, not
• 33:39
  against cop and state, no, no, not Maryland.
• 33:41
  Near Eastern Shore for the side hawk game.
• 33:44
  We have a kid that gets popped this weekend.
• 33:46
  I would hope they would play. Republican talks.
• 33:49
  Republican. I mean, if you're behind the
• 33:51
  wheel, then yeah, you know what? You got to set out the game.
• 33:53
  But for that, yeah, if you're walking home, do you think?
• 33:57
  They're playing Thursday night, I hope, on either side, I hope.
• 34:01
  Me. Too.
• 34:03
  What a different world it really, truly is, you know, so
• 34:06
  many ways. You know, we, we need to have
• 34:08
  some retrospectives this summer before it ends for you.
• 34:13
  I, I, when you started and like those kind of things and just
• 34:16
  how different just the world has evolved and the way that we look
• 34:19
  at Oh my God, and certainly college athletics because I
• 34:23
  remember, you know, I started 20 years ago.
• 34:25
  You know the poster Childs for this was most of them over in
• 34:27
  Iowa City. Yeah.
• 34:28
  I mean, you had the dough boys. Yes, you know, you you had the
• 34:33
  Pierre Pierre stuff. That was an era that.
• 34:36
  Was oh. My God, that was an era, you
• 34:39
  know, the whole Alford thing. And yeah, he was good to us.
• 34:42
  I don't know why, don't know why.
• 34:44
  Everybody hated him and I guess we judged him.
• 34:47
  How are you to us, you know, and not that we'd look the other
• 34:50
  way, just as I don't know. Anyways, that's a good idea.
• 34:53
  Let's do it. We'll come back.
• 34:56
  But you had a A5 pack or an 8 pack yesterday.
• 34:58
  You had a bunch of plays. I had I gave up six.
• 35:01
  Six yeah, 333 and 3. So you lost the juice?
• 35:05
  Lost the juice again, yeah. I I'm still stunned by the
• 35:09
  Michigan State number falling to 4 1/2 yesterday.
• 35:12
  It was 6 when we went on the air, was 4 1/2 when we got off
• 35:15
  the air. So all the steam's coming in and
• 35:18
  yet. Dead wrong.
• 35:19
  Poo. Michigan State's really good.
• 35:22
  Michigan's really good. Purdue's really good.
• 35:24
  Illinois is really good. UCLA is really good.
• 35:28
  Who am I missing this conference?
• 35:30
  In the Big 10. In the Big 10, there's a bunch
• 35:32
  of really goods. In terms of depth at the top, US
• 35:37
  CS undefeated, they they went to Maui, won that.
• 35:40
  Too I never mentioned. Them Indiana now we'll see.
• 35:42
  I don't. I'm not buying them yet.
• 35:44
  They haven't played anybody, right?
• 35:46
  Their best win against the Marquette team, that's as bad as
• 35:49
  they've been in a decade. OK, BK State.
• 35:51
  I don't think K State's very good this year.
• 35:53
  Now, by the way, K State, Chris Kleiman retiring when it comes
• 35:56
  to football. But I get it.
• 35:57
  Yep, Nebraska's undefeated. They are.
• 35:59
  Haven't played anybody. And I mean they had to escape
• 36:01
  against USC upstate. We'll see about that one.
• 36:04
  Also another Buckeyes good question.
• 36:07
  Middle of the pack team. Probably they're I just don't
• 36:13
  know about the Jake D Blair Heiler.
• 36:15
  You know, at a program like that, Why aren't they better
• 36:20
  with all the money that they have?
• 36:21
  I. Guess.
• 36:22
  Why aren't Why isn't Ohio State? You would think football focused
• 36:25
  maybe. Who knows?
• 36:27
  All right, so 1:45 will take a time out.
• 36:29
  Trent's plays of the day. They are coming up next it.
• 36:32
  I have not looked ahead. The basketball schedule tonight
• 36:34
  cannot be anywhere close to what it was last night.
• 36:37
  No, I mean, last night was so good.
• 36:38
  Yeah, so good. But we got some games, do we?
• 36:41
  There's some interest. There's still a couple of ACCSEC
• 36:43
  battles that'll be out there. Battle of undefeateds, just like
• 36:46
  you had before the year Vanderbilt against SMU.
• 36:49
  Alcorn State invades Hilton Coliseum, take Iowa State is a
• 36:53
  41 1/2 point. Dog and don't miss a minute of
• 36:56
  it. Jen, I might see a minute of it.
• 36:59
  I just 41 1/2 points, probably watched the 1st 10.
• 37:04
  I don't know. Miller and Condon, glad you're
• 37:08
  with us as we all talk sports with you.
• 37:10
  Our final segment is next. It's the Iowa Sports Radio
• 37:13
  Network. I find a couple of minutes here
• 37:29
  Miller and Condon the Iowa Sports Radio Network tomorrow on
• 37:35
  our program at least Sterling will join us think Dave Sinican
• 37:38
  get the Packers perspective on. Bears, Packers.
• 37:41
  He's nervous. Oh, you already know he's.
• 37:44
  All right, I'm anticipating. So anything he'll show, he'll
• 37:46
  show. He'll show.
• 37:47
  He'll show Chris. Williams going to be here to
• 37:49
  talk about his books, Fanatics and Stephen M Sipple.
• 37:52
  Come get your medicine. We'll put a bow on the Big 10
• 37:56
  season for our friends to the West, the Cornhuskers of
• 38:00
  Nebraska, who are probably headed to Las Vegas for their
• 38:03
  bowl game. Yeah, absolutely.
• 38:05
  We shall see. Before we get to our picks, we
• 38:07
  have some tickets to give away. Yes, caller, what?
• 38:10
  Let's go caller #5 caller. Five, want to see the Bucknell,
• 38:18
  Iowa game coming up two weeks from Saturday?
• 38:23
  It's the 20th of December. It's a 5:00 tip at the KC
• 38:28
  Center. Caller #5 All right, Trent, make
• 38:30
  your picks. Let's do it.
• 38:31
  We got 3 plays, all in college basketball tonight.
• 38:34
  We're going to kick things off in the SECACC challenge.
• 38:37
  I'm going to grab the Razorbacks.
• 38:38
  Give me Cals, boys. Plus 3 1/2 at home against
• 38:42
  Louisville. Louisville team that is really
• 38:44
  talented, still young. I'm wondering how they're going
• 38:46
  to respond to this environment. Going down there to
• 38:49
  Fayetteville. Going to grab the points here.
• 38:51
  Plus 3 1/2 with the razor bags. Here's an ugly game.
• 38:54
  And you know, I love these Denver.
• 38:56
  No, not the Nuggets, The Pioneers.
• 38:58
  They're laying 2 1/2 against Eastern Washington.
• 39:00
  A combined three wins between these two.
• 39:03
  They're combined 3 and 11. We're going to grab the home
• 39:05
  team. Give me Denver -2 1/2.
• 39:06
  And finally, in the Big 10, Indiana goes on the road for the
• 39:10
  first time. Gimme.
• 39:13
  And they're bad. The Gophers plus 9 1/2 against
• 39:17
  the freezing company. Here's an ugly game.
• 39:21
  We're out of here. We appreciate that you spent
• 39:23
  some of your afternoon with us off the bench.
• 39:26
  Coming up next, Miller and Condon back tomorrow as we are
• 39:29
  every Monday through Friday from noon until 2 on the Iowa Sports
• 39:33
  Radio Network.