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All the News, and some insight · The Mostly Football Show

0:01
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Mostly Football Show.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: A uniquely Australian take on the NFL and all things in the world of sport.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: Join Matt, Pete, Adam, and KG for a bit of fun talking touchdowns, trash talk, and everything in between.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Whether you're new to the game or season pro, you've found the right team.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: The Mostly Football Show.
0:26
SPEAKER_03: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
0:28
SPEAKER_03: Welcome to episode 19 of the Mostly Football Show.
0:34
SPEAKER_03: There's Trades in the Air, there's Bazanaball at the WBC, and I'm joined by Matt this week to talk about it all.
0:41
SPEAKER_03: Hey Matt, how you been?
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Hello, mate.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: I've been good, thanks, and you?
0:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, pretty good.
0:45
SPEAKER_03: Pretty good.
0:46
SPEAKER_03: Busy week.
0:46
SPEAKER_03: Busy week.
0:47
SPEAKER_03: But uh also lots of uh uh stuff to get through in a very short amount of time for you and me.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's crack on then.
0:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so should we start with trades?
0:57
SPEAKER_01: Let's do it.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: I knew you'd go there first because one of them's gonna hurt me.
1:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think there's two notable trades.
1:04
SPEAKER_03: Uh very interesting.
1:05
SPEAKER_03: Um after exchanging some text messages with you, let's start with the DJ Moore trade.
1:11
SPEAKER_03: So DJ Moore has gone to the Bills.
1:14
SPEAKER_03: He's gone to the Bills for uh 2026 second round pick, uh, but he's also gone with a 2026 fifth round pick.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: Interesting one.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: And I think your thoughts.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: Look, my thoughts are I love DJ Moore.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: He's been a brilliant servant.
1:34
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, he came across to the Bears a few seasons ago from Carolina, I think, in the two years of Ryan Pohl's master strokes uh trading our number one pick away.
1:48
SPEAKER_01: Um, he's clearly a you know uh one of the best, you know, 10 or 15 wide receivers in the league.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: But um having stood on his head and returned some great numbers for the Bears in seasons past, he's actually had quite a relative to you know his normal numbers, a disappointing season.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: Um I think this is multi-layered in the the the bigger picture.
2:14
SPEAKER_01: Here is that us moving him out uh frees up$26 million of cap space.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: So I think that um that's the intangible element that doesn't show up in you know the exchange of player and draft picks.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: His numbers were down.
2:30
SPEAKER_01: There's a little bit of discussion, you know, in the Chicago press about um him and uh Caleb not quite being on the same page, you know, watching how Johnson used him last year, he used him in running plays a lot.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: You know, he is a a little bit of a Swiss Army knife.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: So really disappointed to see the back of DJ Moore.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: It's not entirely unexpected.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: I think the irony for us is you know, you've been saying, and Chris has been saying Buffalo desperately need wide receivers.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: I think Buffalo have got a great player for a great price, and I think um, you know, it gives Josh Allen a legitimate, you know, number one wide receiver finally.
3:15
SPEAKER_01: Um but I think Rock Poles and Johnson have probably had a look at you know, we've got players that can catch the ball, Adunzay, Luther Burden, Zacchaeus, Loveland, who is a mismatch nightmare, you know, he's a wide receiver in a tight end spot in Colkomet.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: I think the Bears have probably made a tough decision, looked at the caps base it, um, eat freeze up.
3:37
SPEAKER_01: And I think we we restructured his deal last year.
3:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, and they've obviously realized that there are bigger holes and bigger gaps to fill, not least of all one created by the shock retirement of our Pro Bowl Centre.
3:53
SPEAKER_01: But I'll park that one for the minute and we might come back to it.
3:56
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, look, I I think we should.
3:57
SPEAKER_03: What surprises me, not uh I mean you can look at it and go, uh is it value?
4:02
SPEAKER_03: It's hard to say if it's value, depending on how your picks turn out in the end.
4:05
SPEAKER_03: For me, the one thing about DJ Moore, and it may be uh again my uh green and gold bias coming through, but he's clutch.
4:14
SPEAKER_03: He he's the man, he's the uh the man, and I know Loveland kind of stepped up a lot at the back end of the season and also became the man, but at a tight end you're unlikely to see plays like the end of the uh second Bears Packers game.
4:29
SPEAKER_03: Um and if you take your WR1 out with what looks like no plan to replace him, um yes, you bought yourself cap, but have you also fractured your offense a little bit?
4:44
SPEAKER_03: So I I I just found it fascinating that uh go I also found it fascinating that it happened uh a day after Stephon Diggs was let go by the New England Patriots.
4:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
4:54
SPEAKER_03: And Buffalo Bills probably sending him a message that they don't want him back.
4:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
4:58
SPEAKER_01: So um Yeah, I I think the Bills have been, you know, we've given the Bills general manager a bit of stick, quite probably deservedly, over previous episodes.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: I think this is a decent um trade, but I looked at the athletic earlier on and they they do always, it doesn't matter which sport, trade analyzer, they had the Bills at B minus, I think, and the Bears at A minus.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: Look, uh DJ will be 29 in a in a month or two.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: Um and I've just pulled up his career, you know, career stats.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: In his previous two seasons with us, he had 96 and 98 catches, and this year he had 50.
5:40
SPEAKER_01: Um so I know his targets from Caleb were down, his actual receptions were down.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: 50 is the lowest number of receptions he's had in his entire career.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: Came into the league in 2018, and as a rookie he caught 55 catches for 788 yards.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: This year he caught 50 for 6682.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, is the second balanced out by giving away a fifth?
6:03
SPEAKER_01: That's the bit that that troubles me.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: I think if you know, if it had been a straight up DJ for a second, I'd have lived with it more comfortably.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh, this isn't unexpected, I kind of felt it was coming, but uh you know, DJ, you've been a great servant.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: Um you you know, legit number one receiver.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: But obviously, um Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles think uh Dunzay and Luther Burden can can you know.
6:32
SPEAKER_03: Well, I I mean for them it's it's showing that the the the coach has got faith in you, right?
6:37
SPEAKER_03: I I I I still think and again this could go bad really badly for for um DJ Moore uh uh you know because uh many of us will remember the Devontae Adams saga from Green Bay.
6:50
SPEAKER_03: So look, I I I wish him the best.
6:53
SPEAKER_03: I still think Buffalo is a bit of a basket case, and um Josh Allen may be looking to head out of there next year, but uh we'll we'll see.
7:01
SPEAKER_03: I'll I'll ride that horse until um until it's bloody obvious he's not.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: Which I think is already now.
7:09
SPEAKER_03: So so another uh odd trade in the NFC, um David Montgomery to the Houston Texans.
7:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, another expert.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: Um I would I was super sad to see Montgomery go, and I think we only got a third for Montgomery when when we traded him.
7:24
SPEAKER_01: I'll have a look in a second, but you know, he formed that very potent double-headed monster um backfield in Detroit.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: Um Sonic and uh Knuckles, as yeah, uh lovingly known, yes.
7:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, he's physical, he gets the job done, um, he's a good pro.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: He's been in the league what eight years now, maybe even more.
7:47
SPEAKER_03: Um again, I mean I I I kind of called out last year that Detroit's weakness was if they can't get Montgomery running, they've got nothing.
7:55
SPEAKER_03: Um and and I think if you go back to the most of the the games they lost, you'll see that he's he's running 60 yards or less.
8:04
SPEAKER_03: And and of course, you know, that's a reason to consider is he still still a force or or um or is he a spent force?
8:13
SPEAKER_03: I guess.
8:14
SPEAKER_03: I can it's a good I think it's a good move from the Texans.
8:17
SPEAKER_03: I think the Texans have to establish their running game because as CJ Stroud showed again this year, once he hits the playoffs, um his arm cannot be relied upon to find its targets, uh and he'll really need a standout performance if they make it to the playoffs this year, or I think his time at the Texans will be over.
8:37
SPEAKER_03: I think the uh owners of the Tex Texans have um stuck their neck out and said he is our guy, we're not gonna look for Malik Willis or Michael Jones, I think is up for uh a free agency as well.
8:51
SPEAKER_03: So uh he's our guy, we're gonna stick with him, and and we're not gonna draft a QB either.
8:56
SPEAKER_03: No so it's it's uh bold.
8:58
SPEAKER_03: I mean, for CJ Stroud, it should be giving him the the kick up the backside to say, right, I've got to find a way to overcome this playoff hoodoo that I suffer from and uh and go from there.
9:08
SPEAKER_03: So yeah, interesting.
9:09
SPEAKER_03: Um but let's uh before we go to franchising, uh let's move to the Chiefs.
9:14
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
9:15
SPEAKER_03: The Chiefs gave up Trent McDuffie for a 2026 first round pick, a 2026 fifth round pick, a 2026 sixth round pick, and a 2027 third round pick.
9:28
SPEAKER_03: And obviously Trent McDuffie heading to the Rams.
9:32
SPEAKER_03: So for me, a big statement from the Rams.
9:35
SPEAKER_03: We missed out this year, but we don't want to miss out again.
9:39
SPEAKER_03: Um good business by the Chiefs, good business by the Rams.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean the Rams are buying um you know, buy-in high, but a a premier product right now, four years in the league, very highly regarded um um cornerback.
9:58
SPEAKER_01: I mean, the the I I found the player and the draft picks less interesting than the fact that the Chiefs, a traditional powerhouse, have traded him to the Rams, who are a traditional powerhouse.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I think that's an interesting one.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: You know, the the the Rams are gonna be a serious outfit next season again.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I think this move has definitely made them a better team, but they've obviously paid a premium for it.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: But he's 25 years old, drafted in 2022.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I you get what you pay for, right?
10:35
SPEAKER_01: Generally.
10:36
SPEAKER_03: I I think it's uh for me, I think it's the Chiefs signalling that next year is a transition.
10:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
10:43
SPEAKER_03: I mean I kind of waxed lyrical a little bit about Travis Kelsey, so I I'm hoping next year doesn't turn into the Travis Kelsey retirement tour for them.
10:53
SPEAKER_03: But uh I I feel like with this sort of move they're looking to build some youth around Mahomes.
11:01
SPEAKER_03: Um if you're gonna look to build, you've got to expect that uh the coming year is almost there, admitting that if they make the playoffs it will be a good thing, but it's not necessarily a target for them next year.
11:17
SPEAKER_03: Uh especially taking a lot of picks this year.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean obviously Mahomes has got a number of months ahead of him to get himself, but that's a serious injury for a quarterback that plays the style that he plays.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: So I think it's gonna be a very interesting year for Kansas City next year.
11:36
SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, yes, they may want to get younger, but they've just traded you know one of the better 25-year-old corners in the league.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: So they've obviously been blown away by the office.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: So I think again, um probably both teams feel as though they've you know they've um done okay out of the uh the the the trade, but um yeah, let's see.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: I think the Rams are gonna be scary next year.
12:01
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I think Matthew Stafford will probably be looking at it and going, it's it's this year or or again.
12:07
SPEAKER_03: What am I gonna do?
12:08
SPEAKER_03: Should I be retiring around this?
12:11
SPEAKER_03: So uh those are the the three big trades, three intriguing trades that have happened this week.
12:16
SPEAKER_03: I I feel like there's a lot more to come, especially as free agency is now kicking off and and deals will be able to be offered out in uh in the next couple of weeks.
12:27
SPEAKER_03: So I imagine some of the key free agents will uh be snapped up pretty pretty quickly.
12:33
SPEAKER_03: Um one person who's not gonna hit free agency is George Pickens.
12:37
SPEAKER_03: So he's been given the franchise tag by Dallas.
12:41
SPEAKER_03: He has.
12:42
SPEAKER_03: Good move, bad move.
12:44
SPEAKER_01: Ah look, I think it's a hilarious move because guess who his um agent is?
12:49
SPEAKER_01: It's the same agent that Mika Parsons had.
12:53
SPEAKER_01: Apparently, Jerry Jones does he know who he is now remember his name.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: So I think this has got Dallas soap opera written all over it, and I'm getting ready to put the popcorn in the microwave and um and and enjoy.
13:05
SPEAKER_01: I I just um saw that the Cowboys restructured three contracts today to help with a cap, and Dak um Dak Prescott's contract is one of those.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: So um I think that's interesting as well.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: Uh Harry did come out with a quote in the week saying he was going to be aggressive in free agency and he's gonna be aggressive at the draft.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's normal Jerry Jones speak, but um he's obviously backed that up by getting round the table, as he probably should have done with number one or number 11.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: I think he was with the with the Cowboys, you can correct me.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I thought he was number nine, but he could have been, yeah, I don't know.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, but um he should have sat down and he should have conducted his business in a professional manner instead of trying to half-ass it.
13:54
SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, look, I think the moves he's probably made today help him with his intent to be aggressive, and um, you know, he's created a little bit more cap space, 66 million he's created in cap space.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: Um, today he restructured Dak Prescott's deal, um Tyler Smith who they took in the first round of the draft, plays guard and CeeDee Lamb.
14:18
SPEAKER_01: So he's he's getting to work.
14:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, look, uh again, talking a good game.
14:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm I'm freeing up all this cap space to spend, but but not really mentioning what he wants to what or who he wants to spend it on.
14:30
SPEAKER_03: So I think one of the other intriguing things for me is the Raiders and Max Crosby.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
14:37
SPEAKER_01: Rowie sent me a text in the week uh with a it was a proposed trade.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: Look, I've got mixed feelings.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking as a Bears fan.
14:44
SPEAKER_01: I think Max is a stunning player, but he's getting older, and I think he's you're gonna have to, you know, sell the farm to get him.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: I would imagine that's a deal that looks like the Parsons deal and he's he's older.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: And you know, out of the three premier edge rushers, Garrett, Parsons, and and Max, you know, Max is the oldest.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: I think the Bears have got holes that needed to need to be filled that can't just be filled with Max.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: So I would be surprised if you know, if we're players in that game, but I don't want him to go to the Packers, that's for sure.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: I don't want him to go to anyone in the NFC North because he's a stupendously good player, but he's been very clearly unhappy at the Raiders for a little while, and I suspect with where he is in his career, he doesn't really want to stick around for a rebuild which is necessary, and um I I fully expect him to be wearing a different team's colours very soon.
15:46
SPEAKER_03: Look, I I think so.
15:47
SPEAKER_03: It's gonna be which team is prepared to give that much up.
15:50
SPEAKER_03: Uh I mean I don't think he'll I mean they they kind of mentioned the Packers there, but I I don't think he can the Packers can afford to give up the the same kind of stuff like they gave up for Mika Parsons again for another player uh with age.
16:04
SPEAKER_03: And you know, the Mika Parsons trade could well have backfired on us.
16:08
SPEAKER_03: It depends how he comes back from his ACL.
16:10
SPEAKER_03: Right?
16:10
SPEAKER_03: And and we and we just we just don't know.
16:13
SPEAKER_03: Uh uh you you look around the league and you look at teams and go, well, who is prepared to give up that much player in that position now?
16:22
SPEAKER_01: That's a good point.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: It's two factors though, Pete.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: It's it's are you prepared to give up the draft capital and mortgage to the future, but it's also the cap hit, right?
16:30
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
16:32
SPEAKER_03: Although, you know, you can manage around the cap hit with renegotiated contracts and all that kind of stuff, right?
16:37
SPEAKER_03: We've seen Jerry Jones doing the you know, taking from here and putting there and restructuring so you know you amortize a bit more in ten years' time, and you know, if Todd Bowley ever gets in there as well, you'll you'll find you know 56 year contracts being written up for people.
16:51
SPEAKER_01: It is interesting how the how quickly things change, though.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: Again, speaking as a bears supporter, you know, 12 months ago we'd got oodles a cap space and obviously business to do, and and Ryan Poles went very effectively about doing that.
17:05
SPEAKER_01: And now, you know, I think one of the main reasons we've traded DJ Moore is the cap space.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: We've also cut Tremaine Edmonds loose today.
17:15
SPEAKER_01: He was a starting linebacker, so that frees up another 15.
17:19
SPEAKER_01: So in in 24 hours, the Bears have freed up 41 million dollars worth of caps cap space, the Cowboys 66.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, I think um I think cap space becomes a real and it'll be this was something I was I was potentially going to put on the docket to discuss, and maybe we can a little bit more, you know, if if the baseball um uh if baseball goes to a hard salary cap, because definitely in the NHL we've seen cap space become an enormous asset.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, people are sending first round draft picks along with pla you know bad contracts to get rid of players to get you know to create cap space.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it it really capology has become a massive skill in the NHL.
18:15
SPEAKER_03: Um so you you know You're heading towards money ball, right?
18:18
SPEAKER_01: We are not heading towards money ball, but you know, we're starting to see some of these manoeuvrings in the NFL in the last couple of days, and um it's just incredible how things change.
18:29
SPEAKER_01: You know, Bears had you know 65, 70 million, I think, of cap space 12 months ago, and now we're having to trade our number one wide receiver and a starting linebacker to create room to you know fix other problems.
18:43
SPEAKER_03: I mean I I guess the goal is to even everything out, right?
18:46
SPEAKER_03: But it's uh I'm sure there's a way to uneven out as well.
18:50
SPEAKER_03: So uh before we we move on from the NFL, and you know, for those of you who thought we'd never have any content, you know, we'll we'll we can talk about this stuff for ages.
18:58
SPEAKER_03: Uh I want to just take a look at the top three agents uh coming coming up.
19:03
SPEAKER_03: Uh we'll start with quarterbacks, uh Daniel Jones and Malik Willis.
19:08
SPEAKER_03: Now I suspect Daniel Jones will who I called Michael earlier, so apologies, Daniel, if you're listening.
19:14
SPEAKER_03: Uh Daniel Jones, I suspect, will still be at Indianapolis next year.
19:19
SPEAKER_03: Uh I cannot imagine Malik Willis still being at the Packers.
19:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:24
SPEAKER_03: Uh but the only hint I've heard of anyone coming in for him has been Arizona.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, there's a long way to go, yeah, isn't there?
19:33
SPEAKER_01: And um I think you're paying the penalty for probably having the best backup quarterback in the league, and unfortunately, that's kind of how it works.
19:44
SPEAKER_01: I mean, to a lesser, you know, a poor man's version of Malik Willis is Tyson Bajan, who is a very good backup, and I hope the Bears keep a hold of him.
19:54
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it's a super interesting list.
19:56
SPEAKER_01: And going back to the Max Crosby discussion, you know, Trey Hendrickson's number one on that board.
20:03
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely, but but Cincinnati didn't franchise him.
20:06
SPEAKER_03: They had the opportunity to franchise him and and didn't.
20:10
SPEAKER_03: And uh that again is what kind of message does that send to Joe Burrows and the Cincinnati team about what their aspirations are going forward?
20:20
SPEAKER_01: Well, he's 31 and he's gonna cost a lot.
20:24
SPEAKER_01: His contract's gonna be big, right?
20:26
SPEAKER_01: But you know, this is that sort of that playoff between trading for a player where you send assets in the form of draft picks or other players, and you have to stump up for the for the um the salary versus probably an inflated salary because he's a free agent.
20:45
SPEAKER_01: So 31 years old, he's had the third most sacks in the league since 2020, was 74 and a half, but he only played in seven games last season.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: So maybe the Bengals are are scared of you know doubling down and spending an enormous amount of money in a 31-year-old with uh with an injury history.
21:03
SPEAKER_01: So there's there's probably a myriad of reasons underneath that.
21:06
SPEAKER_01: But I think you know, Trey, the athletic project a three-year contract of 99 million.
21:12
SPEAKER_03: Which you you you're probably if you're looking at what he could potentially do in those three years, uh you you probably get it.
21:20
SPEAKER_03: Uh you know, I wouldn't mind signing a 99 million dollar contract over three years.
21:24
SPEAKER_03: Of course you wouldn't.
21:25
SPEAKER_03: But you know Can you can you I can't I can't do what he does, and my my 60-year-old niece are not gonna not gonna be able to take the pounding.
21:33
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, for me it's the it's the message.
21:38
SPEAKER_03: Uh and you know, I argue with a lot of Packers fans online because they talk about you know, we should sack people instead of just letting them go and letting them come to the conclusions that we've all come to that we need better people.
21:50
SPEAKER_03: Um you know, they look at Quay Walker, there's a whole bunch of people saying, Oh, we shouldn't look to renew him, it costs a lot of money, back end of the season was poor.
22:00
SPEAKER_03: It it it's the well what do you want?
22:03
SPEAKER_03: Because if you get rid of Quay Walker, you've got to fill that gap.
22:06
SPEAKER_03: And if the guy who's filled that gap is not him and only 80% of him, then we've got a bigger problem.
22:14
SPEAKER_03: And so you then moan about him and then him, and and you know, everyone can say, Well, what message is what message are they sending us?
22:21
SPEAKER_03: What message they're sending us they can't bloody afford to keep paying people.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: And that's the beauty of a cap.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: You can't have everything that you want.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: And super interestingly, I mean, just go back to the you know, the top, um, you know, the top three agents.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: So we just talked about Trey Hendrickson, you know, 30 wide and only played seven games last year, uh, but he's he's racked up 74 and a half sacks since 2020.
22:43
SPEAKER_01: Three his projected um next contract be three years and 99 million.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: Number two on the board is another edge rusher, Jalen Phillips.
22:52
SPEAKER_01: Yes, 27 years old.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: Um, and his projected contract is four years and ninety-eight.
22:59
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, riddle me this if the Bengals walk away from um you know uh Trey Hendrickson but sign Jalen Phillips for less money than they would have been on the hook for with um with Hendrickson, and they get an extra year and they get four years younger in the player, are they being stupid or are they being very smart?
23:20
SPEAKER_01: And you need to be smart, you know.
23:24
SPEAKER_01: The the successful teams in American pro sports, their front office is very smart.
23:31
SPEAKER_03: But but you know the fans are gonna sit there and go well, if only we'd have kept Hendrickson as well.
23:36
SPEAKER_03: Look at how would our pass rush be?
23:38
SPEAKER_01: And that controls my point perfectly, Pete.
23:41
SPEAKER_01: They're fans, we're not smart.
23:42
SPEAKER_01: You know, these guys are paid to make decisions and crunch the numbers.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, let's watch that.
23:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, keep going down that list.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: Did you see that um Khalil Mack, old man Khalil Mack was the you know number 13 on the list?
23:57
SPEAKER_01: He's projected to get a one-year$18 million contract.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, Kerry talked a little bit last week after we went through the draft uh mock draft, you know, the currency that edge rushers have.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: You know, these guys go high in the draft and they can earn a lot of money.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: So um yeah, it'd be super interesting.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: Kenneth Walker the third, the Pro Bowl MVP is a number seven.
24:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, or say Super Bowl MVP.
24:23
SPEAKER_03: Sorry, Super Bowl MVP.
24:25
SPEAKER_03: I I know, and that isn't that fascinating because I think the Packers have just extended Josh Jacobs for for two or three years, and as they should.
24:34
SPEAKER_03: He's a very, very capable top class running back.
24:39
SPEAKER_03: Um but they do all that before Kenneth Walker the third is is put out onto the market.
24:44
SPEAKER_03: So, like you say, if Detroit have let Montgomery go and pick up Walker the third, it's a smart piece of business.
24:52
SPEAKER_03: But what's the odds of him turning up at Dallas?
24:55
SPEAKER_03: Jerry loves a good running back.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, he's only 25, Peter.
24:59
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:59
SPEAKER_01: You know, he's only 25.
25:01
SPEAKER_01: He was you know hands down the best player in the Super Bowl and rushed for thirteen hundred and sorry, total scrimmage yards, thirteen oh nine last season off two fifty-two touches.
25:15
SPEAKER_01: So you know, he's a bona fide uh star.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: Um projected four years at 52 mil.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: Let's see where he ends up.
25:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, uh and that feels like it's undercooking it a little bit, yeah.
25:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:28
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, I I could see Jerry, he's Jerry's type of player.
25:32
SPEAKER_03: I uh and they need to because their running running uh backs have been uh pretty up woeful the last couple of years.
25:39
SPEAKER_03: Are they gonna establish a run game behind Dak Prescott?
25:42
SPEAKER_03: Look, he's still not gonna win the Super Bowl.
25:43
SPEAKER_03: Jerry loves a super bowl.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: Jerry loves a splash and he's you know he's got a superstar, you know, big name quarterback, he's got big name wide receivers.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: The problem with the Dallas Cowboys, well, many, there's many problems with the Dallas.
25:55
SPEAKER_01: The biggest problem on the Dallas Cowboys is the defense.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: You know, if I imagine I'm Kerry for a minute, I know that's very hard.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: I can I'm not even going to try and do the accent.
26:05
SPEAKER_01: But I if I see Jerry spending money on um Kenneth Walker III, I'm happy for two seconds and then for the next five months I'm thinking, what are you doing?
26:17
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, look, uh I get that.
26:19
SPEAKER_03: Uh and I guess that some of his his mentality is uh well, if we've got all these superstars, then you know we'll score more points than the opposition.
26:26
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
26:27
SPEAKER_03: At some point, our defence has to stand up.
26:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
26:29
SPEAKER_03: Uh so it'll be interesting to see where Dallas go in the draft.
26:33
SPEAKER_03: If they start drafting defences and Kenneth Walker is still on the open market, I I think Dallas is not a bad place for him to end up.
26:40
SPEAKER_03: That's a great division to be in, right?
26:42
SPEAKER_03: You've only got to play the Phillies, and that and that's it, really.
26:44
SPEAKER_03: The rest of it is pootry.
26:46
SPEAKER_03: So that's uh Yeah, let's wind this up by talking about Travis Kelsey.
26:50
SPEAKER_03: Then he's also a free agent.
26:52
SPEAKER_03: No decision on his retirement.
26:54
SPEAKER_03: I should say 35 or 36-year-old Travis Kelsey, not quite sure what he is these days.
26:59
SPEAKER_03: Uh do you think he's gonna retire or is he gonna have, as I've horribly predicted, a retirement tour at the Chiefs?
27:09
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I've no idea.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: I want to ring Taylor and ask her.
27:12
SPEAKER_01: I suspect she I suspect she'll ask him to retire.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: I mean, once he got left to prove that I don't think the Chiefs are going to be the powerhouse that they've been uh over the last few years next season.
27:28
SPEAKER_01: I and I've all you know, you and I have had a conversation about this, Pete.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: I think the art of building a legacy is knowing when to fold them.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: So I think Travis, you probably should have folded them.
27:40
SPEAKER_01: Last year, you you you know, you certainly haven't disgraced yourself this year.
27:45
SPEAKER_01: I I honestly think next year could be painful for the Chiefs.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: So I'd like to see good players go out at the top, and I think you know, he his window of the top is probably now.
27:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I I I think I agree, and I think one of the reasons that we've not seen a one-year extension uh uh with the Chiefs is that their prediction is he's going to retire.
28:09
SPEAKER_03: If the Chiefs don't offer him a contract, I'd struggle to see any other NFL club that's that short of a tight end uh would do, especially a uh tight end of of his age.
28:23
SPEAKER_03: Um so hopefully, like you say, he he bows out gracefully.
28:26
SPEAKER_03: But if he does not play for the Chiefs this year and they go on to make the playoffs, do you think he'll be saying, Yes, it's me, I'm the problem, it's me.
28:36
SPEAKER_01: No, look, I mean I can't I can't picture him in another team's uniform for starters, so um and you know, him and Mahomes have had that you know, that telepathic bond.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, I think they're like, you know, cheese and crackers, right?
28:53
SPEAKER_01: Just just go, Travis, you've got you know you're the envy of a gazillion men in the world, you know, your your fiance's the richest, you know, probably the richest female on earth and a career is set for soup.
29:10
SPEAKER_01: Just enjoy it, mate.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: You've you've been in your podcasts.
29:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: You think your your body's been battered and bruised for years.
29:17
SPEAKER_01: You ain't got nothing left to prove.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Put your feet up and you know forge a career in media, which I'm sure you'll be very, very soon.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: His brother's doing his brother's pretty good.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: And he's an you know, and he's an ugly offensive lineman.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Travis Travis was blessed with the hands, the moves, the looks, the you know but not the dress sense.
29:38
SPEAKER_01: Well that that's all personal taste, really, isn't it?
29:42
SPEAKER_01: Coming from you and me, that's not uh well no, don't love me with you.
29:48
SPEAKER_03: Well well, let's uh as we talk about uh the decline in aging things, let's jump to the EPL.
29:58
SPEAKER_03: Yes, English Premier League, where an aging thing is declining uh right before our eyes.
30:05
SPEAKER_03: Uh and it's not Aston Villa I'm talking about, although the results have not been great.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: We are we're on Strabble Street at the moment, but um it's Tottenham Hotspur.
30:16
SPEAKER_03: So where do we start?
30:17
SPEAKER_03: So let so let me go on record.
30:19
SPEAKER_03: I watched the game this morning.
30:21
SPEAKER_03: I do enjoy an early morning Premier League game just before work.
30:25
SPEAKER_03: They were atrocious.
30:27
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely atrocious.
30:30
SPEAKER_03: And once uh I know they went down to ten men, but once they conceded that penalty, it just looked like only one thing was gonna happen.
30:43
SPEAKER_03: And after the third goal went in, uh you couldn't tell if people were actually leaving or just heading for the half-time cup of tea, but I suspect a lot of them did not come back.
30:55
SPEAKER_03: So, what are your thoughts on where it's all gone wrong for time?
30:59
SPEAKER_01: Oh well, I mean, I think this has been a club potentially teetering for a few seasons, and I thought, you know, the main reason for the teetering was Daniel Levy, but he's gone.
31:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's probably even worse, right?
31:14
SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, I mean, looking at it, three defeats, nine goals conceded, one red card.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: Looks as though the players have already quit on him.
31:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I you know, maybe that's the answer.
31:26
SPEAKER_01: It's as simple as that, Pete.
31:28
SPEAKER_01: They've got the wrong group of players there.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: Um, changing the manager ain't working because we've you know we've seen a merry go.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: It's time to blow that playing group up because I think, you know, I mean, I've always joked with my dad about Rich Arlison, and I've said you never trust a man with a neck tattoo.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: But you know, when Richarlison is one of your core pieces, you know, and like we said in a couple a couple of episodes ago, real Tottenham stole words like Harry Kane and Saun left and haven't been replaced.
32:04
SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, I think that this playing group is just rotten, and whoever comes in needs to get the backing of the board to be able to make sweeping changes, blow it up, you know, suffer some pain for a year, and then start over.
32:19
SPEAKER_01: But I did have a laugh.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: I'm in a WhatsApp group with a bunch of boys that I used to play football with, and one of the boys is a Tottenham fan, and one of the other lads said, Yeah, this is for you, mate.
32:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it was a link to be in sports, how to watch championship football.
32:34
SPEAKER_01: So um the jokes are going around.
32:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they say they'll never play at Wembley again, but there is always the championship playoffs.
32:41
SPEAKER_03: Yes, that's great.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what are your thoughts having watched the game this morning, mate?
32:46
SPEAKER_03: This it was just dreadful.
32:48
SPEAKER_03: Uh and look, Palace haven't they've had a bad year.
32:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh but they should have, right?
32:54
SPEAKER_03: I mean, pretty much all of their players went.
32:56
SPEAKER_03: Gaye, yeah.
32:57
SPEAKER_03: Um all of their good players are buggered off.
33:01
SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, you've got Oliver Glasnar saying, well, I've had enough, I'm going at the end of the year.
33:05
SPEAKER_03: And and yet Adam Wharton played two absolutely beautiful passes for goals.
33:11
SPEAKER_03: But Tottenham would they were just bereft.
33:13
SPEAKER_03: Uh and and look, let's take it back to last season.
33:15
SPEAKER_03: Angeposter Coglu, one of the um Europa Cup or whatever it is these days, openly admitted that they weren't trying in the league.
33:25
SPEAKER_03: When they realised that the the three teams at the bottom were never going to catch them, they openly threw some of their league games.
33:34
SPEAKER_03: Not uh not deliberately, but you know, they weren't playing their strongest team, let's say, um focused on the Europa League.
33:41
SPEAKER_03: Um but looking at it this year, I I I'm not sure that was a true statement.
33:47
SPEAKER_03: Uh and that's I think the most damning thing.
33:49
SPEAKER_03: You know, you'd think with Levy going, a fresh start with Thomas Frank, I mean whatever he was he's getting them to do in Europe, which makes no sense, right?
33:59
SPEAKER_03: Fourth in the Champions League.
34:01
SPEAKER_03: Um Thomas Frank came in, everyone marvelled at him because they all thought they were playing his system after Ruben Amarim couldn't get his players to play the system after you know 18 months and they started playing straight away.
34:13
SPEAKER_03: But all of a sudden they lost a couple of games and they've been in free fall.
34:16
SPEAKER_03: They're one point above relegation.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: One point.
34:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know.
34:21
SPEAKER_03: Last night they had a chance to go four points clear of the relegation zone.
34:25
SPEAKER_03: They blew it and their players bottled it.
34:29
SPEAKER_03: And I think part of the problem is you look at the teams they're down with there with, look at the Wolves' last two results.
34:35
SPEAKER_03: I I I know you don't want to talk about one of them because Wolves beat Villa.
34:39
SPEAKER_03: They also beat Liverpool.
34:41
SPEAKER_03: Now they've been done and dusted since about game eight of the season, but they're fighting.
34:46
SPEAKER_03: Burnley are down there fighting.
34:48
SPEAKER_03: Nottingham Forest and West Ham are used to being down there and fighting.
34:52
SPEAKER_03: Tottenham aren't.
34:54
SPEAKER_03: And unless they pull their finger out, they could find themselves two or three points adrift.
34:58
SPEAKER_03: No, I'm staring down the abyss.
35:00
SPEAKER_01: I think I think we've seen two, three years now, Pete, of you know, coaches struggling with a playing group, coaches struggling with supporters.
35:10
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's clearly there's clearly something not right, you know.
35:15
SPEAKER_03: Um Yeah, but that was Daniel Levy, right?
35:18
SPEAKER_03: That's what the uh everyone was saying.
35:19
SPEAKER_03: It's Daniel Levy.
35:20
SPEAKER_03: He doesn't want to spend money, he doesn't want to do this, he doesn't want to do that, and that he's gone.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: But they but they have sp they have spent money.
35:26
SPEAKER_01: I mean that um but I think they've spent money badly.
35:30
SPEAKER_01: They haven't spent the big money on the big players, but they fiddled around with sort of midlin players who haven't been good fits.
35:39
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, look at Conor Gallagher that stolen from under Villa's nose, he would have been a perfect fit in our system.
35:46
SPEAKER_01: I think it'd have been a great sign in.
35:48
SPEAKER_01: Spurs didn't need a holding midfielder, that wasn't one of the things that they needed, but they you know they jumped in and he was.
35:57
SPEAKER_03: That's that's a signing for the fans, right?
35:58
SPEAKER_03: We want to show the fans we're doing something.
36:00
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, what the problem is we don't know what we are doing, and I think that is ultimately they brought Dominic Solanke as a replacement for Harry Kane.
36:08
SPEAKER_03: Not a bad move.
36:10
SPEAKER_03: He got injured.
36:11
SPEAKER_03: Uh uh, that's probably something else to look at.
36:13
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
36:13
SPEAKER_03: They are they have by far and away the most injuries than any other EPL club every year.
36:20
SPEAKER_03: Every single year.
36:21
SPEAKER_03: So it's uh you don't want to say that the club's rotten to the core, but the club is rotten.
36:27
SPEAKER_03: To the core.
36:27
SPEAKER_03: Maybe going down to the championship uh might be the wake-up call they need, especially as the championship have just announced they're taking the playoffs down to the eighth place next year.
36:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a very, very hard league to get out of, though, even you know, I mean, there's a lot of people.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: Well, it's yeah, but it's the same amount of teams that go up, isn't it?
36:48
SPEAKER_01: Um, so they're just making the playoff series a bit bigger.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: I I I honestly do think um, you know, the playing group is is culturally very poor.
36:59
SPEAKER_01: We've seen you know, we've seen that Van der Ven, we've seen it with Romero.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: I I just think they're missing characters, I think they've got you know um excessive amount of negative player power, the fans are not happy, they can't win at home, the whole thing needs to be blown up, and you know, they need to bring somebody in who has the endorsement, you know.
37:24
SPEAKER_01: Of course, you've got to stay in the EPL, but accept that you're gonna have a couple of years of pain where you're bottom half, but you're building something new because what they've got at the moment ain't working and they're getting progressively worse, right?
37:40
SPEAKER_01: Um so um, yeah, it's a it's a bit of a sad and sorry state.
37:46
SPEAKER_01: I struggle to have too much sympathy because I think the big six deserve everything that they have coming to them after threatening to form a league.
37:56
SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, tough titty.
38:02
SPEAKER_03: I play soccer with a couple of uh Spurs fans and I will laugh at them.
38:08
SPEAKER_03: Um and I can because you know ultimately uh we're two seasons away from playing Cambridge United.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: So um I mean, just just let's just look at what they've done most recently.
38:21
SPEAKER_01: They've sacked Thomas Frank, and where did they go to find a replacement manager?
38:25
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what's the logic in that move, Pete?
38:28
SPEAKER_01: I just don't understand it.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: It's almost like they're pulling names out of a hat.
38:33
SPEAKER_01: Surely they could have done better than Tudor, who got bombed out of Juventus, I think, and wasn't an unpopular coach with his players there, if you believe some of the things that have been written about him.
38:46
SPEAKER_01: So I just don't understand some of the decisions that owners and boards at football clubs make.
38:52
SPEAKER_03: Well, let me push that to you then and say, well, if it's not Eagle Tudor, who is it?
38:57
SPEAKER_01: Well, I don't actually know what the answer is there, but I mean I mean Harry Redknapp's name was mentioned a couple of years.
39:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's not you know, that's not the right 78-year-old Harry Redknapp.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't I don't and I think that's part of the problem.
39:12
SPEAKER_03: Right?
39:12
SPEAKER_03: They when when they decided to move on Postacogloo, they went for Thomas Frank, took him away from Brentford, uh which has showed that actually Brentford's process and system wasn't reliant on one person.
39:26
SPEAKER_03: And Keith Andrews has done a fabulous job in in keeping them where they are.
39:30
SPEAKER_03: I think they're about sixth or seventh at the minute, uh just below Liverpool.
39:36
SPEAKER_03: And and so once you get rid of Frank You know, where are you gonna go?
39:41
SPEAKER_03: Who are you gonna get?
39:42
SPEAKER_03: Who's available that wants to stay in there?
39:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well yeah, that's right.
39:45
SPEAKER_01: But I mean you've kind of again you've kind of made this problem because you've there's no stability, they've made poor decisions, they've chopped and chopped and chopped and chopped.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: I mean, Postacoglu was running round with a face like a slap bum for you know nine-tenths of his entire tenure at Tottenham, he clearly wasn't enjoying it at all.
40:08
SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I don't know who the the right appointment would have been, but I think the spin of that is if you are available and Tottenham do make an you have really got uh think long and hard about whether that's a role you're gonna accept or not, right?
40:25
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I would say, I think we've talked about this, it's gotta be one of the worst jobs in in football at the moment.
40:31
SPEAKER_03: Um, so Frankie Lampard's not putting his hand up and saying, I'll give it a go and go back to the Premier League.
40:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
40:37
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, I was trying to think if there's a you know a reasonably recent ex-Tottenham player that you know do what Man United have done with Michael Carrick.
40:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know that that's a one-off, and Carrick had um, you know, clearly had you know three or four pretty decent coaching experience at Middlesbrough.
40:56
SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, I mean you're just plucking names out going to Igor Tudor.
41:01
SPEAKER_01: He's got no connection with the club.
41:04
SPEAKER_01: How do you expect to drop a guy in with like 10 games left and have him you know just perform miracles?
41:11
SPEAKER_01: It's just gone.
41:12
SPEAKER_01: Ridiculous, yeah.
41:13
SPEAKER_03: And on the bombshell that I think even Siri thinks Tottenham are shit.
41:16
SPEAKER_03: Yes, uh we we're we'll move on.
41:21
SPEAKER_03: Uh let's let's go to happier ground.
41:23
SPEAKER_03: Um the Cactus League and spring training's been underway for a couple of weeks now, so good show-ins from our two teams.
41:31
SPEAKER_03: But let's talk about the WBC and more importantly, let's talk about Australia.
41:37
SPEAKER_01: So Yeah, they played today, Pete.
41:39
SPEAKER_01: Did you watch the game?
41:40
SPEAKER_03: I I watched uh highlights of the game.
41:43
SPEAKER_03: I also watched part of the Chinese Taipei a game.
41:46
SPEAKER_03: I uh I was hoping they'd all be on mlb.com, but it doesn't look like that's the case, so I've had to dig around on YouTube for a few highlights.
41:55
SPEAKER_01: Can I give you a can I give you a little tip?
41:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna love saying this to you as well.
41:59
SPEAKER_01: Oh go on then.
42:00
SPEAKER_01: Disney.
42:01
SPEAKER_03: Oh, okay.
42:02
SPEAKER_03: Well that's alright.
42:02
SPEAKER_03: I've got Disney as well as Dazen.
42:04
SPEAKER_03: I'll go I'll go and have a look though probably on ESPN.
42:08
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it is.
42:09
SPEAKER_03: You know, they they predicted uh uh and again the rankings I'll let you update people as where people were uh each um country are ranked, but Australia who made the quarterfinals of the last WBC uh are giving themselves every chance of doing that again.
42:28
SPEAKER_03: So um Trent Bazanna or playing some Bazanna ball.
42:33
SPEAKER_03: Um uh probably if he joins the Savannah Bananas at some point, that's gonna be uh very useful.
42:39
SPEAKER_03: He was actually the first round draft pick in 2024, so currently playing uh triple A uh for the Cleveland Guardians affiliates.
42:50
SPEAKER_03: So doing pretty well, but he's shown his uh versatility, he's shown his ability to put bat on ball and also take the ball deep.
42:59
SPEAKER_03: Uh and I think it's just an all-round solid performance, and they've not let themselves down.
43:06
SPEAKER_03: Eras have been low, um, good contact.
43:10
SPEAKER_03: Um, really hoping that come Monday morning they've not been given a hiding too much by Japan, and and the Korean game is is up for grabs.
43:20
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's great to see um great to see Australia win.
43:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think they were slightly favoured to beat the Czech Republic.
43:28
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
43:29
SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, look, great performance last, as you say, 2023, and they made the quarter finals.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: Um and and yeah, super interesting to see how they go.
43:39
SPEAKER_01: There's a couple of players that played in that game that I saw that are on the roster.
43:44
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they're clearly behind some of the minor league representation that the Australians have got Bazanna, Durrington, Hampson, Nunburn, Townsend, various um you know, in the system of various major league teams.
43:59
SPEAKER_01: But uh Um yeah, you know, I very rarely support Australia.
44:04
SPEAKER_01: In fact, I usually support England or Great Britain first and anyone who's playing Australia second.
44:09
SPEAKER_01: But um I'm I've got one eye on them to just see how far they can go really.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: So um I think GB play in the morning against the US.
44:17
SPEAKER_03: They do, yes.
44:18
SPEAKER_03: Uh I I'm a little bit torn because Logan Webb's got the ball for the US.
44:21
SPEAKER_03: Uh I love Logan Webb.
44:23
SPEAKER_03: He's such a great servant to San Francisco.
44:27
SPEAKER_03: Uh there was an amusing incident in one of the Cactus League games where on his second pitch, uh the pitch gun radar clocked him at 111.6 miles an hour.
44:39
SPEAKER_03: Um and he was very quick to point out that that was never the case.
44:42
SPEAKER_03: He's never thrown over a hundred miles an hour in his career, and it was just a misreading.
44:47
SPEAKER_03: But for for one second, he topped the fastest ever pitch by some eight miles an hour or something.
44:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
44:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, pr pretty much.
44:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
44:56
SPEAKER_03: So I'm a little bit torn.
44:57
SPEAKER_03: Um it'd be interesting to see who Brits pick to pitch.
45:02
SPEAKER_03: Um obviously Tristan Beck is probably their number one pitcher, but do you want to take him into a game against the USA?
45:09
SPEAKER_03: Uh uh, you know, your goal here is to try and make the quarters and then keep your fingers crossed all the way through.
45:15
SPEAKER_03: I think only Japan, uh you know, maybe Dominican Republic, uh US have got the depth of pitching that can take them through to the end.
45:27
SPEAKER_03: Um so so we'll see.
45:29
SPEAKER_03: Uh there's you know, the the UK has five or Great Britain has six no five, sorry, uh MLB players, Tristan Beck.
45:38
SPEAKER_03: Obviously, the interesting one is Jazz Chisholm, who who plays for the Yankees, probably the most well known.
45:43
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
45:43
SPEAKER_01: I saw you when he was wearing the Captain C as well in one of the warm-up games.
45:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I would think so.
45:48
SPEAKER_03: Harry Ford and Michael Peterson.
45:51
SPEAKER_03: Um but they have uh three and uh two and around about fourteen minor league players as well, across Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Miami, Baltimore, Chicago, Arizona, Milwaukee, uh the Angels, and another Tampa Bay person.
46:07
SPEAKER_03: So uh so they've got you would hope capable people.
46:12
SPEAKER_03: Uh one of them's called Gary Gary Hill.
46:15
SPEAKER_03: So um you can you can't uh can't get away without a good Gary.
46:19
SPEAKER_01: Gary Gillhill.
46:20
SPEAKER_01: Gary Gillhill, Peter Gary.
46:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
46:23
SPEAKER_01: And if you start talking about the Bears in a I will I will hang up.
46:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh but yeah, I didn't realise BJ Murray's in the cub system, so that'll be interesting to see if he gets a run.
46:35
SPEAKER_01: And um I mean it's it's super exciting to see some of these kids play, and you know, I w I would imagine this is a build-in opportunity for the GB team.
46:45
SPEAKER_01: Um and um yeah, let's see how close they can stick to the US in the morning.
46:52
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and you've got the rankings in front of you, right?
46:54
SPEAKER_03: So, where are Great Britain ranked uh and where are Australian wrongly ranked?
47:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so GB uh and the Athletic produced a very insightful article, as is usually the way that the journalism's pretty pretty decent.
47:11
SPEAKER_01: They've got um GB at the at the top of uh the tier five teams.
47:16
SPEAKER_01: Um obviously um, you know, they don't don't really give the tier five teams a chance.
47:23
SPEAKER_01: They describe it as sowing the seeds of baseball internationally whilst fighting for their 2029 lives.
47:31
SPEAKER_01: These are the teams that aren't going to win, but it's a big deal to be there and it's a building block for the future.
47:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, GB are ranked to the top of that sort of group of teams with along with Israel, Nicaragua, Brazil, Czech Repo, Czech Republic maybe rated a little bit higher, and Australia are in the tier four teams.
47:52
SPEAKER_01: So uh they're ranked a little bit higher than GB.
47:56
SPEAKER_01: Um and yeah, but they just Australia just put a solid performance in today, didn't they?
48:01
SPEAKER_01: They went about things in a business-like fashion.
48:04
SPEAKER_01: I did see one cock up in the outfield, two players going for the same ball, and then they both kind of left it, and um the Czech team took uh um an extra base, but you know, you're gonna you're gonna get these are guys that don't play together and they probably had a very small sort of window of training.
48:24
SPEAKER_01: I know the cubbies played Italy in um or part of the cubbies cactus league team or you know pre-season team played Italy and lost to them the other day.
48:36
SPEAKER_01: So um they've obviously been playing some games against you know rep representations of major league teams, but as a Cubs fan, I'm looking forward to seeing, you know, I'm obviously Pete and Alex Brigman are playing for the US, but we've got you know, Jameson Tajons pitching for for Canada, um Mayers playing.
49:00
SPEAKER_01: We've got I think eight or nine players, so it'd be interesting to see those guys um representing their countries and the powerhouse teams, as you say, Pete, Japan and and um the US and um Dominican Republic, etc.
49:14
SPEAKER_01: You know, they'll be the ones down at the business end of the competition, I'm sure.
49:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, you would you would think so.
49:20
SPEAKER_03: It'd just uh be uh interesting to see.
49:23
SPEAKER_03: Uh and again, if Aussies can make the the last eight, that that's a great outcome for a team, and I I think that's where they'll put their the balls in the in the game against Korea, that'll be in their basket.
49:35
SPEAKER_03: Obviously, uh playing for Korea Korea, who's uh store of the Giants.
49:41
SPEAKER_03: Uh you've just got to be able to pitch around players like him as well.
49:44
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'm looking even the roster of Dominican Republic, like they're they're batting lineup.
49:49
SPEAKER_03: There's Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Machado, Kettle Mate, it's just oh my gosh.
49:56
SPEAKER_03: I mean they've got Camilo Daval in there as a as a closer.
49:59
SPEAKER_03: You know, if they can keep in games, then they're gonna be good.
50:03
SPEAKER_03: But if if you look at um uh the the Giants played Team USA in a warm-up game, lost 15-1, the first three batters, Bobby Witt Jr., uh Bryce Harbour, Aaron Judge.
50:16
SPEAKER_03: And if you can get out of that of that without conceding the run, then you you're you're a better man than he.
50:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
50:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, better man than me.
50:23
SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
50:25
SPEAKER_03: I think it it it's played in the right spirit, so if you do get time, was a bit of a punch up between uh Canada and somebody else today.
50:33
SPEAKER_03: Was uh today?
50:34
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
50:35
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very good.
50:35
SPEAKER_01: I told you it was Canadian men, Pete.
50:37
SPEAKER_01: You have to be careful with what what you uh the the major tough stuff.
50:42
SPEAKER_01: Um what was the result of that game?
50:44
SPEAKER_03: Uh I don't know, I only saw the punch up.
50:47
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's uh I I I I must admit I I'm more into the to the Aussies and the Brits than I am anything else, so let's uh let's see how they do.
50:58
SPEAKER_03: I thought we were gonna have a bit of a short episode here, but we're leaking into the the 50-minute mark.
51:03
SPEAKER_01: We've probably only got time to touch on the shenanigans around the NHL and uh some of the trade deadline is today, it's usually one of the most exciting times of the year where the rich or the teams that have manoeuvred themselves into playoff positions or or uh have playoff aspirations, mortgaged the future to get some help for the you know the last sort of 15-16 games of the year and and the playoff run.
51:38
SPEAKER_01: So there's you there's been quite a lot of movement um yesterday and today.
51:44
SPEAKER_01: Um we've quite surprisingly seen John Carlson, who is a very, very well respected old but still effective veteran defenceman get traded from the Washington Capitals to the Anaheim Ducks, who've been a very poor team in the last couple of years, but a young side who've really manoeuvred themselves into um legitimate playoff contenders.
52:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, the Maple Leafs managed to um turn a bottom six forward into a first-round draft pick, move in um Nicholas War, who um they picked up earlier on this year from the Vegas Golden Knights.
52:26
SPEAKER_01: They traded him to the Colorado Avalanche, and there are some very big players that are um still being touted as as you know possible movers over the next few hours.
52:39
SPEAKER_01: So um I think trade the trade deadline finishes around you know around about early morning tomorrow for us, so it'll be a busy day in Canada.
52:49
SPEAKER_01: They um they um um um dedicate armies of analysts and experts to live TV.
52:59
SPEAKER_01: So when and and that show lasts for hours, and when trade deadline days are you know a massive disappointment, everybody's struggling to work out what they should be saying to fill the time.
53:10
SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, it's gonna be interesting.
53:13
SPEAKER_01: There's a couple of big players that um refuse to waive no trade clauses that are in their contracts.
53:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, so Colton Pereco, who played for Canada um in the Olympics, the Buffalo Bills tried to pick him up from the St.
53:27
SPEAKER_01: Louis Blues, and he he refused to waive his no trade clause.
53:32
SPEAKER_01: So there's some interesting um developments to keep an eye on there, whether or not he just didn't fancy Buffalo, who wouldn't, um, or he just doesn't want to leave St.
53:43
SPEAKER_01: Louis.
53:44
SPEAKER_01: Um, we'll we'll wait and see.
53:47
SPEAKER_01: But um, yeah, effectively, trade deadline day is all about the non-playoff teams selling and maximising the returns for their players in war gears or um with minimal term left on contracts to try and um get assets for the future and a bit of an arms race for the superpowers that are you know um positioning themselves for a Stanley Cup run.
54:11
SPEAKER_03: Very good, very good.
54:13
SPEAKER_03: And uh we're gonna have to start uh offering out corrections as we go through this.
54:18
SPEAKER_03: Not only have I called uh Daniel Jones, Michael Jones, uh actually Great Britain kick off their WBC campaign tomorrow against Mexico.
54:27
SPEAKER_01: Mexico, yeah.
54:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I I that's my bad because I think I said it was the USA, but um we'll we'll we'll end each session with a clarification.
54:37
SPEAKER_01: We have to have a uh Trump fact checker or uh yeah, um somebody uh something checking ourselves.
54:44
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
54:45
SPEAKER_02: Beautiful.
54:45
SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, let's set the alarm peeve.
54:48
SPEAKER_01: There'll be a game at 5 a.m.
54:49
SPEAKER_01: tomorrow on Disney, I think.
54:52
SPEAKER_03: I might watch it in uh in hindsight, but yeah, let's uh uh if if I am awake early, I'll put it on and see how we go.
54:58
SPEAKER_03: Um fingers crossed, it's a it's a good game, and Jazz Chisholm hits a few home runs.
55:02
SPEAKER_03: Anyway, on that wonderful bombshell.
55:05
SPEAKER_03: Good to see you again, Matt.
55:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you two mate, and um not really.
55:08
SPEAKER_03: KG can be back next week and we'll uh get a few more uh trades and free agencies to talk about.
55:13
SPEAKER_01: He's in and out of the lineup um with um alarming regularity at the moment.
55:18
SPEAKER_01: I think we're gonna have to franchise tag him, mate.
55:20
SPEAKER_01: I think we are gonna have to end and get him a better uh player agent than the one he's got at the moment.
55:26
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
55:27
SPEAKER_03: And and uh we should end again with a lovely shout out to Ben, who's been doing a sterling job editing.
55:32
SPEAKER_01: Good on your producer, Ben.
55:34
SPEAKER_01: So uh we love your work, mate.
55:37
SPEAKER_03: Well done.
55:38
SPEAKER_03: Thank you very much.
55:39
SPEAKER_03: See you next week, Matt.
55:40
SPEAKER_01: Ta-da!